American Airlines enjoys a reputation for offering cheap fares, including cheap airplane tickets, cheap vacation packages, and discount travel packages and is faced with the challenge of emerging from bankruptcy and successfully merging with US Airways.
To provide its customers with a better, more convenient travel experience American has started testing a new boarding approach that rewards passengers who do not bring any carry-ons by permitting them to board immediately after its most elite fliers, ahead of others in economy class.
The proliferation of carry-on bags is being driven by fliers desire to avoid having to pay checked baggage fees.
American has noted that its new boarding test is limited until it sees the results of this approach. Four airports are taking part in this test including Austin-Bergstrom International, Baltimore Washington International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, and Washington Dulles International.
To date, the airline has not shared passenger responses regarding this test, saying only that data is still being analyzed.
Some passengers have told reporters that they like the new boarding approach, noting that now there is no back up on the jetway and that the process is going smoothly.
American Airlines was the first U.S. airline in 2008 to charge a fee for checking a single bag. Other airlines quickly followed Americans lead resulting in baggage fees becoming a major source of revenue. $2.6 billion was collected by U.S. airlines in the first nine months of last year.
Unfortunately the implementation of checked bag fees has resulted in frustration on the part of passengers unable to find space for their carry-ons, as well as delaying the boarding process for airlines which has in turn created additional expense. Planes earn no revenue while sitting on the ground and some airports charge airlines gate time by the minute.
Complicating the situation further is that many planes are not designed to hold all the carry-ons fliers are attempting to bring on board. Several airlines have started spending money to install bigger overhead bins to hold the additional carry-on bags customers are lugging into cabins to avoid checked bag fees.
Customer relations have sometimes frayed as competition for overhead bins has at times resulted in altercations between passengers and resulting tension while in transit.
It will be interested to see if a majority of passengers are willing to pay to check bags in order to be given higher boarding priority.
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