Nice try, but this major airline is testing tech that shames you for boarding too early

Are you the kind of traveller who skips ahead in line during boarding calls? One major airline has a message for you: Not so fast.

American Airlines is experimenting with new technology that triggers a signal to gate agents when a passenger tries to board ahead of their group. 

If the passenger lines up before their designated zone has been called, they won’t be able to scan their boarding pass when they reach the gate agent. 

A spokesperson for American Airlines said a gate agent would then “politely” tell the customer that they can’t accept their boarding pass, and that they can rejoin the line when their zone is called.

“We are in the early phase of testing new technology used during the boarding process,” said the spokesperson in a statement to CBC News. The airline says it’s pleased with the results so far.

“The new technology is designed to ensure customers receive the benefits of priority boarding with ease and helps improve the boarding experience by providing greater visibility into boarding progress for our team.”

The alert can be overrided in some cases, such as when a passenger is travelling with someone who has airline elite status.

So far, the system is in place at three U.S. airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C., Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico, and Tucson International Airport in Arizona.

Airline industry observers say it’s just a matter of time before the system is used widely, including in Canada. But the real problem is a dearth of overhead baggage space — that’s why people try to skip ahead in the first place.

‘This is how you build a bit of a societal norm’

As it became the norm for airlines to “unbundle” airfare tickets and charge customers for checked luggage, more customers have opted to go carry-on — either to avoid the extra charge or the risk of losing their bags.

That created a different problem for travellers and airlines alike, with customers competing over the finite number of overhead bins in each airplane, said Ian Lee, a professor of management at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University.

“Before, whether you were given a boarding pass with zone one, two, three or four wasn’t that critical,” said Lee. “Now it’s become the measure of how likely it is you’re going to be able to put your luggage in the overhead bin.”

Rather than ask travellers to pay for carry-ons, American Airlines went with a softer solution: enforcing the queue. But sending line-jumpers back to their zone means those passengers still get the short end of the carry-on stick.

“This will only ensure the queue is respected,” said Lee. “It doesn’t create more overhead bin space.”

The technology American Airlines uses is probably cheap, and easily implemented, he added. “I do expect it will come to Canada.”

Graeme Bligh, a frequent flier from Winnipeg who runs a travel website called The Canadian Jetsetter, described the rush to the gate — especially after zone three — as a free-for-all.

“Everyone seems to perceive it’s nicer to get on the airline or the airplane earlier,” he said, adding that a few innocent bystanders might just not be paying much attention.

“But they’ll probably remember and learn fairly quickly if they’re kind of outwardly shamed. And this is kind of how you build a bit of a societal norm.”

Bligh added that he wouldn’t be surprised if more carriers in the U.S. and Canada take a page from American Airlines.

“I think if American doesn’t receive much backlash for it, I would predict that all the other major players in North America will follow.”

Representatives from WestJet and Porter Airlines told CBC News they don’t currently have plans to change the boarding process. Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment.