News

Air Canada adds mobility to kiosk solution

April 24, 2002

TORONTO -- Air Canada, one of the airline industry's most enthusiastic supporters of check-in kiosks, is going mobile with that affection. The airline is testing the viability of using wireless, mobile kiosks during high-traffic periods at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson Airport.

The handheld units are manned by Air Canada ticketing agents. Roaming long check-in lines, the agents can bring up a passenger's reservation by swiping credit cards or frequent-flier cards. The agent can then print a boarding pass and allow passengers to proceed to their gates.

The system is designed to enhance a series of 142 kiosks deployed by Air Canada at eight Canadian airports. Airline officials said the kiosks have reduced check-in time by as much as 80 percent during peak travel times.

IBM designed both the standalone and handheld units utilized by Air Canada. Airline Chief Information Officer Alice Keung said the airline expects the two services to become complementary.

"We see the mobile IBM self-service kiosks as an extremely flexible solution that allows us to bring the convenience of quick check-in directly to the customer, while allowing us to leverage our existing kiosk IT infrastructure," Keung said in a news release.