As part of a commitment to improve wheelchair and mobility device handling across its network, American Airlines has become the first U.S. airline to introduce an automated tag for mobility devices.

Developed in-house by American Airlines’ technology team, the tags are currently used in airports where American and its regional partners operate.

New automated tags, replacing the previous manual tags, feature customer- and device-specific data such as itineraries, delivery points, device weight, battery type and the number of items removed and taken onboard. The additional information provides more accurate and consistent information for team members handling the devices.

The information also provides enhanced visibility of the devices throughout passengers’ journeys.

Additionally, the automation enables a device’s information to be more easily shared across frontline team members’ applications, ensuring team members have the correct information at the right time.

“American is committed to improving the travel experience for our customers who use wheelchairs and mobility devices,” said Julie Rath, Senior Vice President of Airports, Reservations and Service Recovery at American Airlines.

“Streamlining the check-in and tagging process is an industry-leading effort that will help us further improve how we handle wheelchairs for our customers who entrust us to transport their devices on their journey,” she added.

The airline has introduced several initiatives to deliver a positive, more seamless travel experience for passengers with wheelchairs and mobility devices. The actions have helped improve the handling of such devices by almost 13% from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024.

With the aid of an external organisation, the American Airlines offers in-person mobility device training to its Airport Customer Service and Customer Operations team members plus vendor partners. It supplements the web-based training delivered to all American Airlines airport team members.

Wheelchair movers have been deployed at airports. Lifts are being installed at the airline’s hubs as well as other airports with high mobility device traffic. They are helping to lower the risk of mobility devices being damaged and reduce the risk of injuries to staff members.

The airline made it easier for passengers to add and maintain wheelchairs and other mobility devices as part of their travel profiles.

From this autumn onwards, American Airlines passengers will be able to access and manage their saved travel preferences on aa.com, including travelling with a mobility device or service animal, and apply their details to forthcoming trips when.

Enabling passengers to manage their needs digitally means the airline has information to safely and securely transport devices.