News

Report claims fliers slow to embrace check-in kiosks

October 13, 2002

CHICAGO -- While airlines are rolling out hundreds of self-service check-in kiosks, passengers seem content to wait in long lines at ticket counters to retrieve their boarding passes.

Just 20 percent of business travelers and 12 percent of leisure passengers have used the touchscreen devices in the past year, according to a new report from Forrester Research.

"It's like the island of unloved toys," said Henry Harteveldt, a Forrester analyst.

But experts expect kiosks' popularity to double during the next year, according to USA Today. Airlines are clinging to those expectations as they try to process more passengers in less time. Once self-service check-in kiosks are fully embraced, airlines might be able to cut the number of gate agents they currently employ.

Passengers can use the kiosks to receive boarding passes, check luggage, upgrade seating options and check flight status.

"Airlines are rolling them out faster than customers are adopting them, but they are very effective devices," said airline analyst Sam Buttrick of UBS Warburg. "Some people get to the airport, look for the longest line and figure that's where they should be."

Three out of four users are the classic early adopters -- higher-income, technology-oriented people traveling on business and in a hurry, according to Forrester's research.

"Anyone who can use one of these machines and doesn't is a blithering idiot," Harteveldt told USA Today. "It can save you so much time."