American Airlines has just made an announcement that promises to improve the traveling experience for tens of thousands of passengers every day – but this has nothing to do with flashy new seats, aircraft, or what kind of Champagne the airline plans to serve.
Instead, for the casual observer, AA’s latest announcement might seem pretty boring and even technical. But make no mistake, American Airlines has some big changes in store that could have a real impact on what it feel to fly with the carrier.
American Airlines is rewriting its schedules at DFW hub
Beginning in April, American Airlines plans to significantly rewrite its schedules at its largest hub of Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), as part of a new plan to get more planes away on time and slash the number of passengers who misconnect.
It’s hardly the kind of flashy announcement we have come to expect from an airline, but it could bring real benefits to many passengers.
At the core of AA’s big schedule rewrite is adjusting the way it operates so-called ‘banks’ of flights to from DFW.
Like many airlines, American Airlines operates the majority of its flights to major hubs in waves, or more is commonly referred to as the bank model. These banks are timed to coordinate arrivals and departures for connecting itineraries.
Traditionally, AA has operated nine ‘banks’ at DFW, but next Spring, the airline will increase that to 13 banks.
What does that mean in reality? Flights will be spread out more evenly throughout the day. Rather than trying to get as many flights away as possible in a very early morning bank, the airline will offer more flights at times that passengers actually want to book.
There are other benefits to increasing the number of banks. Most notably, passengers booking a connecting itinerary through DFW will be presented with more onward travel options. Rather than the binary choice between a tight connection you might miss or an extra-long layover you don’t want, there will be more leisurely connections.
Delta has been doing this since the early 2000s
While increasing the number of banks is new for American Airlines at DFW, the concept most definitely is not. In fact, research into ‘aviation gridlock’ cosponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) back in 2001 revealed how Delta Air Lines had moved to a 12-bank model at its Atlanta Hartsfield hub.
Traditionally, fewer banks meant an airline could offer the greatest breadth of onward connections to as many passengers as possible, but what it brings is a capacity crunch that can quickly unravel when there’s bad weather or other airspace restrictions.
You might think that by reducing the number of banks, you would also reduce the number of connection opportunities. American Airlines, however, says the reverse is true. Nearly all the existing connection opportunities under the nine-bank model will be maintained, while new opportunities will be added under the 13-bank model.
And with fewer planes trying to land in one big block, American Airlines says that pressure on the airspace around DFW will be reduced, which should mean less air holding and a greater chance of an on-time arrival.
Your flight might seem on time, but AA is adding extra padding
There’s another way that American Airlines will make its flights arrive on time – increasing the so-called ‘block time’ assigned to any given flight.
The block time refers to the total scheduled time from pushback to arrival at the destination gate. By padding this time out, American Airlines can account for taxi delays, airspace restrictions, and gate hold times on arrival.
Effectively, increasing the block time is accepting the fact that flights are now taking longer, but airlines are reluctant to do this because it costs money. Adding just a few minutes of block time to each flight quickly adds costs across an airline’s schedule.
While American Airlines clearly isn’t willing to share exactly how much this change might cost, the carrier has described it as a “bold and unprecedented investment.”
Expect more buses when bad weather strikes
When bad weather strikes, passengers can find themselves stuck on planes on the tarmac, waiting for a gate to become available. American Airlines is investing in a simple solution that is frequently used in everyday operations in Europe and the Middle East – buses.
Rather than waiting for a gate to become available, planes will be directed to hard stands away, where mobile airstairs will be connected to the side of the plane and passengers driven in buses to the terminal building.
It’s a low-tech solution that requires investment, which American Airlines clearly didn’t think was necessary until now.
Bottom line
American Airlines is making technical changes to its schedules at Dallas Fort Worth, which could bring real benefits for consumers. Rather than focusing on flashy gimmicks, the airline is going back to basics.
We’ll have to wait until April, however, to see how well these changes to perform under real-world conditions.
