News

SITA intros check-in, baggage-tracing kiosks at annual airline-industry conference

June 7, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — SITA, a specialist in air transport communication and I.T. solutions, today launched a small footprint, full-function check-in kiosk, as well as a self-service bag-tracing kiosk, at the International Air Transport Association's Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Both kiosks are made to be environmentally friendly.

The S3 kiosk

According to a news release, SITA's AirportConnect S3 kiosk is a 140-pound, full-function check-in kiosk that has the smallest carbon footprint in the industry and a printer that can issue up to 5,300 boarding passes from a single roll. It also can print bag tags for self-tagging to speed up the bag-drop process. The company says two S3 kiosks take up the same space as one conventional model.

The AirportConnect S3 also is fitted with passport and document scanners to speed up collection of advanced passenger information and Electronic Travel Authorization Service data for visa validation.

The WorldTracer kiosk

SITA also is enabling a new kiosk with a Web link to its WorldTracer software, already used by more than 440 airlines and ground handlers. Last year, the WorldTracer database showed a mishandling rate of 14.28 bags per thousand passengers worldwide, compared to 18.86 per thousand in 2007.

The WorldTracer kiosk will allow passengers to check on the status of their delayed bags over the Web and to file "missing bag" reports without having to queue and talk to an agent. The kiosk will be launched commercially later this year.

"Passengers rank check-in baggage arriving on-time as second in importance for a pleasant journey after the flight arriving on time," said Catherine Mayer, vice president of airport solutions for SITA. "Unfortunately, millions of checked bags are delayed each year, but this new WorldTracer kiosk will provide affected passengers with more convenience and peace of mind.

To use the kiosk, a passenger scans her bag tag and enters contact details. The machine then generates a claim, and the passenger can continue her journey without having to stand in line at a service desk. The unique claim ID number allows the passenger to stay informed of the status of her baggage, either through a dedicated Web site or a call center.

"Our WorldTracer application will be able to provide them with instant feedback on the status of their bags, 99.9 percent of which are successfully traced and reunited with their owners within 48 hours or less," Mayer said.

Kiosks for check-in and issuing bag tags are fast becoming the most popular channel for passengers in North America and Europe, while worldwide, kiosk use is running at 30 percent for all passengers, including those in the Asia-Pacific region.