News

Delta to rely more on kiosks, phone banks for check-in

February 4, 2003

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines plans to retool the way it handles passengers by expanding its use of check-in kiosks and adding phone banks connected to reservations agents, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Employees near entrances will direct passengers to the kiosks, phones or the traditional ticket counter depending on what help they need. Delta claims the new system will result in much shorter lines while saving money by requiring fewer workers.

"It's going to look very nontraditional," said Rob Maruster, director of airport strategy and services. The lobby will still have check-in agents behind counters but no areas for travelers to line up, he said.

Because the new system will have many more places where travelers can check in, Delta officials expect to cut waiting times to less than two minutes, even during peak times, according to the report.

Delta plans to spend up to $30 million this year remaking airport lobbies and concourses at 81 airports that handle 90 percent of its passengers.

By late this summer, Delta plans to install scores of telephone banks, double the number of self-serve kiosks to 800 and retool its curbside terminals to allow skycaps to handle more tasks.

The carrier, which handles a little more than 100 million passengers annually, expects 20 million passengers to use self-service check-in this year and about half of all passengers to be using the devices by year-end.

Delta last summer tested the combination of kiosks, phone banks and roving employees at New York's LaGuardia Airport. It says the move virtually eliminated lines.