ARINC, IBM Secure contract for passenger kiosks at Heathrow Airport

ARINC Inc. and its subcontractor IBM today announced the receipt of a four-year, multimillion-dollar contract for new software technology and check-in kiosks at Terminals 1, 3 and 4 of London's Heathrow Airport. It will be the largest deployment of common-use self-service (CUSS) kiosks at Heathrow and will serve in excess of 18 airlines.

ARINC's customer is BAA, the owner and operator of Heathrow and five other UK airports. The Airline Operators Committee (AOC) at Heathrow actively participated in the procurement process.

Under the contract, ARINC will temporarily upgrade 150 older check-in kiosks in the terminals with new IBM software for improved operation, beginning in April. This phase will be followed by a complete replacement of all older kiosk units, to begin in September. A total of 202 new IBM kiosks will be installed by the first quarter 2011. The installation will be fully managed by ARINC, which will also provide service and support for older kiosks until they are replaced.