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.
Last time I flew AA, the gate agent said that the system would only scan the current boarding group (and lower). She had to tell the computer to enable each group when she made the announcement.
I love this gate agent. More of this!
All part of that pivot back to premium. By golly.
Their focus should be on being on time and making flying fun again. America Airlines SUCKS!!!
AS A FRONTLINE AGENT YOU CARRY OUT YOUR DUTIES AS ASSIGNED you don’t make up new ones. Corporate has not entrusted you to make up stuff on your own.
IF YOU ARE A FRONTLINE AGENT MAKING UP HOSTILE RULES THEN YOU DESERVE A PASSENGER LIKE THE GUY AT IAD WHO SLAPPED AN AGENT although by all accounts, that agent at IAD did not deserve it
None of this works with foreign passengers who claim that they don’t speak English.
@Erect — Yes. Yes! YES!! This guy gets it. Holy moly. Thank you, sir. 100%. No notes. Preach! Louder for the people in the back!! Woop woop!!
Ok, try to board earlier and the gate agent forces you to check in the bag. Try 2 times within 10 years and you get punched by the agent. Try 3 times and you get r4ped. Fair? No. Abuse of power.
Why not just wait your turn? If you sign up for the loyalty program which is free you get to board in group 6. That 99% assures you space for your carry on.
“AS A FRONTLINE AGENT YOU CARRY OUT YOUR DUTIES AS ASSIGNED”
Well, that’s exactly what this agent is doing. She’s simply figured out a great way to ensure that she’s successful at carrying out those duties. Obviously, there’s no rule preventing her from threatening to gate check bags.
I am oneworld Emerald, I get group 2 all the time. Problem is that rarely do i see any other group 2 pax.
So I just get in back of line of group 1. So far I heard the buzzer once, and GA was like, “ok”. If I don’t do that then I have stand with all the group 3 pax.
Sadly, the reduced gate staff and pressure to leave on time results in this type of ‘customer service’.
Besides a lot of pax or either scammer/stupid/ignorant with regard to compliance…
Considering all of the reports of American Airlines doing things different than industry standards when it comes to passengers, this doesn’t surprise me one bit. It does reinforce my decision to not fly American Airlines.
This sounds like it should become policy. The only people who are upset are the people boarding outside of their group. If I had any of those AA good customer service cards I would have gave them the stack of them.
The only people complaining about this are the same people who are too stupid and/or selfish to just wait for their turn to bored.
They’re the reason we can’t have nice things, their opinions are worthless, and they are all.ost guaranteed to have a mini penis
Here’s a novel twist, how about giving passengers that paid to check their bags priority in boarding so they can also use the overhead bins.
Maybe a more efficient (but slightly less confrontational method) would be to just to enforce a policy that if you try to board out of turn you go to the back of the line (in other words you are made to board last). It’s a simple method that seems to work in other situations often taught from an early age (well it used to be!) – it’s simple common courtesy, something that seems to be lacking these days. That may or may not mean you end up gate checking your bag depending on how busy the flight is.
A gate agent is making it so that there are – Le Gasp – consequences for trying to cheat fellow passengers? Say it ain’t so!
I don’t mind to be the last one to board. I rather be the last person to board than sit in the airplane,specially if it’s a long flight.The agents are just doing their job the best they can and not following the rules is just petty.
Great idea gate agent …bravo!!
How about letting people without carry-on off the plane first. I just have backpack, why do I have to wait forever to get off plane. I literally just get up and go, but I have to wait for people to get their stupid carryons.
Yikes, Erect is off their meds. Someone get them to a pharmacy before they open fire.
I have never understood wanting to board early. I do not want to sit in that plane any longer than I have to, and I hate the very slow shuffle down the aisle while people try to put their stuff in the overheads. I especially hate sitting in my seat while people do this over my head, with their bellies in my face if I have an aisle seat. Let everyone else get settled….I am happy to get on last.
@KJ — You can respectfully disagree on substance without having to pseudo-diagnose other’s mental state.
By contrast, I wish to repeat my full-throated support for @Erect’s hot takes. I was figuratively ‘aroused’ by his gargantuan knowledge on this matter. It’s impressive how huge his… ideas… are on such topics like airline boarding procedures. Like, you must admit, the dude has ‘massive’ thoughts on this.
But if you must call others silly names on here, I invite you to do so to me. I can take it. In fact, I enjoy it. Feed me.
Wow- alot of hate here. If passengers would follow the rules in the first place, AA would not be in this position. It’s always the few that ruin it for everyone else.
Don’t have a problem witih AA, except their constant yakking about taking out a credit card.
This attitude is why I never travel with American. I believe in waiting my turn but don’t need gestapo attitudes
Now, what are they going to do about the seat snatchers?
United doesn’t require anyone to stand before their group is called. But they do have 2 lines for the Group 1 and Group 2 so that Group 1 passengers aren’t stuck behind Group 2 and later flocking around the gate like AA lines (ask me how I know)
Love this!, For the win!!!!
I don’t think taking the carryon is something that scales well, but making them go to the back of the line and having some sort of loud awkward alert to show that they tried to skip the line is something that makes good sense.
AA forgets they need the customers to stay in business. I avoid the whenever I can. They are becoming more and more abusive. Recently, a Brazilian actress sitting in economy plus was asked to give her seat to someone from business class because their seat broke. They didn’t explain to her why and just said if she didn’t give up her seat she was responsible for delaying the flight, and people were getting mad at her. She decided to give up her sit because was embarrassed by them and the threat of not being allowed in AA flights anymore. They only offer her a $300 discount on a future flight. I would have told them to shove it and sued them.
Let’s not forget the fleet service agent that running back and forth to the bag slide….
I am a frequent flier and while I also enjoy premier status, I don’t enjoy people cutting the line. I’d rather go after my boarding group than to cut in front of someone since it’s extremely impolite and also dishonest. People pay good money to gain better boarding positions and no impatient jerk should have no right to cut the line. Simple as.
I genuinely do wish that this were the standard from every airline. People need to know that they’re not the most important people in the world and they need to know how to stay in their lane. Wait your turn. Be patient.
Simple as that
Fantastic idea. If all these whiners don’t want to wait in line, get an AA credit card or pay a small amount for a reserved seat. There’s a reason they’re called gate lice. Wait your turn or get punished. Don’t feel so entitled when you’re not.
The United CEO is right… there is only room for two premium airlines.
The reason I’m on a traditional airline and not Spirit or Frontier, or EasyJet, Ryanair in Europe is I expect a certain standard of service not this kind of pedantic, infantilising rules based processing of customers like herding cattle.
Now if they want to sell ‘basic economy’ tickets to compete with those carriers that’s fine, let their employees harass that subset of customers to their hearts content and continually remind them they chose ‘basic’ but they need to train their staff to differentiate between the two.
Airlines should board back to front to be efficient.
That adopted process by gate agent presupposes that announcements are clear at the gate areas and are in the language understood and heard by passengers. They need to reconsider.
I agree, board back to front. Efficient. Calm. Boarding. Period?
Excuse me, if you can’t hear what the agents are saying clearly, and then you are penalized by that agent, that’s nonsense. 8 hours ago I just boarded a flight and I couldn’t tell what the agents were saying, nor how the lines were deliniated. I expect professionalism and get amateur hour. Then using this article as an example, agents wants to embarrass me, make me inconvenienced, okay, then its pay back time. Small claims court. However, I do feel for the agents dealing with 250 passengers, narrow surroundings, silly rules, but if you’re winging it and making it personal because you can. Watch out!
Gate checked bags are waiting for you right at the door when you deplane. I’ve never had to go to baggage claim for a gate checked bag. And it’s asinine to get in line before your group is called…you don’t get on any faster.
Board when asked, don’t crowd the gate and block access… get to your seat and sit down, don’t block others boarding. Commen sense.
A couple of weeks ago while waiting in group 6 I swear I heard them invite AAAdvantage Members to board with earlier groups so on I went without penalty. I see here group 6 ions for AA. this was a regional flight so maybe loosened the rules
Unfortunately airports have the lowest cost bidder install their PA systems. It is impossible in the US to understand most boarding announcements. I never understood why the airlines just use their monitors show the current boarding group.
I doubt bitter old Erect ever is.
This is a great idea. Actions have consequences.
Haha silly agent, unpublished rules will cost the airline in the long run when the complaints come rolling in. What if my only item is my PERSONAL item which goes with me under the seat? So then what.. just board the people, do your paperwork, close the door, move on with your day, go the F home. Stop with the power trips…
@E. Jinks — So long as people have bags, back to front is worse than everyone boarding at random on paper.
If only we could acheive the ballet of a Steffen-like system, but alas we are forced to descend back to the meat world. The cacophony! The smell! Such gifts we were not meant to have. (CPG Grey, anyone?)
@L737 — Dear friend… Yes! CPG Grey had a fantastic video on that. It appears our YouTube algorithms must be sync’d because we’re each getting all the ‘good stuff’.
I’ve always liked his description a counter-intuitive ‘law of the universe’: “Solutions which are the first thing you think of, sensible, and easy to implement, are often a terrible, ineffective, ‘drag on civilization’ forever.” Oh, how often we see such ideas by our fellow commenters on this site. (‘Just burn the witch!’ Umm, what about ‘due process’? Shut up, liberal! Basically, every day here.)
@Claire — First time? Swimming through the typical ‘hate’ on here is a sport. You gotta dive in, head first, for the thrills!
@anita brown – true for small regional jets when a standard carry-on doesn’t fit in the bin, generally not for gate checking bags on mainline jets when they run out of bin space
I wonder when we will stand up to rude customer “service”. They shift the blame of increased stress of their employees on the passengers when it is clearly the airline who is undermanning the boarding process by only having one person work a plane for boarding
Terms used to describe passengers like “gate lice” are extremely derogatory when customer should be referred to as “valued paying customers”. It’s disparaging with what the lack of customer service and the United States has come to.