Qantas rolls out new boarding procedure to improve on-time performance

Qantas will begin rolling out its new boarding procedure for domestic travellers from Monday in an effort to speed up the process and help flights get away on time.

Qantas will start rolling out its new boarding procedure at the four major airports from June 3. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

Qantas will begin rolling out its new boarding procedure for domestic travellers from Monday in an effort to speed up the process and help flights get away on time.

Passengers at Brisbane Airport will be the first to use the new process followed by those flying from Perth a week later, then Melbourne from June 17 and finally Sydney on June 25.

Instead of boarding by rows or cabin, passengers will be assigned a number from one to six on their boarding pass and asked to take their seat when their group is invited.

Allocation of the numbers is determined by where a passenger is sitting in the aircraft, cabin and frequent flyer status.

Signage as well as announcements will let travellers know when it is their time to board.

Anyone trying to skip the queue will be stopped at the gate with the boarding pass scanner only allowing passengers to board once their group number is called.

The process is commonly used at overseas airports, but it is the first time it’s been used on domestic flights in Australia.

Trials conducted since mid-2023 found boarding in small groups reduced the time passengers spent queuing and helped ensure flights departed on time.

Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson.

Qantas Domestic chief executive Markus Svensson said group boarding was the most significant change to the airline’s boarding processes in a decade.

“We’re continuing to look for ways to respond to pain points and improve the travel experience for our customers,” Mr Svensson said.

“We know how important on time departure is to our customers, so this process is also about doing everything possible to ensure we depart on time.”

Qantas recently lost its status as the country’s most punctual major domestic airline with Virgin Australia snatching the title in April.

Just over one in five Qantas flights departed at least 15 minutes behind schedule in the month, while Virgin Australia managed to get 82.6 per cent of services away on time.

On time performance is hotly contested by airlines with reliability considered a key factor in customer satisfaction, particularly among business travellers.

New analysis of domestic airlines by JP Morgan, showed Qantas was continuing to dominate on lucrative Golden Triangle routes with 38.2 per cent of passenger bookings in comparison to Virgin Australia’s 33.8 per cent.

Higher ticket prices on Qantas helped generate considerably more revenue on the routes, making $185.7m in March, to Virgin Australia’s $99.7m.

Melbourne-Sydney remained the biggest money spinner for airlines, delivering revenue of $102m to Qantas in March, and $52.7m to Virgin Australia.

Qantas was also dominant on east-west routes, with 51 per cent of the bookings to Virgin Australia’s 35.6 per cent.

As a result Qantas raked in $137.2m in revenue for March, to Virgin Australia’s $56.8m.