MEL DOM Premium security gate [little rant]

[vertisol]

I travel pretty regularly through Melbourne and have become increasingly annoyed with the Business/ Platinum/ Gold only screening point and this time I think it's our fault, those who should know better..

My assumption based on the pre-qualification to use this screening point is that everyone in line does a bit of flying so should know how things work but why do I always end up in a line with people who haven't got their laptop out, forgot that their shoes, belt etc will set off the metal detector everytime or forgot their keys/ phone in pocket or the aerosol in their toiletry bag?

This should be the smoothest running queue in the airport but it is often the slowest and I no longer use it.

It is up to us, people, to lift our collective games and make this the most fluid and well choreographed line in the airport!

Are you with me?

[End Rant]

{tongue removed a little from cheek}

 

[Hvr]

I agree and when I use this line I walk up, dump my stuff in the bucket and am ready to walk through.

Fine, when the entrance to the line is regulated but when it's not then it is a free for all. Then you get people who have never flown before and they don't know what to do.

It would also be really helpful to have a table near but not too close to the security lines so you can prepare ahead of time.

 

[opusman]

If the line's not regulated then it's not actually operating as a priority lane, and you shouldn't expect it to be any different to any other lane. It only operates as a priority lane at certain times of the day.

 

[maninblack]

The line is not regulated and neither is the VA line. Anyone can use it. It's not the job of the security people to regulate who uses it. The airlines would have to man the lanes to check boarding passes and they are not about to waste staff on that.

 

[Virgin Bart]

The line is not regulated and neither is the VA line. Anyone can use it. It's not the job of the security people to regulate who uses it. The airlines would have to man the lanes to check boarding passes and they are not about to waste staff on that.

And sometimes I have seen the VA line manned.

 

[smit0847]

I think the VA line was regulated when it first started but on weekends etc when I usually fly it never is and people wandering aimlessly often wander into it. I too get stuck behind once-a-year fliers who don't understand why the metal detector keeps going off.

A 'no children' security line would be just as quick as a priority boarding line IMO - I always pick another line when I see a pram.

 

[vertisol]

I have seen this QF line regulated but it doesn't necessarily lead to smoother running, in fact it just adds to the confusion when people are digging around for something to prove they are Business/ Platinum/ Gold..

 

[opusman]

The QF priority lane is most definitely regulated at certain times, and at those times the access requirements are enforced.

 

[lovestotravel]

The line is not regulated and neither is the VA line. Anyone can use it. It's not the job of the security people to regulate who uses it. The airlines would have to man the lanes to check boarding passes and they are not about to waste staff on that.

Wrong - The QF MEL line quite often has a Qantas staffer checking boarding passes for status

When I used to use the VA line there was never a staff member there

 

[MrJetset]

Not everyone uses Q Tags. You can't assume those in the line aren't status pax or flying J.

 

[drewbles]

Try the USA priority security queues. Full of airline elites (with their bag tags showing 1K/GS/EXP etc). They get past the TSA agent checking ID, and proceed to empty most of their bags into trays.

I wear slip-on shoes when travelling, have my laptop in the most accessible pocket, and my LAGS bag at the top of my roll-aboard. Anything that is usually in my pockets is always placed in my laptop bag (with the exception of my passport) until i'm through the nude-o-scope or metal detector.

A tiny little bit of planning expedites my travels greatly. Especially in the USA, I don't want any more hold ups than I absolutely have to. It's surprising these road warriors have not thought the same.

 

[Steelo]

Experienced Melbourne priority lane on Sunday. Clearly people who are not familiar with frequent flying - they start unpacking their gear and stand in a position so that no one can pass - then proceed with mobiles in pocket. As well as the sign saying it is priority - how about a couple of tips for using an express queue printed at the beginning of the entrance.

 

[ftm]

Is the Melbourne security lane still the closest lane to the JQ check in?

 

[Steelo]

No, it was located at the other end.

Is the Melbourne security lane still the closest lane to the JQ check in?

 

[vertisol]

Try the USA priority security queues. Full of airline elites (with their bag tags showing 1K/GS/EXP etc). They get past the TSA agent checking ID, and proceed to empty most of their bags into trays.

I wear slip-on shoes when travelling, have my laptop in the most accessible pocket, and my LAGS bag at the top of my roll-aboard. Anything that is usually in my pockets is always placed in my laptop bag (with the exception of my passport) until i'm through the nude-o-scope or metal detector.

A tiny little bit of planning expedites my travels greatly. Especially in the USA, I don't want any more hold ups than I absolutely have to. It's surprising these road warriors have not thought the same.

This is what I'm looking for. Gold star!

 

[BD1959]

The line is not regulated and neither is the VA line. Anyone can use it. It's not the job of the security people to regulate who uses it. The airlines would have to man the lanes to check boarding passes and they are not about to waste staff on that.

I have yet to see this line NOT regulated during peak times: Weekdays, Prior to 8am in the morning, seems to kick-in about 4pm the afternoon. Outside of these times I've neither consistently seen it manned nor expected it to be so.

When it is manned, it has always been by someone in a Qantas uniform - never security. Yes, the line is now located to the QF side of the terminal and despite the large sign, the turnaway factor still appears quite large - the QF personnel are very good at scanning BPs and as efficiently-polite in their rejection.

However, there are times when I, too, will use the non-priority lane simply because there are less people queuing at those. I think another factor in the slowing of the Priority line is that, once the bags etc are loaded onto the belt, quite often the Priority line then shares the metal detector with the adjacent non-Priority line. This can cause delays when wheelchairs, infrequent flyers etc are being presented and re-presented through the detector. I'm guessing that this point *is* controlled by the security company and not QF.

That said, I myself was turned back a couple of weeks ago because I had my spectacles case in my jacket pocket; something I never usually do and so it missed my standard scan of mobile and keys - it happens to some of us more experienced flyers from time-to-time.

If you really want to find out what life would be like without the Priority line - try Adelaide on a Friday evening just prior to a long weekend - then be thankful for QF's ability to implement this feature at MEL.

Speaking of Adelaide, I saw a trolley being man-handled through the barrier to avoid setting off the scanner yesterday evening ... it was then wheeled over to the end of the belt to load the bin of coin which had just passed through the machine. Made me wonder how well the scanners penetrate a bin full of coin!!

Regards,

BD

 

[vertisol]

I just walked through the Adelaide setup 10 minutes ago. The security person who was at the head of the x-ray disappeared so we simply loaded our own gear into the waiting mouth of the x-ray.

 

[maninblack]

I have yet to see this line NOT regulated during peak times: Weekdays, Prior to 8am in the morning

Never travel at that time of day, simply not civilised.

 

[boomy]

The PB line in MEL is always regulated at peak times but it doesn't mean it's always the fastest. I often use the regular lines because they are much shorter.

 

[Kef]

Great rant and certainly justifiable.... I am now no longer polite and wait patiently behind the idiots to empty out all their "stuff" into the trays. I walk ahead of them and put my stuff through the belt and I go through the detector.. They hold up my lounge time...