American Airways simply launched a brand new method to cease gate lice — however what does that even imply? Vacationers who fly with the airline are questioning what this implies for the boarding course of. Nonetheless, anybody who has traveled lately is conscious of 1 main criticism: overcrowded gates throughout boarding.
What Is ‘Gate Lice’?
“Gate lice” refers to passengers who crowd the gate when their boarding group hasn’t been referred to as but. As vacationers know, accessing these overhead bins can really feel like a race in opposition to time. So, some individuals block the gate, and subsequently, different passengers, to attempt to get a spot on the aircraft as shortly as doable.
What Is American Airways’ Gate Lice Platform?
American Airways doesn’t confer with its prospects as “gate lice.” The time period made the rounds on social media, although, after the corporate launched a brand new software to expedite boarding procedures.
In a press release obtained by USA At present, a spokesperson from the airline famous that they “are within the early section of testing new know-how used in the course of the boarding course of,” which “is designed to make sure prospects obtain the advantages of precedence boarding with ease and helps enhance the boarding expertise by offering better visibility into boarding progress for [their] workforce.”
American Airways is testing a brand new know-how that may give an “audible sign” to the gate agent when passengers try and board a flight forward of their assigned teams.
These skipping the road could also be despatched again to attend their turns. https://t.co/YY9TetaU4l
— The New York Instances (@nytimes) October 23, 2024
Rachel Warner, a rep from American Airways, additionally defined to the outlet why the corporate is experimenting with new know-how.
“It’s a privilege that comes with the place (a buyer) could also be sitting on the aircraft, or with their benefit standing, or in the event that they’re a bank card holder,” she famous. “We need to be sure that our prospects are getting the chance to board within the order during which they need to. … We’re at all times taking a look at methods to make the boarding expertise simpler for our prospects and for our workforce members, too. There’s a lot {that a} workforce member has to do on the gate, so we’re continually taking a look at methods we will use know-how to make that simpler for each teams.”
What Airports Have the New Boarding Know-how?
The airports the place American Airways has began utilizing its new boarding platform are Albuquerque Worldwide Sunport, Tucson Worldwide Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport.
