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The Ameircan Airlines test helps enforce boarding groups

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  • American Airlines is testing a new boarding system to ensure passengers board in their assigned groups.
  • The system is currently being tested in Albuquerque and Tucson and will soon be expanded to additional airports.
  • American Airlines says it is pleased with the results of the trial so far.

Travelers have spent many years proving that the honor system does not ensure a proper airplane boarding process. Now American Airlines is testing a way to ensure people actually board with their assigned group.

A Reddit user posted earlier this week that he was flying out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he noticed something different.

“Group 1 was flooded with people as usual, but several people in front of me heard an error beep while trying to scan their boarding pass,” the post said. “The gate agent proceeded to tell them, 'Sir/Mamm, you are Group 5, please step aside'. It was great to see this enforced and it looked like it was systemic and the gate agent had to make that call.”

American Airlines confirmed to USA TODAY that it is indeed testing a new boarding control system.

“We are in the early stages of testing new technologies that will be used during the boarding process. “The new technology is designed to ensure customers can easily take advantage of the benefits of priority boarding and helps improve the boarding experience by providing our team with a better view of boarding progress,” said a spokesperson airline in a statement.

The trial has been underway for several weeks in Albuquerque and Tucson, Arizona. According to American, the airline plans to expand to additional airports soon, including Washington Reagan National Airport.

Is boarding a plane efficient?

Airlines try to make boarding as efficient as possible because the more time their planes spend on the ground, the less money they make. However, experts have proven time and time again that despite airlines' best efforts, boarding planes is still quite inefficient.

Contrary to popular belief, boarding from the back to the front is not the most efficient method. Based on computer models, the Steffen method is the most efficient possible aircraft boarding, using six boarding groups separated by seat. But even its inventor doesn't think it's a sensible way to get on a plane in real life.

“The implementation is not necessarily easy. For me it wasn't about whether it was easy or not, but about what was fastest,” astrophysicist Jason Steffen, now an associate professor of physics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, previously told USA TODAY. “There are some challenges when implementing my method. Everyone has to line up in a certain order. This is a solvable problem, but it is a solvable problem that comes at a price.”

The next best option is random boarding, he said.

But travelers probably wouldn't like this method either. While people seem to prefer some structure, they also often want to get in as early as possible to have access to overhead bins.

Time will tell whether American's new system helps make boarding more orderly and satisfying for passengers, but the airline's spokesman said the company is pleased with the results so far.

(This story has been updated to correct a spelling/typo error.)

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected].

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