United’s CEO Flew American, Then Came Back Jealous of Its Boarding Gates

United Airlines is working on electronic boarding gates modeled on American’s, according to a November 9 report from TheTravel. The report draws on an interview in which United CEO Scott Kirby told the Dallas Morning News he had flown American, Delta and Southwest at least three times each over the past year, liked American’s gates at Dallas-Fort Worth, and asked his team why United did not have them.

American announced its gates in April 2026 after a pilot that began in November 2025. They are installed in Terminals A and C at DFW. Glass barriers open when a passenger scans a boarding pass, and touchscreens show instructions. American says the system frees agents for customer service and regulates boarding pace to ease congestion on jet bridges.

No rollout date or full airport list for United has been given. The article’s wording shifts between rolling the gates out and having them arrive soon, and Houston is the only airport named, where the gates were already planned. The report also notes that United did not comment, and it links no primary United announcement.

The gates have critics. View from the Wing’s Gary Leff argues they make flying worse, and the article raises open questions about families boarding with different priority levels and how gate-checked bags will be handled. Those details are not addressed in any United plan reported so far.

Sources: TheTravel, American Airlines Newsroom