American Airlines is expecting a record-setting holiday travel weekend, and they’re hoping a new technology will help passengers travel smoothly.
DALLAS — American Airlines is expecting a record-setting weekend as travel picks up for the Fourth of July holiday, and they’re rolling out a new technology to save passengers and the airline time.
American Airlines has 10,000 flights scheduled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport between Tuesday and Monday, the most its ever had for the July 4 holiday, the airline said in a press release. TSA, meanwhile, expects to screen over 32 million passengers nationwide.
To ensure the massive travel weekend runs smoothly, the airline is expanding its connection-saving technology that helps ensure passengers make tight connections.
Behind the scenes, the technology uses real-time data to spot when a passenger might miss their next flight, triggering a short gate hold to wait for them, officials said. Usually, the hold lasts no more than ten minutes.
The technology was rolled out for travelers at DFW Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport earlier this summer. Since its deployment, the technology has prevented thousands of customers from missing their connections, the airline said.
Now, American is expanding the pilot to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the release states.
“As we’re heading into this busy July 4th travel period, at DFW, American is running our largest schedule in our history,” Jim Moses, senior vice president of hub operations with American Airlines, said. “So more customers than ever before are coming to DFW. And we’re just so proud to offer this opportunity for more customers to make their connections over our largest hub.”
American Airlines also made several other time-saving updates, including a smoother boarding process, a test-based tool for pilots and shorter passport processing times for international travelers.