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Commentary: An airline self-service revolution?

As mobile self-service gains traction in the airline industry, the role of the check-in kiosk may be changing.

July 9, 2009

The most common goal of airports and airlines is to make traveling less stressful for their customers. Touchscreen self-check-in at airport kiosks has proven to be a time-efficient option. However, John Vinelli, IT manager for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, says there is still a great divide between the ways leisure and business passengers deal with their respective check-ins.

 

"Airports are struggling with what the airport process actually means nowadays, especially if you don't check-in a bag," he said. "I believe that, as time goes on, a larger number of people will be checking in at home, but the kiosk does have a benefit for people who don't normally check-in. Airlines seem to be pushing away from dedicated check-in and towards self-service."

 

With mobile phone check-in being developed as an option, Vinelli thinks that the traditional kiosk also should adjust to provide an improved service in the near future. "Ideas have been suggested where you can get information from your car hire company or hotel check-in at the airport kiosk," he said. "If you can reduce the number of kiosks and increase the functionality to give them multiple functions, that makes sense."

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Web vs. kiosk

 

Doug Godard, senior manager of design & strategy, guest services for WestJet, says the company has experienced an annual boost in its check-in options via the Internet — a possible sign that traditional airport kiosks are losing their appeal. Indeed, more and more travelers are giving preference to Web-based check-in than actual airport facilities — a money-saving trend for the airlines.

 

"From an airline perspective, the Web is definitely the preferred method, due to its low development costs, ease of deploying new product features and operating costs," Godard pointed out.

 

Since mobile technologies are becoming increasingly widespread, customers with the compatible phone capabilities can opt not to be so dependent on kiosks as they previously were — at least when they arrive at the airport.

 

"Mobile check-in with WestJet is still relatively small, but with the rapid technological improvements and acceptance among the various stakeholders, we feel it will grow in popularity over the coming years," Godard said.

 

Although e-ticketing and mobile self-boarding passes are limited to computer and mobile phone networks, it is anticipated that kiosks will still play an essential role in other key areas of the process. "Self-tagging baggage is one product change that we are actively pursuing with our kiosk application, and with good results," Godard said.

 

The International Air Transport Association's Fast Travel Initiative, which is working on ways for travelers to check-in via a variety of common-use self-service, or CUSS, options, aims to make sure kiosks achieve their full potential.

 

"I think the airport kiosk will become far more important," said Paul Behan, manager of the Fast Travel Initiative. "(What) we want to see in the future is the ‘bags ready to go' project — the idea that you can process the bag yourself at the kiosk. It can read the passenger's boarding pass, which would have already been printed at home, as well as printing your bag tag for you to take to the agent to be weighed."

 

In a similar trend, Real Time Engineering, which has been investing in the next generation of mobile boarding passes, thinks that kiosks prevail when it comes to passengers with luggage. Alaistair Deacon, Real Time's technical director, says that the hold baggage customer still must do some form or other of check-in through a kiosk during the bag drop process.

 

"Where I do see a changing role in the kiosk, I predict it will continue its role with passengers with hold baggage and will move to passengers doing self-tagging. The kiosk may decline, but it will play a key role in the final function in the tagging and dropping off," Deacon pointed out.

 

Real Time Engineering and British Midland Airways are now implementing the "first pass" program in association with many of BMI's domestic flights. Rather than printing documents from the Internet, passengers can opt for the "paperless boarding process," where a barcode is sent as a picture message, ready for verification at the security gate. Following its success, a further roll out to other BMI routes is scheduled for the next year.

 

As specialists are pushing forward with Web and mobile technologies, check-in without the physical kiosk is a rather improbable scenario, Deacon says.

 

"The kiosk's role is not just about being a check-in machine — it's no longer the first port of call but will be an integrated point for all aspects of booking. The physical things you can't do on the Internet — that's where the kiosk comes in."

 

Continental Airlines is using the latest technology to provide self-service kiosks. It is the first airline to introduce the baggage service kiosk — used if a bag gets stranded. Continental's customer self-service director, Jared Miller, said that the self-service kiosk has a crucial role to the airline and should not cease to be in the future.

 

"The self-service platforms are a really big component to our customer service experience, and we are continuing to invest in those platforms," Miller explained. "The motivation for kiosks is that, while we're always conscious of costs, our primary focus is to improve customer service and the kiosk puts more control in the hands of the customer. I think kiosks are playing more of a different role. Most people have already checked in when they get to the airport, but they will still use a kiosk for other functions, such as dropping bags and adding frequent flyer points. The kiosk here is a value-added feature that will improve their experience."

 

Ross Falconer is editor of Check-In: The Magazine. To submit a comment, please e-mail the editor, Caroline Cooper.