Running Late for a Flight? New American Airlines Tech in Charlotte Can Help

A late landing at Charlotte’s airport can provoke anxiety for passengers with connecting flights. At the start of the 4th of July holiday travel, American Airlines showed off how it is working to ease those worries with new technology at one of the world’s busiest airports.

American workers at the Hub Control Center at Charlotte Douglas International Airport are using what they are calling “connection-saving technology.” It’s a tool that uses data to place a short hold on departing flights without any impact to American’s overall schedule.

This allows more time for passengers to reach their connecting gates and for the airline to move their bags. The average hold time was about 10 minutes or less.

The airline began using the technology at CLT in late May before Memorial Day weekend.

“I think it’s great that we have the ability to do it,” said Michael Wanner, managing director for the control center. “Normally, we wouldn’t even look at one passenger. But that one passenger is just as important as the other 189 on there.

“If you can do a short hold to get them where they are tonight, to get them home, that’s a win for us and a win for the customer,” he said.

Inside the control center, airline workers use monitors and computer screens after getting alerts about delayed flights to coordinate a hold for customers.

At one point this summer, a short hold in Charlotte allowed more than 50 passengers to make a single connecting flight, according to American Airlines.

Before the summer, American began testing the technology at Charlotte Douglas and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. It has saved thousands of customer connections at the two hub airports in just one month, according to the airline.

American Airlines started the technology in Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Sunday.

The tool identifies customers with little time to make connections and considers how far they have to travel at the airport.

“It even looks at where you are at on the airplane, and where you’re at coming off the airplane,” Wanner said. “It will make that recommendation based on that timing. We have a lot data behind this, supporting these decisions, and what the tool is recommending.”

Connect Assist will also evolve as it learns, Wanner added.

“The more we use the tool, the better we’re going to get at it,” he said.

Other time-saving options at the airport

Pilots also are working to save customers time during flights.

American is also using Pilot Silent Pushback, a tool where pilots can request clearance to leave the gate using a text-based messaging system.

This will help reduce frequency congestion associated with a conventional radio-based system, and it has helped ease departure delays since it began at Charlotte Douglas.

American is also using the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection Enhanced Primary Processing system at CLT. It allows citizens coming back to the U.S. to have their processing times cuts in half through the use of kiosks aided by technology, according to the airline.

Enhanced Passenger Processing,involves photographing travelers using auto capture technology to provide a complete customs assessment (biometric confirmation, eligibility, enforcement) before they reach the CBP officer, according to the agency.

Citizens returning to the U.S. who are not Global Entry members are seeing processing times cut in half, according to the airline.

CLT, American foot traffic ramps up

American is expecting to serve about 745,000 customers at Charlotte’s airport between June 27 and Monday, July 7.

During that time, the company will operate more than 7,000 flights at the airport. This is a 12% increase from the same period in 2019.

From Thursday through Tuesday, Charlotte Douglas is predicting that 925,000 passengers will travel through the airport for all airlines. This is a 2.5% decrease from last year, when CLT had 901,875 travelers. The busiest days will be Thursday, Sunday and Monday.

CLT’s summer travel period began during the Memorial Day weekend with 993,700 arriving and departing passengers. This was a 7% decrease compared to last year with 924,141 customers.

Systemwide, American will serve 7.6 million passengers during the holiday travel period.

Preparing to fly out of CLT

As always, passengers should still be prepared for lines and wait times. add Here’s what else to know:

▪ The airport asks customers to reserve parking online in advance. Of the airport’s 25,000 parking spots, 15,000 were available for online booking before the holiday weekend.

A Royalty Program allows travelers to earn rewards with points earned by booking CLT Airport parking online at parkCLT.com or through the CLT Airport app. Plan to reach a parking space 30 minutes before arrival time at the terminal.

▪ TSA guidelines can be reviewed online at tsa.gov for up-to-date guidance on prohibited items and screening procedures. All concourses and aircraft gates are accessible from any security checkpoint.

▪ CLT opened another security checkpoint in March to provide a faster experience for passengers. There are now three checkpoints with 21 lanes.

▪ Real ID enforcemnet began May 7. Passengers are required to have a compliant ID to travel. Real IDs are similar to driver’s licenses and ID cards, but they are marked with a star in the upper-right corner.

Passengers can still travel with an alternative ID. This includes a U.S. passport or card, an ID from the U.S. Department of Defense, a Global Entry card or a state-issued enhanced driver’s license, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

A list of acceptable documents are available online at tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification.

More on Charlotte Douglas and American Airlines

Charlotte Douglas is the sixth busiest airport in the world for takeoffs and landings, according to Airports Council International preliminary rankings released in April. The airport had 596,583 flights last year — an 11% increase from 2023, when the airport was seventh internationally.

Charlotte’s airport has served 22.2 million passengers from January through May.

CLT is the second largest hub for the Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines. It accounts for about 90% of all flights out of CLT.