American Airlines is trialling mobile ID verification at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

The US carrier says passengers at DFW now have the option to test the new mobile ID technology, which verifies customers’ identities using their mobile device when they drop their bag with an agent.

The airline says those who choose to participate in the trial will no longer need to hand in a form of ID. Instead, they can enrol in a third-party app prior to check-in that will create a digital ID token on their mobile device which can be used to verify their identity at the bag drop.

American is working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to explore this mobile ID verification technology which it says could ultimately reduce physical contact during the travel experience if adopted more broadly in the future.

The mobile ID trial will be available to the airline’s passengers at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) starting October 27.

The airline has also rolled out a series of new technologies in the past to improve the passenger experience.

Earlier this year, American Airlines launched a chat platform. Passengers can use the chat function, which can be accessed through the airline’s app, to ask the virtual assistant for help and if the conversation requires more detailed information, a customer care representative is ready to assist in real time.

The airline says more than 425,000 customers have used the feature to interact with the virtual assistant or American’s customer care representatives since its launch.

The US carrier says customers can now find their flight and trip credits stored in an electronic wallet when they log in to their AAdvantage® account on aa.com.

When they’re ready to book new travel, passenger can pay for their tickets using their travel credits by simply choosing flight credit as their payment option.

Passengers whose travel plans have changed can now self-serve when it comes to changing an AAdvantage award ticket on aa.com. American says it will automatically reinstate a customer’s miles when a customer cancels an eligible award ticket.

aa.com