A major airline has rolled out a new system to stop passengers from sneaking aboard ahead of time.
In an apparent effort to reduce the headaches caused by airport line cutting, American Airlines has rolled out boarding technology that alerts gate agents with an audible sound if a passenger tries to scan a ticket ahead of their assigned group. This new software won’t accept a boarding pass before the group it’s assigned to is called, so customers who get to the gate prematurely will be asked to go back and wait their turn.
As of Wednesday, the airline announced, the technology is now being used in more than 100 US airports that American flies out of. The official expansion arrives after successful tests in three of these locations — Albuquerque International Sunport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Tucson International Airport.
Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, said the new policy has been a hit with customers. “What it is intended to do is bring order out of chaos. And I hope it will defuse any potential flare ups of anger (from) people who simply think they’re entitled to board out of turn …. It’s just not fair,” he said.
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The system is set to revolutionise the boarding process; passengers will be stopped dead in their tracks by a warning beep if they attempt to jump their designated boarding group.
“We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process,” an American Airlines spokesperson told Travel + Leisure last monht. “The new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team.”
American is not the first airline to try to streamline the boarding process. Last year saw United Airlines tweak its system, giving priority to window and middle seats to expedite boarding. Delta Air Lines took a different approach, introducing a numerical classification for its zones earlier this year.
Looking ahead, Southwest Airlines plans to swap its free-for-all seating for a more orderly assigned setup starting next year.
The problem of passengers skipping their boarding group has long been a source of annoyance for travellers. Typically, those who board in earlier groups avoid lengthy waits at the airport gate and can stow their hand luggage overhead with ease. However, those in later groups often have to navigate past passengers already comfortably seated to reach their own seat, and may have to store their luggage in a locker that isn’t conveniently located.
While it may be annoying for passengers, it can be more than a headache for airlines. The incredibly tight turnaround schedules that many commercial airlines operate under means that any wasted time at the airport can cost them huge amounts and have a knock on impact on their schedules.
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