Originally Posted by
FallenPlat
However, based on an informal statistical study conducted by me and a friend, boarding passes are asked for extremely infrequently. Usually, they just swipe the card and that's it.
I think mia is right that this is mainly a training issue. But out of curiosity, how broad was your survey in terms of the airports covered? Because I suspect they're more likely to ask for a boarding pass at AC's that are easily accessible to passengers traveling other airlines.
For example, there's not much need to ask for a BP at the LGA AC, since non-AA pax aren't likely to even be on the concourse where the AC is located. But at an AC like DEN where there are a bunch of other airlines with gates near the AC, they might be more vigilant.