News

Delta kiosk plans take flight

April 2, 2002

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines is planning a major expansion of its self-service check-in kiosk program in order to speed up check-in times for passengers, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Delta will announce a plan on April 3 to add 300 kiosks to its system, bringing the total number of kiosks to 400 in 80 U.S. cities. The expansion project will cost the company $5 million.

The project will include expanding kiosk lines at Delta hubs, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Dallas. Kiosk programs will be introduced at a number of other airports, including Boston, Houston, and Phoenix.

The kiosks permit customers to check in, print electronic boarding passes, and access flight information. The program was suspended after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but was reinstated last October. At the time, the airline advised passengers to arrive at airports two hours before departure time.

Company officials told the Wall Street Journal the kiosk expansion was planned to ease the burden on passengers when they check in.

"It's very important that we reduce whatever processing time we can," said Rob Maruster, Delta director of airport strategy and services. "We're trying to reduce the total time to get through the entire process, and we think kiosks play a significant part of that because (they) transact people very fast."