Airline tries to eradicate annoying ‘gate lice’
A major airline is testing a boarding system to deter passengers known in the industry as “gate lice” for their attempts to get on first.
Considered particularly annoying when airlines use group boarding, “gate lice” refers to the trend of passengers gathering at the front of an aircraft’s gate, blocking it before they have been called to board.
Although American Airlines does not use the term to refer to its passengers, it has implemented a boarding system that will help ease pressure on staff and patient passengers by automatically flagging anyone trying to board before their time – adding a dash of public shaming.
Gate agents will be given an audible signal when someone attempts to board early. They will then not accept the boarding passes of those who made the attempt, sending them back to wait to board with their group.
The technology is still in an early phase of testing and has so far been implemented at Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico, Tucson International Airport in Arizona and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia.
“We are always looking at ways to make the boarding experience easier for our customers and for our team members, too,” American Airlines spokesperson Rachel Warner told USA Today.
“There’s so much that a team member has to do at the gate, so we’re constantly looking at ways we can use technology to make that easier for both groups.
“It’s a privilege that comes with where [a customer] may be sitting on the plane, or with their advantage status, or if they’re a credit card holder. We want to make sure that our customers are getting the opportunity to board in the order in which they should.”
She said the airline was “pleased” with the test results so far.
Social media users fed up with gate lice seemed equally happy with the measure.
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“I saw this in action yesterday. It was great. I saw about 5 people get punted out of line for trying to board before their group was called. About time!” one person wrote on Reddit.
But some social media users pointed out that the root of the problem could be check-in luggage fees, which some people avoid by bringing oversized carry-on luggage on board, making it a fight to be first to the overhead bins.
“You’ve got a lot more line-cutters today than you used to because there’s now a benefit from boarding early that there didn’t used to be,” travel app Going.com founder Scott Keyes told The New York Times.
Travel experts also told the publication the system could act as the “bad cop” by pointing out gate lice instead of airline staff, hopefully reducing angry arguments from passengers.
– TND
