American Airlines is testing a stricter approach for Boarding Frauds

American Airlines is experimenting with a more strict policy to reject travelers who attempt to cheat during the pre-flight boarding group activity. Recently, American Airlines started testing new technology that uses audio warnings to notify gate agents—also known as “gate lice” in the airline industry—when passengers try to board outside of their designated boarding group.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.; Tucson International Airport; and Albuquerque International Sunport are the three domestic airports where American Airlines are testing the technology.

The airline stated that it is happy with the preliminary findings thus far.

In an email to SFGATE, an American Airlines representative stated, “The new technology improves the boarding experience by giving our team more visibility into boarding progress and ensures customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease.”

Last week, a visitor from Albuquerque, New Mexico, commented on Reddit that it was “awesome to see this enforced” after noticing the technology. While it’s common to see passengers swarming the gate before boarding, self-centered travelers who try to sneak on early by using deceptive tactics are a nuisance.

Airlines prioritize boarding based on who spends the most money, which contributed to the hectic boarding procedure. The competition to fit a carry-on bag into the overhead bin is fierce as checked luggage gets more costly. Some passengers would inevitably attempt to circumvent the system.

“Americans are attempting to restore some order to the chaos at the boarding area and, to be honest, employ humiliating tactics to inform people that it’s not their turn.” Henry Harteveldt, a Bay Area travel expert, told SFGATE. “I believe that everyone knows instinctively that cheating is wrong, but at airport terminals, reason seems to vanish.”

American Airlines frequently employs a nine-group boarding procedure that is advantageous for passengers with higher status or who purchase seats near the front of the aircraft. According to NerdWallet, travelers can purchase priority boarding to be assigned to boarding Group 4. Basic economy travelers board last, while main cabin passengers board in groups 7 and 8.

No date has been set, but assuming the onboarding technology keeps working well, Bay Area passengers may soon be able to view American, the fourth-largest airline at San Francisco International Airport.

Although United recently implemented the window, middle aisle (WILMA) boarding system to increase efficiency, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines all informed SFGATE that they do not currently employ the technology.

Harteveldt stated that he thinks other airlines will probably adopt it if American Airlines does it more widely.”The adage ‘monkey see, monkey do’ is applicable in the airline industry,” he stated.