American Airlines announced that it is expanding the use of a new technology aimed at reducing the number of passengers who attempt to cut in line when boarding an aircraft. The airline announced that it will implement new technology to scan boarding passes at more than 100 US airports following a successful month-long trial at Albuquerque Sunport International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Tucson International Airport.
The behaviour known as “gate lice” in industry jargon is when a customer boards before their assigned group is called. Many passengers looking for a low-cost ticket rush to board the plane to find availability in overhead bins for carry-on luggage. Some analysts believe that American Airlines triggered that behaviour when it became the first major airline to charge for checked baggage in 2008. American collected about $1.4 billion in baggage fees in 2023, more than any other US airline, according to US Department of Transportation data.
The new software, which was first announced last month, will not accept the boarding pass and instead makes an audible sound to alert the gate agent and customer that the group has not yet been called. In these instances, the American team member will invite the customer to rejoin the line when their boarding group is called.
“We’ve heard from our customers that the ability to board with their assigned group is important to them because it’s a benefit associated with their AAdvantage status or fare purchase,” said Julie Rath, American’s Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, Reservations and Service Recovery. For customers travelling with a companion in an earlier boarding group, the agent has a simple one-click solution to override the alert and accept the pass to continue boarding.
The ability to confirm the customers who can board in their assigned group is just one feature of a new software platform developed in-house at American to support the airline’s team and customers. “The initial positive response from customers and team members has exceeded our expectations,” said Rath. “We are thrilled to leverage this technology to deliver for them ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.”
Designed from team member feedback, the new platform provides team members with more insight into the number of customers in each boarding group, which helps agents pace the boarding process. It displays anticipated arrival time for incoming flight connections, which gives team members more insight into potential misconnections. It eliminates the need for team members to use multiple applications during boarding by replacing them with one easy-to-use display, giving team members a more intuitive experience to accomplish their boarding tasks and support on-time departures.
American offers multiple boarding groups which are associated with travellers’ ticket purchase, AAdvantage® status or membership, eligible AAdvantage® credit cards, US military service and more.
Group 1 is reserved for active military personnel, business class passengers (on two-class international flights), AAdvantage Executive Platinum members (200,000 loyalty points) and ConciergeKey holders, an invitation-only status program for ultra-loyal customers who spend at least $50,000 a year and fly more than 200,000 miles.
Group 2 is for business class passengers (on three-class aircraft), AAdvantage Platinum Pro members (125,000 loyalty points) and passengers with the highest Emerald status in the Oneworld global airline alliance.
Group 3 includes AAdvantage Platinum members (75,000 points) and passengers with Oneworld Sapphire mid-tier status. All AAdvantage® members receive Group 6 priority as soon as they enroll in the program and if their AAdvantage® number is added to their trip. Basic economy passengers who are not AAdvantage members board last, in Group 9.
American will continue to gather insights and refine the technology through the rollout to more than 100 spoke airports, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) over this holiday period. The airline will further expand the technology to hubs and other airports in the coming months.
