If you return from your trip and have more items left than you have, then American Airlines has good news for you.
The Fort Worth-based airline will officially evacuate the bags from the gate area, as the wing’s View first reported, later confirmed by a U.S. airline spokesman.
Removing the bag stuffing means that the door agent will no longer require travelers to measure whether their bags are suitable before entering the jet bridge. Going forward, if airline employees are unsure whether the bag is suitable for an overhead bin, they will be told to make mistakes on the traveler’s side.
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Note that Americans have not changed the size requirements of carry-on bags or luggage policies, but simply make the boarding process look customer-friendly.
The airline said the move is designed to make boarding more effective: “As we further simplify the boarding experience of customers and team members, Americans will soon remove the bags from the door.”
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The bag stuffer will be left in the boarding area to determine if the traveler’s carry is suitable for the overhead bin, and even if it needs to be done at the gate, it will still require inspection of oversized items before the flight.
The change is based on the U.S. boarding enhancements that came into effect earlier this year, including remodeled groups and longer boarding periods, which now begin five minutes earlier than before.
What the Americans didn’t say in their policy update is that it actually matches a move made by United Airlines in 2020, which also removed the boarding pocket.
While the narrative surrounding the enhanced boarding process seems to make sense, I’m curious why Americans chose to take this move now. My intuition is that this is part of Americans’ focus more on premiums – trying to make every aspect of the experience more like a full-service airline than ultra-low cost.
Anyone guessed whether to remove the bag and stuff the moving needle, but at least the airline appears to be reevaluating all aspects of the travel experience.
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Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the individual of the author and not the opinions of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
