As American Airlines gears up for the busy holiday weekend, the company is using technology to ensure its customers have a smooth travel experience.
The airline announced Tuesday that it is running its largest July 4th operation out of DFW International Airport ever, with nearly 10,000 flights scheduled between June 27 and July 7. That’s a 5% increase from this period last year, according to a press release from the company.
Dallas Love Field, the hub for Southwest Airlines, is seeing busy travel as well, with 2,200 flights running over the same period.
That adds up to as many as 1.6 million planned seats on flights from DFW and 350,000 at Love Field, according to flight data company Diio by Cirium.
To help with the burden of increased travel, American is using new technology to help customers make their connections.
“We are excited to be implementing … new technology at DFW Airport and our second largest hub, Charlotte,” senior vice president of hub operations for DFW Jim Moses said. “[It] helps our team members make better decisions, allowing customers that may have misconnected over our hubs to actually make their connections.”
The technology, which has been implemented for less than a month at the two airports, works to identify customers who might miss their connecting flights and potentially hold their connection at the gate.
American said that the average hold time for these flights is 10 minutes or less while helping thousands of customers.
“The technology allows us to look at all types of data … feeding into the hub control center … to help us make these decisions without disrupting the operation,” Moses said. “We have seen a positive impact … especially for those customers that are landing in DFW, think[ing] they are maybe missing their connection, but now … realize that, you know, we actually are able to hold that flight for them so they can … get to where they’re headed.”
In addition to this new technology, the company is continuing to offer its new boarding process, which is five minutes longer and has a new group system.
American is also working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBT) to offer its new Enhanced Primary Processing system to reduce wait times for people returning to the U.S. who don’t have Global Entry.
Moses said this partnership with federal organizations such as CBT and TSA showcases the airline’s commitment to customer experience.
“The customer is at the center of everything we do at American and by introducing …technology, such as the tools we’re using today to help make better decisions for our connecting customers, you know, that’s our focus,” he said.
With about 1.2 million passengers expected over the holiday period, Moses recommended that passengers allow extra time when arriving at the airport, especially given how busy DFW will be.
Moses also said that safety remains a priority for the airline.
“Safety is number one at American Airlines,” he said. “We are … focused on safety, safe, reliable transportation for our customers. I would encourage our customers … to follow the tips … that we’ve outlined …for travel this holiday period, and you’ll have a safe, reliable journey on American.”
Customers, however, are not feeling particularly anxious about increased airport traffic.
“I don’t feel like it’s different than any other summer,” traveler Debbie Quila said.
Building on the connection program’s success in D-FW and at Charlotte International Airport, American is unveiling the new technology at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago this week. The airport is the third-largest hub for the airline, behind DFW and Charlotte.
