American Airlines is offering to customers who book in direct channels a package of boarding and flight change options for a fee

. Available for flights within the continental United States, the package includes priority boarding, a $75 discount on ticket change fees and the option to standby for an earlier flight at no charge. AA said "introductory prices" range from $9 to $19, based on flight distance. The airline "later this summer" also will start selling standalone priority boarding for "$10 each way, regardless of flight length, markets or routing." According AA manager of merchandising strategy Cory Garner, the new options are available to travelers booking through the carrier's Web site or call centers, at airports or via "travel agencies that use our direct connect. You might consider this the first of many things to come that will differentiate our direct-connect capabilities from the capabilities we make available through a traditional GDS connection."