Turn on Push Notifications for Your Airline
I live in constant fear of missing a flight. I will arrive a few hours early with carry-on luggage, neck pillow and boarding pass in hand, only to break out in a cold sweat if I see a long safety line.
American Airlines quietly began beta testing push notifications for Android and IOS devices this week. Why is this really good for travelers like me?
According to Points Guy , the AA boarding notification is sent at the very moment the boarding pass of the very first passenger is scanned; In other words, you know exactly when your flight starts boarding (instead of foggy “scheduled” times) and how much time you have left to hang around in the terminal’s gift shop.
The good news is that while AA is still testing these notifications, this feature is already being used in a number of other airlines’ applications. United , Delta and Alaska Airlines all have push notifications for boarding. Of course, this should not completely replace the need to check the boarding gate to see if your flight is boarding, but it doesn’t hurt to have a backup in case your flight happens early or there is a major delay.
How to enable push notifications
On an Android device
Open Settings, tap Application or Apps and find your airline’s app. From here click on “Show notifications”.
On an IOS device
Go to Settings, then Notifications, find your airline, turn on app notifications and you will receive any push notifications from the airline.
And at least your airline’s app is a good fun and seat map check tool so you can grab that seat off the open aisle.