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American Airlines announced today that it’s rolling out the gate reader technology that it has been testing to more than 100 airports across the United States. If you’ve boarded a flight in the US over the past decade, you’ve seen folks huddled around the gate, lined up in lanes, and generally lingering until it was time to board the plane. Many passengers tried to cheat the system and board when it was not their turn. American Airlines is hoping to stop these line cutters with this new initiative.
The airline has successfully ran tests over the past month at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), and Tucson International Airport (TUS) to see if this did in fact improve the boarding process and keep it fair for all passengers. The findings were positive and American will now add this technology to many more US airport gates.
Julie Rath, American’s Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, commented:
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. The initial positive response from customers and team members has exceeded our expectations, so we are thrilled to leverage this technology to deliver for them ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.”
The gate reader software is simple. If a passenger attempts to board before their assigned group is called, it will not accept the boarding pass and will make an audible sound to alert the gate agent that the group has not yet been called. It will be up to gate agents to inform the passengers that it’s not their turn. Those traveling with a companion in a later boarding group will still be able to bring them along when they board. The agent can override the rejection with the press of a button.
American sought feedback from gate agents when designing this technology. The new platform provides them with more insight into the number of customers in each boarding group, displays the anticipated arrival time for incoming flight connections, and eliminates the need for gate agents to use multiple applications during boarding.
Anthony’s Take: It’s super annoying when someone jumps the line and tries to board early. While waiting to board today for a flight from Tampa International Airport (TPA) a man walked up with Group 6 on his boarding pass. The only problem? The gate agent had just called Global Services members to preboard. He rightfully would have to wait for families with children under two, Premier 1K® members, and Groups 1 to 5. I was happy to see the gate agent tell him to come back for Group 6 (Basic Economy on United). Kudos to American for implementing this before the busy holiday season.
(Image Credits: American Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
