Gold not acceptable for Fast Track at T3

Currently in the Clubhouse for the first time (Wow!) My Gold card was not acceptable for Fast Track today, it appears some negotions are going on about BAA and Virgin's view on who qualifies for this.

If you hold an UC ticket you are good, but if you do not and are Gold you are asked to go to the regular line.

I managed to negotiate my way into the Fast Track line, otherwise I would have missed the Club House, as it's a real zoo today on the roads and in T3.

Very busy today, but fairly quiet here in the club house. Also, some miscommunication with the kitchen, as I have just got a second Bacon sandwich, which I did n't order, and the table next to me got a second breakfast they did n't order.

Hopefully Virgin will sort out the Gold/FastTrack issue soon.

[Nottingham Nick]

Mark

Was it the Virgin check in agent that refused you a Fast Track sticker, or were you refused entry by the BAA gate person at the Fast track entrance?

Since I have been Gold, the Virgin agents have always put a Fast track sticker on my Y boarding card and I have never had a problem.

Nick

Mark,

I agree with Nick. I once tried to use my gold card at security and was politely refused. Since then I have always made sure that I get the sticker on the boarding pass - even though I have had to remind the check-in staff a couple of times.

Phil FM

When I travelled PE at the end of Nov from LHR T3 the UC check in agent stuck a fast track sticker on my boarding pass but only after I asked for it.

This was fine for the fast track but I know those guys who guard those lines can be a little funny at times

Paul

This is a very good reminder. I travel PE to PVG on Saturday, will ask them for the sticker if they forgot.

Hi All

I flew out to JFK last week in PE ... was told by check-in to show my gold card to security at fast track which I did and had no problems....

Regards

Mark

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by ukcobra


Very busy today, but fairly quiet here in the club house.

The reason it was quiet is because nobody could check in, see my TR for VS 19 today, total joke, needless to say I am not a very happy boy right now.

I asked for the FastTrack voucher/sticker and was told they did n't have any and that I should just show my Gold Card. The FastTrack queue monitor told me it was not aceptable, so I spoke to the senior queue monitor, who told me about the negotiations and that it was no longer accepted for Fast Track.

I said that it was Virgin who set my expectations I would be able to use it, and that I recognise that BAA provide the service, so I understood the position, he did let me through, and I do plan on asking Virgin why I was treated in this way.

There were no stickers being offerred to Gold members yesterday, as far as i could tell, as my checkin agent referred to a colleague about Fast Track to a colleague. I overheard her say to her checkin agent she had been with Virgin for 6 years, so I know she was experienced.

I'm about to post a TR and send virgin an email.

i went out onE last week and was told at check in that they couldn't put a fast track sticker on my ticket but they would let me through

the normal line was a complete zoo and i had booked my girlfriend in for a haircut as a suprise so i was keen to get through

there was a woman going through the fast track line checking ticketsd and she caught the guy behind me who was also flying Virgin, while that extended debate was going on the nice woman at the counter let me through, though she did point out that BAA had cancelled gold cards going through

In the club house i was told that there was an extended discussion going on between Virgin and BAA about letting Gold Cards through fast track.

All i can say is that are BAA actively trying to loose my business? Answers on a postcard

Yes. You really need the FastTrack sticker. The folks working for BAA look for either a premium cabin boarding pass or a sticker - it's really their only way to know for sure who should pass through.

[mitchja]

One way round this could be to issue all VS Au pax with purple Upper boarding cards regardless of cabin class [:?] It wouldn't be big thing to but a purple BC in the printer instead of a red one, would it? The fast track staff should already know that Upper BC's are purple unless of course they look at the cabin class code.

I hope this is sorted before December 27th [:w]

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
One way round this could be to issue all VS Au pax with purple Upper boarding cards regardless of cabin class [:?] It wouldn't be big thing to but a purple BC in the printer instead of a red one, would it? The fast track staff should already know that Upper BC's are purple unless of course they look at the cabin class code.

The printers usually have a reel of red and a reel of purple boarding cards, so it would just be a software change to print on the purple reel. However, seeing as the software can't seem to automatically flag premium baggage automatically (I was told this needs setting manually for each bag tag), I wouldn't hold your breath!

That said, UA issue their premium pax with a yellow/gold coloured boarding card. However, the BAA person on the front of the queue only allows you through if it says "Business" or "First" on the boarding card. (UA don't do fast track access for golds @ LHR, hence it's a really big upsell for me to travel VS if I'm going down the back of the bus.)

Mike

I will be looking for Fastrak stickers on my boarding cards tommorrow, Don't fancy having to do battle with the hideous queues. I will post on my success tommorrow and what stance VS are taking....

Left LHR on 16 Dec, while using the Upper Class check in (still cost me 40 mintes! yes, 40 minutes!), the staff told me that Virgin is no longer issuing Fast Track Sticker, the reason behind is that too many people use them, and put them on anyone's ticket (I guess this may includes other airlines, not just VS).

So it has been agreed that BAA will accept Upper Class ticket or Au Card as the access tool for Fast Track.

And, it worked perfectly ok when I go through. Two man did double check 5 seconds apart from each other, but both are quite happy to let me through although I only had a PE ticket.

I guess if what they said is true, as long as BAA do enough staff training so the security staff can understand our AU card, I think it will be a good thing to do, becasue the queue at Fast Track will get shorter and shorter (until those people used all of their left over stickers).

Snow

I have just had the pleasure of polishing off a mighty fine CH burger.... Anyway!!! At check-in ealier I checked the current situation on fastrak access. All UC/Au passengers are still entitled to use fastrak, a sticker will still be added to your boarding card as per procedure. If you don't have a sticker you won't be let through regardless of flashing your Au card by the BAA as previously reported.

I would have been allowed to leave Check-in without if I hadn't of asked though....[n]

Well the confusion continues.

I flew out of T3 on December 31st, flying economy but using my shiny new Gold Card I checked in at the UC desk. I checked the situation re fast track, and the very nice lady said that when she was last working ten days earlier the rule was no sticker needed just flash your gold card.
She double checked this with the guy next to her to make sure it hadn't changed during her holiday, so off we went to Fast Track with no sticker.

We passed the first set of monitors without problem, but were then refused by the checker-proper. I told her what VS had told me, and knowing this thread there is obviously ongoing confusion. She showed me a list on her desk which clearly said "no gold or silver cards allowed through fast track on Y tickets".
Since it was quiet she let us through anyway, and promised to find out the truth later!

As the original poster, I am still waiting from a reply from SRB's office.

Looks like they still have not sorted out the problem.

Most likely a case of mis-communication inside BAA/LHR VAA arrangements. I guess I would always ask for the sticker, even if they say it is OK.... just to be sure.

My experience on Saturday was that the Upper check-in desk didn't have any stickers, and when I asked, they said they "had been withdrawn because the system was abused". However, we were still entitled to use fast-track, and should produce our Gold card to the BAA person on the desk. I was also told that if I was refused, I should come back down to the VS area and a member of staff would escort me through.

What I have noticed is that BAA have hired in a bunch of "queue herders" to work out at the front of the search combs - giving out ziplock bags, answering questions, and managing the queue when it becomes long enough to spill out of the queueing corrals. These people aren't BAA employees, they are hired in from ICTS (an airline security and services company).

The ones at the front of FastTrack seem to try and police FastTrack entitlement (as well as the BAA person at the desk doing it). I deliberately hid the redness of my PE boarding card from the ICTS person's view, looked like I knew where I was going, and when the chap said "FastTrack?" to me, I said "Yes", and continued to the BAA person.

I am willing to bet that the ICTS staff have not been properly briefed on the VS Au card entitlement, and it's been the ICTS staff (wearing hi-vis with "ICTS" on the back) turning people away when they don't show a busines class boarding card, rather than the BAA employee on the desk (who will be in the BAA green/grey security uniform).

Cheers,
Mike

They had been briefed when i went through on the 14th Dec. They said to me it was no longer acceptable, as Virgin had n't paid for the service. It was n't a case of no knowledge, the BAA people had clearly been told that Virgin Au cards were no longer acceptable for Fast Track service on Economy or Premium Economy.

Thats a bit stressfull.
Not flying out in PE until Jan but with the current situation as it is I appreciate the fast track.
I've always expected a sticker on my boarding card before now and hopefully the confusion will be resolved (to Au card holders) soon.

Dean

Originally posted by ukcobra
They had been briefed when i went through on the 14th Dec. They said to me it was no longer acceptable, as Virgin had n't paid for the service. It wasn't a case of no knowledge, the BAA people had clearly been told that Virgin Au cards were no longer acceptable for Fast Track service on Economy or Premium Economy.

Well, I was told that Au members still got Fast Track access on Saturday, and I did use fast track, even though ticketed in PE.

The fact is, Fast Track access is advertised as part of the service. I don't think airlines are exempt from the Trade Descriptions Act and while IANAL, VS might be considered to have "guilty knowledge" that this service isn't being honoured by the BAA, especially if VS aren't paying the appropriate fees as alledged.

I'm not suggesting we rise up like a mob of angry villagers with pitchforks here and start hassling VS. VS and BAA just need to act responsibly and professionally, treating the travelling public as the purpose of their work, rather than as an imposition and inconvenience, and sucking them into their disputes (percieved, alledged or otherwise).

Au Fast Track access is a massive upsell/perk for Au FC members who aren't travelling in the J cabin, and shouldn't be under-rated.

Cheers!
Mike

[fozzyo]

Mike, When you went through did you have a Fast Track sticker applied to your boarding card? Back in June when we went (me and Dean in J, Parents in W, bro in Y) we were all given fast-track stickers by the lovely check-in assistant.

Originally posted by fozzyo
Mike, When you went through did you have a Fast Track sticker applied to your boarding card? Back in June when we went (me and Dean in J, Parents in W, bro in Y) we were all given fast-track stickers by the lovely check-in assistant.

No, I wasn't given stickers - told to show my Au card, see my post at 16:41 today (1st Jan).

Mike

[fozzyo]

D'oh - sorry about that. I did read it but for some reason the first line didn't seem to register with me. I blame the celebrations of the night before. Now I just need to get over the shock of the early start and work out what I should be doing in work today.