Airport News

DFW Airport travels to the future with facial scanning boarding

American Airlines biometric facial scanning

Boarding passes are so old-school.

Photo courtesy of AA

American Airlines has begun using super-futuristic "biometric boarding" at its hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

Travelers on some international departures from DFW Terminal D can now eschew old-school boarding passes and use the new, one-step facial recognition program instead.

The program can scan and verify a customer's identity with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in seconds at the gate.

American did a 90-day pilot program for biometric boarding at LAX in Los Angeles in December 2018. They're now one of a handful of airlines using the high-tech boarding process, along with Delta, JetBlue, British Airways, and Lufthansa.

For those who fear being on the grid, the technology does not store your mugshot, and extracts no more than the info it gets from a boarding pass barcode.

Of course, you know the barcode is the sign of the beast, right. See, it's all good.

American plans to expand biometric boarding to nearly 75 international gates throughout Terminals A, B, C, and D by the end of this year. The airline offers 91 daily international departures to 63 destinations worldwide.

In a statement, Cedric Rockamore, VP of DFW Hub Operations at American, says it's part of the airline's commitment to keep DFW a "premier gateway," saying "this new technology allows us to provide a more seamless and modern experience for both our customers and team members."

When customers begin the boarding process, the facial recognition program scans an image of their face and sends it to an existing cloud-based CBP database.

The system then matches the image against the passport photo already on file with CBP. If it sends back a yes, the customer is cleared to board. Otherwise, the agent will manually clear the customer using the regular clearance process.

Judson W. Murdock II, CBP Director of the Houston Field Office, says that facial recognition makes ID verification more efficient, accurate, and secure.

It also speeds up the boarding process when travelers don't have to wrangle with pulling out a boarding pass or ID. According to British Airways, the process allows it to board 400 passengers in 22 minutes, less than half the usual time.

Customers with a U.S. passport can choose not to use the new system and board with their regular boarding pass. Go ahead, be that way.

American will continue evaluating the program and its potential expansion to more locations and flights.

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Airport News

Cathay Pacific to launch roundtrip flights from DFW to Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific plane in the sky, coming to DFW soon.

An airline carrier is making its debut at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport: Cathay Pacific Airways, based in Hong Kong, is expanding its North America network with the launch of non-stop flights between Hong Kong and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) for the very first time.

According to a release, it's part of a bigger expansion by Cathay Pacific, which is increasing its number of flights to the US and Canada by nearly 25 percent. It will add four direct flights to Dallas per week, and increase flights to cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver.

The new service will begin on April 24, 2025

Dallas marks Cathay Pacific’s sixth passenger destination in the U.S. and eighth in North America, bolstering the connectivity of its home hub, Hong Kong. The new service will begin on April 24, 2025.

In a release, Cathay Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau notes Cathay's "deep roots" in Hong Kong, as well as its connection to China.

"Cathay continues to build Hong Kong as a leading international aviation hub that connects people to the most exciting places in the world," Lau says. “Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports. With our Cathay Pacific codeshares as well as other flight options, customers can connect to over 190 domestic destinations in the United States, as well as 11 destinations in Central and South America via DFW, further enhancing Hong Kong’s connectivity with North America and important Belt and Road Initiative participating countries.”

Currently, Cathay Pacific operates 88 return passenger flights per week to destinations in North America, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.

The airline will operate four return flights per week between Hong Kong and DFW using its modern Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with the following flight schedule:

CX898
Hong Kong (HKG) 16:05 departure
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) 17:55 arrival
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

CX897
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) 23:55 departure
Hong Kong (HKG) 05:05+2
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

Cathay Pacific is also increasing frequencies on its North America passenger services in 2025. By May, the airline will be operating 108 return flights per week. Aside from the new Dallas service, this will include three return flights per day to New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles respectively, and a daily return flight to both Boston and Chicago.

Cathay Pacific also continues to increase flights on its services to Canada, with two daily return flights to Vancouver and 13 return flights per week to Toronto.

Cathay Pacific’s new passenger service to DFW will also complement Cathay Cargo’s existing freighter services to the city via Anchorage. To cater for the growing demand during the air cargo peak season, Cathay Cargo is operating five additional return freighter flights per week to North America starting this month. In total, Cathay Cargo is currently operating up to 37 return freighter flights per week to North America.

Cathay Pacific began serving the North America market with its first non-stop service to Vancouver in 1983. The airline’s long-established presence in North America demonstrates the continent’s sustained importance to its overall network.

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