Chronicle: One of SFO’s largest airlines is taking aim at ‘gate lice’ with new boarding system

American Airlines is piloting a new system aimed at curbing the phenomenon known as “gate lice,” an industry term used to describe passengers who crowd the boarding area ahead of their assigned group.

Today I learned the term “gate lice” exists. What a disgusting term to be adopted by an industry. A 2005 forum post claims to be the inventor of this term, it’s less objectionable for other airline passengers to be annoyed by it, but the industry adoption of it is gross. The airlines invented this problem! Boarding groups didn’t exist until someone figured out you could use them to price discriminate, people (largely) hate them, and now they’re apparently casting stigma at people trying to exist within the horrible system they’ve created. I feel like a 1930s pedestrian seeing an “Only Idiots Jaywalk!” billboard sponsored by Ford.

There’s limited overhead bag space, you have to pay for a checked bag, and you’re not allowed to board until your magic number is called. Of course people crowd into the waiting area so that they can try to at least be at the top of their little group of people.

It’s important to remember that systems are not the way they are because of natural forces, because of unchanging laws of the universe, airlines doesn’t use group boarding systems because of a fundamental law about flight dynamics. Systems are the way that they are because people designed them with goals in mind, and often those goals are “maximize profits.” ‘Gate lice’ (I feel gross typing it) exist because their existence is profitable for airlines. You could get rid of this behavior tomorrow by getting rid of boarding groups, but that will not happen because the function of boarding groups is to maximize profits.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/american-airlines-gate-lice-boarding-system-19857910.php