By Dom DiFurio / The Dallas Morning News
Ahead of an anticipated record summer travel season, American Airlines became the most recent company to implement technology that could create smoother experiences at boarding time for travelers in an era where overbooking of flights remains inevitable.
An update to the American Airlines app this month allows fliers to instantaneously volunteer to be bumped from oversold flights — and reap the benefits — before they even leave for the airport.
“This helps our team members at the gate who are already having to deal with an oversold flight,” a spokesperson for American Airlines said. The app provides employees at the gate with a list of people willing to take another flight, which could simplify the boarding process.
When flights are overbooked, gate agents have to move passengers to other flights, and the logistics can complicate things for travelers and airline staff, sometimes resulting in physical confrontations. And, of course, overbooked flights can be a pain for travelers with somewhere to be.
Still, airlines are eager to reduce issues at the gate, and carriers would rather get volunteers to change their flights than have to involuntarily deny them boarding.
Passengers who volunteer to be bumped through American’s app and are confirmed will receive the same compensation they would normally see from the airline. They can rebook a new flight to their destination through the app. They can also specify how flexible they can be with alternate flight options. But passengers still have to physically show up and talk to a gate agent to process the flight change — for now.
United Airlines implemented a similar service last year to reduce overbooking situations after Dr. David Dao was dragged from a United flight in April 2017. Dao’s incident rocked the airline and prompted legislation to prevent it from happening again. The FAA Reauthorization Bill signed by President Donald Trump in 2018 prohibits airlines from bumping passengers already on a plane.
Airlines involuntarily denied boarding to nearly 11,000 passengers in 2018, according to Department of Transportation data. DOT said it was the lowest rate of passengers bumped involuntarily since it started tracking the data. Various reports have pointed to airlines’ recent ability to improve the overbooking process for customers with things like increased reimbursement and advance warning.
In August, American Airlines rolled out a similarly functioning text and email service to notify travelers that their flight was overbooked before they get to the airport.
American Airlines is also looking to give passengers even more opportunities to volunteer for flight changes, including potentially adding the feature to self-service kiosks at the airport, according to a spokesperson for the company.
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