American Airlines rolls out tech to stop boarding line cutters

American Airlines has started testing new technology that will crack down on airplane boarding rules and prevent people from jumping ahead of their boarding group. NBC’s Sam Brock reports for TODAY.

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#americanairlines #technology #travel

[Vincent]

I was the last person to get on a flight once. Amazingly my assigned seat was there waiting for me. I also got there at the destination at the same exact time as everyone else.

[classicredwine]

Lufthansa has had this for a while. You literally have wait for the gate to open after you scan your boarding pass and if you attempt to go before your group it will beep embarrassingly loud and the gate will not open for you and you have step out of line until your group boards. It makes me smile every time I witness someone getting buzzed lol

[Eberandrew]

I don't know how their system can't identify this already LOL

[frrrfrrr]

A lot of it comes down to the staff, they don’t enforce any rules, they just let people crowd the desk and when someone is out of line in the wrong group they don’t care and let them board. If they enforced the policy they would not have this issue. But this is a good step in the right direction since humans don’t know how to count, listen or wait patiently.

[mikelarteta]

They don’t have tech for automatic refunds but they have tech to force you to pay extra for the chance to get a space in the overhead compartment to put your carry on.

[simonstevenson]

Can they roll out technology to stop overbooking?

[mermaid]

35-year flight attendant here, and I commute every week on our flights. So there are conflicting articles going around. One says this is about gate lice, which is different from group jumpers. This will not do anything for gate lice. These are people who stand and wait at the gate area until their group is called. The gate area gets congested. People will stand there 10 mins before boarding even starts. As far as group jumpers, it is going to clog the area by the agent bc people are rude, and they will want to stand there until their group is called. Then, you have the language barriers of the many worldwide and culturally diverse passengers we carry and may not understand. They will also continue boarding early, and then the agent is going to have to try to explain to them why they can't board. See this all the time.

[User-cfhy]

I will never understand why people want to go sit in the small seat in the metal tube for longer than they have to when they know they have an assigned seat

[andy_shares]

Flight attendants should monitor those seated at the back of the plane so they don’t put their luggage in the overheads in the front.

[RudieObias]

Man, I must be too honest because it never occurred to me that you could just skip ahead of your boarding group 🤣

[rondas]

Stop folks from putting shopping bags, half empty backpacks, and purses in the overhead when real luggage needs to be in there! Help with that!

[Evyeve]

This reminds me why I HATE TO TRAVEL. 😂😂😂

[johnolin]

They don’t address the root problem which is overhead bins. How about overhead bins are assigned to your row of seats? Then people wouldn’t be in a rush to board.

Limit it to one carry on per passenger in your row. if you have a backpack, that goes under the seat in front of you. If you only have a backpack then that can be stored up top.

[BRC]

I purposely board last. I never stand in a long line.

I sit in the terminal, and then calmly walk straight to my seat.

We all get there at the same time..

[BurmeseLessons]

The whole reason people feel they have to fight to get to the front of the line is because the airlines squeezed more many more seats into the cabin without making enough room for overhead bins to fit the corresponding number of passengers.

[jmurr]

If airlines boarded the plane from the rear first this would solve a lot of problems.

[Torbikini]

I just want an airline that includes a checked bag and removes the overhead bins. Planes would load and unload so much faster if people weren’t dinking around with carry ons.

[AlternityGM]

All airlines should use this system to shut down gate lice. Also do something about passengers who put their luggage in overhead bins in front of the plane rather than where they actually sit. I see it all the time I fly.

[sparklawns]

Main reason people do this is because overhead bins are not assigned to seats even though they could be. I don't rush to board, but i have had my carry on stored all the way in the back of the plane, so I couldn't get off until the whole plane did even though I was sitting near the front. Just an inconvenience but one none the less.

[KuostA]

WILMA method makes the MOST sense for efficiency BY FAR.