Are you preparing for a British Airways flight but not exactly sure how the boarding process works and what all of the boarding groups are?
In this article, we will break down the British Airways boarding process and give you some insight into what to expect as things at the airport don’t always go as smoothly as you might like.
Table of Contents
British Airways boarding groups overview
British Airways currently has nine boarding groups but just who goes into each group will depend on which boarding process British Airways is using.
The first British Airways boarding process is designed for long-haul flights. So for example, if you were flying from London to New York you would utilize that boarding process.
The other one is for short-haul flights which would be, for example, flights around the UK and Europe.
We will break down both of these boarding group orders below but first let’s take a quick look at all of the boarding groups for long-haul flights and short-haul flights.
British Airways boarding groups for long-hauls
Priority Group 1
- First
- Executive Club Gold Members
- oneworld Emerald members
Priority Group 2
- Business (Club World)
- Executive Club Silver Members
- oneworld Sapphire members
Priority Group 2
- Premium economy (World Traveller Plus)
- Executive Club Bronze Members
- oneworld Ruby members
Groups 4 to 9
- Economy (World Traveller)
British Airways boarding groups for short-hauls
Priority Group 1
- Business (Club World)
- Executive Club Gold Members
- oneworld Emerald members
Priority Group 2
- Executive Club Silver Members
- oneworld Sapphire members
Priority Group 3
- Executive Club Bronze Members
- oneworld Ruby members
Groups 4 to 9
- Economy (Euro Traveller)
Preboarding
For both long-haul and short haul flights, British Airways offers pre-boarding for a variety of different groups.
If you’re traveling as a family with a small child under two years old and/or have a young child in a pushchairs, you can be among the first to board. It’s recommended that you arrive at least 15 minutes prior to departure so that you are ready for pre-boarding and the agents have enough time to load your push chair.
Some passengers do not care for family boarding getting lumped in with preboarding as they feel that it dilutes the value of priority boarding. This is especially true whenever huge “families” utilize preboarding. So if you are using family boarding, try not to be too liberal with your definition of family.
If you have a disability or require some type of mobility assistance, you can also utilize pre-boarding. It’s advised to contact British Airways 48 hours before your flight so that they can make special arrangements for you.
Anytime you are using pre-boarding, it’s a good idea to check in with the gate agent as soon as you arrive just so that you can verify that everything is in order. Airlines don’t always do a good job at announcing pre-boarding and so it always helps to double check everything at the gate.
Also, if you are wondering about unaccompanied minors and boarding, know that they don’t have a traditional UM policy and you can read more about that here.
Something interesting that British Airways sometimes does is that they bring up people who have to check their luggage at the gate during this time. This could happen because they have one of the last boarding groups and the flight is full or because they somehow got through with an oversized bag.
On some occasions, British Airways will allow these passengers to board during pre-boarding or shortly after. Sometimes the checking of bags and boarding of these passengers can be a little time consuming which can be frustrating for those with priority boarding.
Long-haul flights
Priority Group 1
- First
- Executive Club Gold Members
- oneworld Emerald members
If you’re flying first class, you’ll be among the first to board.
Some people heavily criticized the British Airways first class product for only being a slight step up from business class. While I agree it’s got some real room for improvement, I’ve enjoyed my experience on British Airways first class and you can read about it here.
Along with first class, the highest elite level members will be able to board: Executive Club Gold Members along with oneworld Emerald members. You should be able to see a sign with the emerald, sapphire, and ruby icons for one world elites.
One issue with the British Airways boarding process is that sometimes agents don’t give priority group one enough time to board before calling up the other priority groups.
There are instances where an agent might call up for group two only seconds after making the announcement for group one!
In fact, sometimes an agent might even lump all of the groups together. You could hear an announcement like boarding groups “one through three.”
It may not sound like a big deal but for people who really value their elite status, it can feel like you are losing out on real value. For example, if you are pushed to the back of boarding you may struggle to find overhead storage bin space which should not happen for someone with top elite status.
Also, calling so many people at the same time can result in a pretty disorderly boarding process. Sometimes it works but other times it doesn’t.
Generally, you may find the boarding process to be more orderly at London’s hub, LHR. But when boarding at countries outside of the UK, you may experience a lot of inconsistencies.
British Airways also have somewhat of a reputation for not policing boarding passes.
This is needed so that people from lower boarding groups don’t try to board early. Lots of airlines don’t properly police these things because they can slow down boarding and cause conflict/confusion between passengers and crew but British Airways seems to be a common offender.
At times, specific airports might enforce boarding groups harder than others so just because one airport is laid back about it, that does not mean that your next attempt to skip a couple of boarding groups is going to go so smooth.
With staff shortages, it’s very possible that some boarding issues have recently gone from bad to worse and it may take some major efforts by the higher ups to correct for the deficiencies. In the meantime, you can do your best to arrive to the boarding area early in order to try to secure a spot for your boarding group.
But other times, you may just have to deal with crowded areas full of gate lice, clueless passengers, and ground crew agents who are just trying to get the job done as quickly as possible.
Priority Group 2
- Business (Club World)
- Executive Club Silver Members
- oneworld Sapphire members
The second group to board is business class along with the second level elites. British Airways recently revamped it’s business class product so that it’s now a much higher quality experience. As mentioned above, don’t be surprised if group two is lumped in with group one.
Priority Group 3
- Premium economy (World Traveller Plus)
- Executive Club Bronze Members
- oneworld Ruby members
Groups 4 to 9
- Economy (World Traveller)
If you purchase a Basic fare, you will be boarding in the last group. Otherwise, you would be in general boarding which consists of all but the final boarding group.
The boarding process for economy passengers can play out differently just like it can for premium customers. It’s possible that an agent could lump several groups together for an expedited process. Don’t be surprised to hear several groups called at a time.
But sometimes you might even see some of the groups lumped together by signage. For example, you could see a sign for groups four and nine but then a separate sign specifically for groups four through five. There may even be indicators for boarding positions based on your row.
Short-haul flights
You’ll notice that the boarding groups for short haul flights are very similar.
Missing is first class because British Airways only puts three cabin products on long-haul flights. Therefore, the highest class is business class and those will board with the Executive Club Gold Members and oneworld Emerald members as shown below.
On these shorter routes with smaller aircraft, getting the boarding order correct is probably even more important than the long-haul flights because overhead storage in space is more precious.
Priority Group 1
- Business (Club World)
- Executive Club Gold Members
- oneworld Emerald members
Priority Group 2
- Executive Club Silver Members
- oneworld Sapphire members
Priority Group 3
- Executive Club Bronze Members
- oneworld Ruby members
Groups 4 to 9
- Economy (Euro Traveller)
Arriving late to the boarding area
If you arrive late to the boarding area, British Airways will allow you to utilize the priority line to get ahead of other passengers as they state, “If you arrive after your priority group has been called, you can use the priority boarding lane to go through at your leisure.”
The biggest thing when doing this is to remember that you want to be respectful of other passengers. It can be off-putting when you cut others in line (even if you are justified in doing so). So just try to do this with some grace.
Boarding together
If you are traveling with others and receive different boarding groups, it’s still possible for you to board together. It’s recommended that you check with the gate and get them to sort it out.
Check-in requirements
If you’re curious about the cut off times for checking in, British Airways has several different cut offs.
It’s usually a good idea to check in as soon as you can so that you can decrease the odds of you getting bumped from a flight, so I always try to check in 24 hours prior to a flight. But here are the minimum times for those brave souls who are willing to cut things scary close.
Airport | Check-in close times |
London Heathrow | 60 minutes before long haul flights depart 45 minutes before short haul flights depart |
London Gatwick | 60 minutes before long haul flights depart 60 minutes before short haul flights depart |
London City | 20 minutes before all flights depart |
Other UK airports | 45 minutes before all flights depart |
Short haul European airports | 45 minutes before all flights depart, except at: Amsterdam, Amman, Antalya, Berlin (Brandenburg), Dalaman, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan (Malpensa) and Palma de Mallorca – 1 hour |
Long haul international airports | At least 60 minutes before all flights depart |
British Airways boarding FAQ
Families with small children can board during pre-boarding.
Passengers with a basic fare will board after general boarding.
Priority Group 1:
Executive Club Gold Members
oneworld Emerald members
Priority Group 2:
Executive Club Silver Members
oneworld Sapphire members
Priority Group 3:
Executive Club Bronze Members
oneworld Ruby members
Yes, you can use the priority lane even if you show up when general boarding is taking place.
In addition to preboarding, British Airways has nine boarding groups.
Final word
British Airways adopted the numbered boarding group structure for boarding like many other airlines.
Their system is a little bit more complicated because the groups differ based on short haul and long-haul flights, though. Also, they have a reputation for not enforcing boarding groups very much and lumping several groups together which means that your boarding experience may not be as smooth as it could be.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.