New E-gate Test
 

Has anyone seen the new e-gates in the lower T concourse in ATL? They are similar to riding mass transit where you scan your boarding pass then the “gate” barriers open and allow you on to the jetway. The one’s I noticed had 2 “self-serve” station and then one station for the GA to do traditional scanning. I have not seen it in action but could be a good idea for more throughput at gate area but we are all still funneling into the same jetway.

DL has been testing these in some form for years (since at least 2012). They are commonplace in some other airports around the world (for example every gate on some of the Schengen concourses in AMS), so I'm not sure what it is about them that's taking a half a decade to test.

US Airlines are usually behind the rest of the world and don't implement things unless it saves them/makes them money.

Probably because the business case isn't great. The b-case only exists if you are able to reduce staffing at the gates because you don't need an extra person there. But on smaller planes it is insufficient (you just need 1 gate agent) so there is no business case for it.

Makes sense with widebodies with lots of people and need for more than 1 gate agent to begin with.

These e-gates are terrible. I witnessed one episode this summer at JFK that still mind boggles me.

I was waiting at the podium throughout boarding for either a GUC or VDB upgrade on a TATL flight. The gate agents were doing a normal boarding process through the Sky and normal lanes. However, there was this guy (with an airport badge of some sort) constantly directing people to use the e-gates. This guy dressed like a high school teen (baggy shorts, shaggy hair, old non-delta t-shirt with holes in it). However, it seems the machines were not programmed to board this particular flight. So the guy kept:
1) pulling folks out of line
2) telling them to use the e-gate
3) then the red light beeped (on everyone)
4) Then he said "You have a problem with your ticket, go to the counter"
5) They would wait in line at the counter
6) The counter checked their ticket on their scanner and it beeped them on board successfully

This happened during the entire f'ing boarding process! To about 50 people! Not one got through the e-gates! It was the definition of insane. ...and they paid someone additional to assist with that process. lol

Used them last week through T2 on a ATL-LGA flight. I was in F and with the Premium line being very separate from SKY and the other Zones, it meant for minimal swimming through the crowd once we were allowed to board. To the staffing part, there were at least 2 gate agents, if not 3, present during boarding. On that specific flight, (one sample out of a ton) doesn't seem like there was a huge benefit to DL other than a bit of a better customer experience because the zone signs were utilized. Don't know that the e-gates made a big difference.