Cutting in line? American Airlines’ recent boarding tech might stop you at now over 100 airports

recent YORK — Sneaking a little ahead of line to get on that plane faster? American Airlines might stop you.

In an apparent attempt to reduce the headaches caused by airport line cutting, American 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 throng. This recent software won’t receive a boarding pass before the throng it’s assigned to is called, so customers who get to the gate prematurely will be asked to leave back and wait their turn.

As of Wednesday, the airline announced, the technology is now being used in more than 100 U.S. 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.

The initial response from customers and American employees “has exceeded our expectations,” Julie Rath, American’s elder vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery, said in a statement. She added that the airline is “thrilled” to have the technology up and running ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

American got lots of attention when it unveiled its gate-control testing last month. Analysts declare that isn’t surprising.

It’s no secret that line cutting in airports hits a nerve. Whether intentional or not, just about every air traveler has witnessed it, noted Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with mood Research throng. It can add to frustrations in what can already be a tense surroundings, with particular anxiety around passengers wanting to sit together or rushing for some overhead bin space.

Harteveldt doesn’t view American’s recent shift as “shaming” customers who cut the line. “What it is intended to do is bring order out of chaos,” he said. “And I aspiration it will defuse any potential flare ups of rage (from) people who simply ponder they’re entitled to board out of turn …. It’s just not fair.”

Harteveldt added that he thinks this transformation will enhance the experiences of both customers and gate agents. Others declare more period will inform.

Seth Miller, editor and founder of air trip encounter analysis site PaxEx.aero, said he can view the benefits of more orderly and universal gate-control enforcement, particularly for airlines. But he said he isn’t “100% convinced this is perfect for passengers” just yet.

Families, for example, might be booked on several different reservations across more than one throng, he said. Airlines typically have workarounds for that, and American noted Wednesday that customers traveling with a partner in an earlier throng can simply have a gate agent “override the alert” to continue boarding. Still, Miller said, “you have to leave through the extra hoops.”

And a challenging customer still might choose to hold up the line and debate when they’re not allowed to board, he added.

Another question is whether customers who encounter a beep will walk away feeling embarrassed. But Harteveldt said he was joyful to discover that American’s alert is “not a bellowing sound that can be heard throughout the terminal,” or accompanied by your name read over a loudspeaker, noting that this is significant to avoid feelings of shame.

Expanding this technology just a week before peak Thanksgiving trip could be “both excellent and impoverished,” Harteveldt adds. On one hand, the tech could assist significantly enhance the boarding procedure during such a busy period, he said, but airport employees might also have appreciated more period to prepare.

Both Miller and Harteveldt said they wouldn’t be surprised if other carriers soon pursue American’s navigator. Headaches over airport line cutting are far from recent. While maybe not to the extent of American’s recent tech, Miller noted he’s seen gate agents from other airlines inquire people to leave a line and wait for their throng. Harteveldt added that he’s been to some airports in Asia and Europe with “sliding doors” that ensure passengers are in the correct throng before boarding a plane.

The more than 100 airports that American is now using its gate-control technology in are all spoke, or non-hub, locations — including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline says it expects to further expand to its hubs and other airports in the coming months.