News

Continental Airlines reports record use of check-in kiosks

December 19, 2002

HOUSTON -- Continental Airlines has reported it reached a new record for one-day eService check-ins over the Thanksgiving travel holiday.

According to a release, more than 65,000 passengers used its self-service check-in kiosks on Dec. 1 alone, representing 63 percent of originating eTicketed customers traveling in the domestic U.S. (See "Continental expands self-service check-in options.")

The number surpasses Continental's previous record of more than 51,000 customers using the airline's eService Centers on Oct. 11, 2002.

In November a record 1.24 million Continental customers used the eService Centers, representing 62 percent of all domestic eTicketed customers, and 56.3 percent of all domestic customers.

Continental's eService Center kiosks and related software are produced by Lake Mary, Fla.-based Kinetics, Inc., a leading provider of technologies for the e-commerce and self-service industries.

"The popularity of self-service check-in continues to increase among our customers, who recognize the consistent reliability and convenience of our eService Centers," a Continental spokesperson said in a release. "Continental is the first U.S. airline to have more than one-half of our customers use self-service check-in on an ongoing basis -- about two-thirds of all customers who are able to check in using self-service."

"Now that airline passengers must have boarding passes prior to entering airport security, the use of self-service is not just a luxury, but a necessity," said David Melnik, president and chief executive officer of Kinetics. "Continental's forward-looking thinking has given it a competitive edge that will help its customers avoid lines and simultaneously help the government implement new security requirements throughout the U.S. air transportation system."

Continental operates more than 670 eService Center check-in kiosks at 113 U.S. airports, representing the largest number of deployed self-service kiosks of any U.S. airline.