American Airlines Cracks Down on ‘Gate Lice’ Attempting To Board Early

Regardless of whether you’re flying with American Airlines or another carrier, a trip to the airport involves more than a few potential annoyances: getting up at the crack of dawn to catch an early flight, an often lengthy and sometimes invasive security screening process, the pervasive noise, hustle and bustle, and general crowds at the airport terminal, and finally, the twisting lineup to board as soon as the first call is made over the loudspeaker.

Those who do attempt to board before their particular class or section is called — now popularly termed “gate lice,” as The Washington Post outlined — may soon find themselves facing a polite rebuff, at least when flying with American Airlines.

According to Forbes, American Airlines has decided to implement an unobtrusive deterrent to stymie would-be line-cutters seeking to board before they are entitled to.

Should a traveler attempt to board before they are supposed to, software at the gate terminal will deny their boarding pass with an “innocuous audible alert,” per Forbes. The American Airlines gate agent will then guide the traveler in question to wait until their boarding group is called to board. An override is in place for exceptions to the rule.

This move was preceded by a test run of the technology conducted at three U.S. airports: Albuquerque International Sunport Airport in New Mexico, Tucson International Airport in Arizona, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Crystal City, Virginia, per AP News.

“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,” a company spokesperson told AP News at the time.

The system is expected to be deployed in more than 100 U.S. airports, as Forbes detailed.

Why Are American Airlines Travelers So Eager To Board Early?

With this latest deterrent to so-called gate lice making headlines, one question remains — why is implementing the technology so important in the first place?

For one thing, boarding early is a paid-for perk that travelers expect to be delivered.

“We’ve heard from our customers that the ability to board with their assigned group is important to them because it’s a benefit associated with their AAdvantage status or fare purchase,” Julie Rath, senior VP of airport operations at American, said. Rath indicated that the initial response to the rollout had exceeded the airline’s expectations.

The Washington Post quoted Stephen Reicher, a psychology professor from the University of St. Andrews, as laying at least some of the blame at the feet of the uncertainty of resources and competition for said resources (one example: overhead baggage space).

Reicher said that group behavior tendencies incline individuals to behave more competitively, as behaving as if there is no competition at hand — when there actually is — could appear to be more costly than behaving competitively in the absence of any real competition.

“In the case of the former, you might miss your flight and miss your connection at the other end, in the case of the latter you have stood up for a few minutes for no good reason,” Reicher said.

“There are social costs to factor in: To be last in the queue and have to give up your bags makes you a real mug,” he added.

Regardless of the motivations for line-jumping, it appears that those prone to making an attempt will soon find their efforts wasted at American Airlines gates.