News

Travelers may give thanks for airline kiosks

November 23, 2003

BOSTON -- Travelers returning to the skies this Thanksgiving will encounter more people in the ticket lines and far fewer people behind the ticket counters.

According to an article inThe Boston Globe,airlines still recovering from the travel fall-off and coping with additional security measures instituted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are installing a record number of check-in kiosks this year.

The goals of airlines racing to make the machines more available are to satisfy wait-weary passengers and trim their own personnel costs.

The machines also are getting more versatile. Kiosks that could previously only print boarding passes can now automatically rebook passengers who have missed flights, let them choose a seat, and spit out coupons that can be redeemed for a beer or headphones onboard, according to the article.

"The capability of the software will make these stations something that will be increasingly a one-size fits all," said Jim Brown, a spokesman for Kinetics Inc., a Lake Mary, Fla.-based company that builds and installs the machines for 10 airlines. His company expects to install 1,500 of them in 2003, up 50 percent from last year.

Still, kiosks have their drawbacks. Passengers going overseas or checking more than two bags are generally out of luck, doomed to wait in line to see a ticket agent. And because the kiosks have become so prevalent, real, live people behind ticket counters are fewer and farther between, meaning passengers could have a long wait to see one, the article pointed out.

Research firm Forrester Research estimates more than 3,000 check-in kiosks are in use nationally. Spokesmen for four airlines -- US Airways, United, Delta, and American -- said they've installed more kiosks in 2003 than any other year. Southwest Airlines has installed 428 terminals this year and plans to add 100 more in 2004.

Passengers who use the machines say the biggest advantage is time saved. Delta spokeswoman Katie Connell said it takes users of that airline's machines less than two minutes to check in at a kiosk on average, compared with an average of 10 minutes to check in with a human being.