American Airlines Starts Enforcing Boarding Groups

American Airlines is taking its boarding policies seriously by introducing new measures that will prevent "cheating" and "line jumping". The airline has experimented with a new procedure at two airports and was given the green light to introduce them at more in the future.
 

The American Way

American Airlines will be enforcing boarding priorities in the future with technology that's meant to simplify the process in which travelers enter the aircraft. This new technology encourages a "less chaotic" boarding environment that doesn't slow down the pre-flight process.

With major airlines, it's often a problem when travelers crowd boarding lines and gates before it's their turn to be called to enter the aircraft. With these crowds, it takes longer for travelers who are called upon to make their way to the front to get admitted. 

Some travelers also get away with boarding before it's their turn to, as gate agents often have their hands full and don't want to take the time to keep boarding groups organized. Many in the industry consider this "stealing" and "line jumping", as the customers that board earlier than they're supposed to are doing so at a time when they're not entitled to.

For the past two weeks, American Airlines has tested new boarding technology at Albuquerque and Tucson airports. Travelers are required to scan their boarding pass at the gate scanner. If the scanner beeps when a traveler tries to scan his or her pass, that means it's not their turn to board, and the agent asks the traveler to step aside until it's their turn.

As of now, this new approach doesn't seem to cause any problems for customers. Feedback is said to be very positive from American personnel with these new measures in place. In the next couple of weeks, Washington Reagan will be the next airport the airline will test this new procedure on.

An American Airlines spokesperson also had this statement on Wednesday:

"We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process. 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."

About American Airlines Boarding

Boarding typically begins a half an hour to an hour before the scheduled departure, though the precise time varies on a flight-by-flight basis. Boarding concludes 15 minutes before departure.

American Airlines has nine boarding groups in total. These nine groups rank from first-to-board to last-to-board.

For more information on American's boarding process, you can view this page.