Back in the fall I broke news that American Airlines was testing new tech to enforce boarding groups at its gates.
- Passengers scanning their boarding pass before their group number is called will be met with an audible tone.
- Gate agents then ask the passenger to step the side until their group is called
One gate agent in Dallas, though, doesn’t think that’s enough. They threaten passengers with additional consequences for trying to board out of turn.
The lone agent working our full flight out of DFW this evening announced “any passenger trying to board before their group will be forced to gate check their bag.” It was one of the more efficiently boarded flight I’ve been on.
Already, gate agents require passengers to check their carry-on bags even when there’s still overhead bin space on board. They want to prevent the need to bring any bags off the aircraft when passengers find there’s no more space. That takes critical minutes right before the aircraft’s doors are supposed to close, and they don’t want to be yelled at for missing an exactly on-time departure.
This agent figures, why not transfer that burden from later-boarding passengers onto the ones trying to skip the line? There’s a certain justice in it, since the only reason to board early is to get that precious overhead bin space in the first place.
And creating extra hassle for a gate agent by boarding out of turn is the last thing a single agent working a flight departure all by themselves needs. American Airlines switched from two agents to just one agent to board narrowbody planes in 2021. That means less time for agents to help with standby passengers (so the airline restricted standby at the gate), to help with seat assignments, to answer questions from nervous flyers and provide general customer service.
So if you’re going to make the agent’s life more difficult, failing to follow the rules, the tone that sounds when trying to board out of sequence doesn’t just kick you out of line – with this DFW gate agent, it means losing your permitted carry-on bag and waiting for it at baggage claim at the end of your journey.
An important thing to know, by the way, is that if you buzz because you’re boarding before your group is called, the gate agent can clear the flag on their screen and allow you to board anyway. That’s useful if you’re traveling with a family member or friend on a different reservation – it is actually policy according to the airline that you should still be allowed to board together in the earlier group.
I have a strong preference for the American Airlines boarding process, although it’s about to start 5 minutes earlier on many aircraft. They have a priority lane and a general boarding line. Passengers are called to come to their respective line when it is their group’s turn to board. No one has to stand there like with United’s boarding queues where passengers line up in their assigned group far in advance of boarding. American doesn’t push passengers to waste time standing in line before it’s time. Keeping people out of line until it’s their turn is even better.
If fast food workers came up with their own rules you would all cry foul. Stop praising power hungry peons. Sky waiters are the worst. This is all just proof that we lost 9/11 and the war on terror.
@Paul — We can and should ‘stand up’ respectfully to the company and its underlying policies, if those are the real issue, however, often, it is an under-paid ‘front-line’ worker (at the call center, gate agent, flight attendant, etc.) who gets the brunt of our ire, and it really isn’t their fault. Yet, when a gate agent abuses power, it is also disappointing and upsetting. We can and should fix the underlying issues without needlessly harming anyone. It’s not easy. We gotta ‘do the work.’
Good. I’m sick of people not being able to follow simple, basic instructions and board when they are called.
Just flew American from Newark to Kansas City with stops in Chicago and Charlotte. Their new boarding procedure was easy and no one got buzzed for boarding out of turn. All the legs of my flights except the Charlotte to Newark encouraged passengers in the later boarding groups to gate check their bags. All of these flights got off on schedule. The Charlotte to Newark flight was late leaving because everyone was bringing on a carry on plus a second item as large as their carry on. A backpack the size of a small carry on is a second carry on. That is what delays boarding on a full flight
I can see the justice in “incentivizing” people to follow the rules – I doubt that punishing a passenger for a mistake by taking away a bag they paid for would stand up in court…
I’m actually surprised nobody has sued UA/DL/AA for gate checking bags: Passengers pay for the right to bring a bag (see BasicEco fares), yet all three continue to sell this service, knowing full well they won’t be able to deliver the service on a full flight.
If somebody buys mainline eco without status to get a bag, boards last and then has to gate check – they should qualify for a refund, like an involuntary downgrade…
continuously offering a service that you have no intention/ability to deliver – isn’t that the definition of fraud?
Yet another reason, that i never fly American Airlines. They keep cutting service and cutting service. One agent per flight results in little to no service to boarding passengers. Then someone takes it upon themself to create punishment, which is not exactly solving any problem. Delta always has two agents per flight, which eliminates this kind of situation without upsetting any passengers. American Airlines…. tried to their motto… WE’RE NOT HAPPY UNTIL YOU’RE NOT HAPPY…. yet again.
Okay, so airlines started making us pay to check our bags. We then switched to carry-on bags. We didn’t want to, but the cost of a checked bag for each family member added up pretty quickly. So now, we are potentially being “penalized” for early boarding by having our bags checked. Makes perfect sense?! I always volunteer to gate check, so this is even better – I get incentivized to try to board early by not having to finesse my carry-on into a tiny and often full overhead bin!
@Rupert — It’s not really an ‘incentive’ (a carrot); rather, it is indeed punitive (a stick) to force a gate-check to a carry-on, if that passenger did not originally want that outcome, in order to ‘teach them a lesson’ for either intentionally or accidentally boarding out of turn.
As for fraud and lawsuits against airlines over things like this, good luck with that. You can always hire an attorney, as we are a hyper-litigious society, but this is not a no-fee only-pay-if-we-win-style ‘personal injury’ case, so you’d better believe any decent lawyer is gonna want a meaty retainer ($10K minimum) just to sent the airline a mean demand letter which they’ll probably ignore.
Otherwise, it’s a weak case as the actual damages are so limited. If anything, if something like this happens to you, just write a complaint on the airlines’ proprietary website, calmly and respectfully express your disappointment, kindly ask for miles as a compensation, ideally receive a response with a gift of 5K points or something ($50 worth), then just move on with your life and lower expectations if ever flying again with that airline. I know, it’s a sad and relatively ineffective solution, but it may be the best we got for now, since we do not elect representatives who enact better consumer protection laws and baseline consumer-friendly policies for this and other industries. Think about it next to you vote, if you’re in the USA. Canada, the UK, and the EU citizens have learned to treat their own better, and do have somewhat more helpful policies, like EU261, though that is less about carry-on bag policies and more about other things.
Of course, in our very much compromised quasi-monopolistic ‘free market’ system, if AA is the only one doing this, and it does upset you, hopefully you are not in a captive hub, like DFW or CLT, because then you can simply chose a different airline for your future business, and maybe in the aggregate, enough consumers voice their disapproval, and the airline finally changes course–then again, AA may influence other airlines to adopt similar ‘mean’ policies, so time will tell on that.
Just what aviation needs more gate agents believing they have the power to create new SOP’s.
@Steve — The fish rots at the head, as they say. When dictators and oligarchs around the world ‘get away’ with their abuses of power and insatiable greed, then it’s a ‘green light’ for even the smallest, pettiest nonsense like this. We, the people, don’t have to endorse this. We can say ‘enough.’ We can ‘vote’ with our feed, in this case, not fly an airline that allows such abuse. We can ‘complain’ literally and through official means (regulators, if any still exist). Otherwise, we can just stay home–remember those years during the pandemic? Yeah, it wasn’t ‘that’ bad. I do wish for better for us.
Hilarious.
Gifting a $43 benefit (checked bag) for free is considered “punishment”???
Typo: $35
@Rupert You don’t pay for the right to bring a carry on board bag. It is all subject to space, so take your sue attitude elsewhere you clown.
@Mary — Whether it’s $43 or $35 or $57…it’s not about the money, it’s about whether the consumer has the choice. If the company or agent can deny the consumer their choice (a ‘freedom’), then it is indeed a punishment, regardless of the potential ‘savings’ as you described it. I like freedom; I also recognize that we must limit some of our freedoms for the ‘balance’ of a society that functions. Yes, sometimes, we are forced to gate-check when we do not want to, but don’t tell me that’s inherently always ‘good’ when it really depends on the person, their preferences, and the circumstances.
@1990……. a typical LIBTURD. Please do stay home.
@BABS — No, you pay for the ‘option’ to bring a carry-on on-board. Rupert is correct, in-part, that consumers, passengers in this case, pay extra for that privilege, and if the airline denies it, perhaps there can be a remedy, like a small refund, if requested, if the incident is documented appropriately, and if the airline is reasonable in-return. If the airline is greedy, or the passenger is not scrupulous, then yes, the consumer is denied what they paid for, and in the aggregate it can cause losses of those extra fees paid, which can really add up. Also, consumer satisfaction, customer service, etc. can suffer as a result, which affects brand reputation, loyalty, overall business performance, and ultimately may harm the shareholders by reducing profits and their return on investment, you know, shareholders, the real ‘customers’ in this day-and-age.
@BABS — I’m home. Home is where the heart is. I see that you may be home-less. Happy to share some empathy and reason with you, if you need or want it. Be kind to yourself. You are enough.
Flying these days isn’t any better than taking a bus. Passengers continue to be nickel and dimmed by the various carriers. People complain about people reclining the few degrees the seats allow. Rather than first come first served, you have to pay more for a particular seat behind first class seating, such as wing exit rows. Passengers would like some comfort when flying: a little more leg / knee room, a little more hip / elbow room, a little room to relax after everything else you have to put up with just to get to your seat. Flying used to be enjoyable for most people. I don’t think it has for the past 30+ years at a minimum. The carrier’s desire to squeeze every penny out of you is a cause for customers wanting to get around your various rules. Now you want to just embarrass & punish them, you customers. I do my best never to fly anymore. You treat your customers like cows.
Love this! Take your turn as the boarding pass shows you when to board! Stop trying to jump the line. I have seen group 8 boating with group 1. It’s wrong! You tried to sneak in now go wait for your bag on the other end!
How can you gate check a bag that has laptop(s), items with enclosed batteries since these aren’t allowed in the cargo area, will they force people to remove these items and hand carry them onto onboard? Seems like a waste of time.
I’m 100% for gate agents making very explicit announcements including the requirement that the boarding order will be followed. Agent did it a couple months back at AUS and boarding went much quicker. Just like yesterday at MIA some moron (of course with a mask on) goes running up and shoves his way in front of Group One to board and thankfully the GA sent him packing. Saw him boarding at the end (wearing a blue N95 mask maybe him stick out) so presumably was Group 8 or 9.
I don’t understand why they don’t just board the plane from the back going forward. I’m sure it has to do with money. In that case board the specialty seats first, the board the rest from the back. Simple.
Inform the cheaters they are now in the last group to board.
@1990 — I can always count on you to get the cultural references!
@CVB05 — Agreed on money but also because in theory that’s even worse than everyone randomly boarding at the same time: once people start putting their bags in the overheads it quickly creates a bottleneck where no one can do anything until the person in front puts their bag up. Ideally you have a system of everyone lining up single file based on seat assignment (or a modified version of that).
Gate lice should be punished and shamed. I don’t care about offending them; they are infrequent flyers who make boarding miserable for AA’s loyal customers. If they want to take their business elsewhere, their behavior would be more appropriate at Spirit Airlines anyway.
And no, they don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. Anyone lacking this level of intelligence belongs in a mental facility, not an airport.
Good. Wait your turn or be buzz shamed and inconvenienced lol. Seriously, just wait for your group. Not that hard and not unreasonable.
Just arrive at the gate in a wheelchair and you’ll be one of the first to board Problem solved this has been the new scam for several years passengers being wheeled to the gate then when the plane lands they miraculously are able to run outta the airport
I want to line up with my assigned group. The airlines just need to put up signs on where to queue up for every group instead of just group 1 and 2.
“Good. I’m sick of people not being able to follow simple, basic instructions and board when they are called.”
Spoken like a younger person with good ears, Thom. Not all of us can hear when our Group x is called by the agent, esp. with all the other noise in today’s bus stations. Oh, excuse me, I mean airports…
@JP — The phenomenon you speak of is often referred to as ‘Jetway Jesus’ because as that historic fiction depicted the character Jesus was able to ‘heal’ the character Lazarus from his ailments and he could walk when before he could not. Notice how some will call me a blasphemer for daring to suggest that their fairytales aren’t real. Nice story though. Lots of applications for how to live a decent life, be good to others, etc. It’s just a shame that many of its so-called followers are so cruel to others, when that is like the opposite of their prophet’s message. Hmm. Curious.
@Pat — Naw, punishing or shaming or even judging people for such a thing (so-called ‘gate lice,’ another pejorative) is more a ‘you-problem,’ not a ‘them-problem,’ sir or madam. Of course, there are always exceptions, and some folks are truly inappropriate, but for the most part, lining up at the gate near the boarding time in an orderly way is beneficial to boarding the aircraft efficiently. As a frequent flyer (I’ve been Diamond, 1K, Executive Platinum, even Mosaic), I do not waste my time worrying about the subtle differences (in appearance or behavior) of my fellow passengers–because, I’m not an a-hole or a creep–not saying you are either, but if you took offense to that, maybe check yourself, son (or daughter, sorry, again, is Pat a man or a woman’s name, or is it…dare I say it…non-binary…gasp! …it’s a lovely, versatile name, is all, like, it’s a good one.)
There was not much I liked about Spirit Airlines, but they did have a great policy on bags.
It has been a while, but last time it was $25 for checked and $35 for carry on.
When we last used Spirit, we only did the “one personal item free” route and shoved the 18x14x8 bag under the seat.
Where do you guys get this info from lol. All bs crap
Airlines could save more time if boarded the plane from the rear forward. This would stop the clogging up from up front passengers putting there carryons in the bins causing backup in the isle. This is why loading the plane from the front to back slows the boarding.
@CVB05 that only works if you have a reserved bin space. Otherwise, people at the back to drop their bag in the first open spot and before too long everyone has to go past their seat to find space for their bag and if that’s bad during boarding, that’s even worse when deplaning.
I don’t see these problems when I travel in Europe. No gate lice and boarding a flight is pretty quick for on time departures. Why only in the US of A. Airlines are profitable get the staff!
I mean, I end up boarding ahead of my boarding group anyways cause I bribe the gate agents, but even if I didn’t, I board with my group anyways… But say I WAS one of those daring gate lice… Queue malicious compliance… My carry on bag is full of electronics with lithium batteries… A laptop, 2 tablets, at least 2 power banks, go pro cameras, and so on… So really, the joke is on them… They’ll be gate checking an empty bag, and then they’ll also have to deal with the FA’s complaining that I got so much crap that we not have to figure out what to do with in the cabin, cause none of it can go at my feet now. Force me to gate check my bag, and not only will you look like the dümbªss for enforcing a non-existent policy, you’ll also be reported to customer service, and AA is not gonna like the potential lawsuit. And… Ive managed to get my hands on some of the priority gate check bag tags, so if you try to check the bag as if it were normal checked bags that I can’t retrieve after the flight, I’m just tearing off the bag sticker tags and putting on the paper bungee tags… Again… Joke’s on you…
Here’s a novel idea for ALL Airlines — board passengers from the BACK first, moving forward then in the groupings! What’s the biggest delay is waiting on the plane (or the jetway) for the person(s) in front of you to get themselves situated just so you can get by them to your further back row. Boarding starting with the BACK rows eliminates this inefficiency.
They can still cater to First Class & passengers with special needs (parents with small children, handicapped) first, but then implement this boarding process I’m proposing.
But it’s all about money, isn’t it? They want people to buy the more expensive “upgraded” seats which are the rows just after First Class. So how much do the airlines REALLY care about efficiency?!
Several years ago I was traveling with my young children. Our tickets were on the same itinerary but for some reason they had earlier boarding numbers than I did. The airline refused to let me board with them, informing me that if we wanted to board together my children had to wait until it was my turn.
In the “olden days” planes always boarded starting with the back rows and working forward. I don’t recollect there being much of a problem of people putting their bags in the front overhead bins and then sitting in the back but maybe the flight attendants kept an eye on that. The process was much more efficient at getting people on the plane and seated much faster than this random system currently in use.
“I don’t understand why they don’t just board the plane from the back going forward.” Well, when the Mythbusters tried it, it was the slowest method.
Honestly I wish they would just flat out ban massive carry on. The reason people try to board early is because it somehow became fashionable to carry your entire f’in U-haul as a carry on wheely bag and they’re worried they won’t be able to stow it.
The wheely bag havers also each take like a good 15-20 seconds minimum to board/unboard. (Do the math, 15-20s becomes significant when it’s 90% or the plane). While reasonable carry on havers just stand up and go.
Meanwhile, if you bring reasonable carry-on like a backpack or computer bag, the flight attendants will force you to jam it under your seat to make room for all the d-bag wheely bag havers.
I hate wheely bag havers and judge them negatively. They’re the same hillbilly folk who live in trailer parks and wear sweatpants to Walmart.
Group 9 was ask to drop their carry on maybe 5 PEOPLE did . When I was boarding they put me on side to check my small bag only think I carried feeling so discriminating by agent because next person have 3 things she let boarding . GOD BLESS HER
Another great reason to avoid AA!
The problem is none of the airlines have a good system of identify passengers who require pre-boarding. I’m usually Zone 3 on Delta, even when in Comfort+ but I require pre-boarding for a variety of reasons. No matter how many times I indicate my disability, because I appear able-bodied, I get the question about if I really need to pre-board. I rarely fly AA, but if I do and I pre-board suddenly I use a carryon because of it? Has to be a better way than me constantly explaining my disabilities to a gate agent.
One thing that drives me crazy is if I’m boarding in Zone 5, I will stay back, until 4 is called, at that point I will creep up but wait. I’ve had too many times where the agent will call multiple zones at once. Since I waited now I am further back. The issue is carry on being full near my seat forcing me to put carry on further back, making it difficult when getting off flight, especially if I have a connection.
I’d like to see the FAA rule that says your carry on needs to be in the bin above your seat. People put their bags in the bins above the first available space filling up the bins at the front so they don’t have to carry their bag to the back. That’s a security violation.
Good to see someone with more balls than a Christmas Tree.
American is right. I’ve been flying for 50 years and have never seen such rudeness from the flying public as I have in the last 3 years. I say charge everyone $20 for an overhead, that might slow down the gate lice and soccer bag customers.
I can’t u sweat and the announcements half the time they speak as if they’re running an auction. Speak clearly so we can understand who is meant to be boarding!
I can’t understand the announcements half the time they speak as if they’re running an auction. Speak clearly so we can understand who is meant to be boarding!