By Senior Contributor Ted Reed
Travelers pass through Miami International Airport during Memorial Day weekend in May. (Photo by … More Giorgio Viera)
AFP via Getty Images
American Airlines has quickly rolled out connection-saving technology at its Charlotte and Chicago hubs, after introducing the effort in Dallas last month.
鈥淭hat one passenger is just as important as the other 189 on the airplane,鈥 said Michael Wanner, managing director of American鈥檚 Charlotte control center, referring to the passenger whose connection might be saved with a brief hold on the departure. He spoke with reporters Tuesday in the carrier鈥檚 tower, which oversees the 37 functions required for each aircraft turn at Charlotte.
American first employed the new technology at DFW on May 12, saying that it 鈥渋dentifies departing flights with connecting customers who might miss their flight.
鈥淚f the airline determines it can delay the flight without any impact to the airline鈥檚 schedule, we will propose a short hold to get those connecting customers onboard,鈥 the carrier said. 鈥淭he technology, developed in-house by the American team, helps automate and enhance existing processes to hold certain connecting flights so the airline can help even more customers make their connections and get to their final destinations.鈥
Wanner said the technology was introduced in Charlotte in mid-May and in Chicago on June 30th and will soon be rolled out in other hubs including Miami and Phoenix. So far in Charlotte, it has saved about 1,000 connections, he said. In Charlotte and Dallas, the technology has saved 鈥渢housands of passengers,鈥 American said, declining to be more specific.
Wanner said the technology is 鈥渧ery focused on looking for certain types of customers鈥 whose connections can be saved. He said the technology uses 鈥渁 tool set built on using our data鈥 and includes the use of artificial intelligence.
Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American pilots, said the union has long pushed the airline to be more sensitive in accommodating connecting passengers who arrive late at the gate. In 2018, in a message to members, the union said it 鈥渋s calling for an end to the rigid departure policies at the gate that pilots say have caused passengers to feel mistreated and airlines to be vilified in the press.鈥
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For years, Tajer said, 鈥淭he agents have been under immense pressure to get that flight closed, with the airline obsessed with D-zero departures,鈥 using a term that refers to on-time departures with zero minutes of delay. 鈥淭hey moved away from common sense decisions,鈥 he said.
Tajer applauded the move to more sensitive decisions on connecting passengers, though he noted that pilots have not been formally notified. In recent months, he said, American has sought to move away from an image that it is less focused on passenger comfort than Delta and United, which have been more likely to be viewed as premium carriers rather than commodity carriers.
鈥淧ilots like being part of taking care of all our passengers, both the ones on the airplane and the ones struggling to get on it,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here is no better time to try to humanize air travel. 鈥
United introduced a program called Connection Saver in June 2019. Last week, United said that Connection Saver, which is now powered by AI, has saved 3.3 million connections since then. 鈥淐onnectionSaver automatically identifies departing flights that can be held for connecting customers 鈥 without delaying the on-time arrival of the customers who have already boarded,鈥 the carrier said.
Connection Saver includes a special section of the United app that includes 鈥渁 countdown to connecting flights, customized turn-by-turn directions to their connecting gate with estimated walk times, real-time flight status updates, tips for longer layovers, and notifications if United鈥檚 ConnectionSaver technology has been activated to hold the plane for them,鈥 the carrier said.
Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said the Delta app now provides real-time flight updates including boarding door closing notices, while new seatback technology provides details on individual passengers鈥 connections. As for holds, Durrant said, 鈥淒ecisions are made on a case-by-case basis and can be done centrally at our operations and customer center or by airport team recommendation to our OCC.鈥
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