AA Flight departs 15 minutes early
Oh, I forgot.
You are correct the airline can close gate 15 minutes prior to departure (and you forfeit your ticket seat). I've never seen this done by any airline unless the flight is oversold. In this case I can accept my seat, ticket being given to someone else. It's BAU, business as usual.
If the flight isn't oversold and no standbys then I would expect (especially AA given its annual $800M cost disadvantage with competitors) to WAIT to ensure most number of paid passengers are on board. THIS MEANS WAITING UNTIL SCHEDULED DEPARTURE TIME BEFORE PULLING AWAY FROM TERMINAL.
The flight I reference left @ mid afternoon, clear blue skies, sunny, light airport traffic. Absolutely no reason what so ever to leave early. When events like this happen you wonder if AA's business problem isn't higher cost, but reduced REVENUE!!
Like I claimed earlier, checking a bag might provide necessary insurance to; (a) avoid early departures, (b) passenger missing flight.
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