Just in time for the holiday season, American Airlines is expanding technology that supports the boarding process to more than 100 airports across the U.S. The technology platform ensures customers receive the benefit of boarding in their assigned group and supports team members with more visibility into the boarding process.

The airline has successfully trialed this modern technology over the last month at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Tucson International Airport (TUS) to gain early insights on ways to improve the boarding process.

“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,” said Julie Rath, American’s Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, Reservations and Service Recovery. “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.”

Using technology to support the gate experience

If a customer boards before their assigned group is called, the new software will not accept the boarding pass and instead makes an audible sound to alert the gate agent and customer that the group has not yet been called. In these instances, the American team member will invite the customer to rejoin the line when their boarding group is called.

For customers traveling with a companion in an earlier boarding group, the agent has a simple one-click solution to override the alert and accept the pass to continue boarding.

Boarding earlier with American

American offers multiple boarding groups which are associated with travelers’ ticket purchase, AAdvantage^® status or membership, eligible AAdvantage^® credit cards, U.S. military service and more. All AAdvantage^® members receive Group 6 priority as soon as they enroll in the program and if their AAdvantage^® number is added to their trip. Status members receive increasingly higher boarding group priority as a benefit associated with their status level.

Developing innovative technology

The ability to confirm customers can board in their assigned group is just one feature of an innovative software platform developed in-house at American to support the airline’s team and customers.

Designed from team member feedback, the new platform:

• Provides team members with more insight into the number of customers in each boarding group, which helps agents pace the boarding process
• Displays anticipated arrival time for incoming flight connections, which gives team members more insight into potential misconnections
• Eliminates the need for team members to use multiple applications during boarding by replacing them with one easy-to-use display, giving team members a more intuitive experience to accomplish their boarding tasks and support on-time departures

American will continue to gather insights and refine the technology through the rollout to more than 100 spoke airports, including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) over this holiday period. In the coming months, the airline will further expand the technology to hubs and other airports.