After being the first to introduce these self-service terminals twenty years ago, the airline is about to become the first to remove them.
The objective: to reduce the quantity of paper consumed and considerably reduce the time spent recording.
The reign of smartphones
This week, Alaska announced that it would be phasing out its check-in kiosks at some of the largest airports in the United States. These terminals, which allow passengers to print their boarding pass, check in their luggage and choose their seat, are, according to the company, outdated.
In fact, practices have changed. An innovation and merchandising manager at Alaska explains: Today, everyone uses their mobile phone. So we kind of say “goodbye to terminals and hello to smartphones” “.
Instead of using these, customers will be required to check in, choose a seat or upgrade before arriving at the airport. For baggage check-in, the company wishes to rely on brand new terminals dedicated solely to the printing of labels.
Get to the table faster with iPads
These are simpler and more ergonomic, and are controlled by iPads, as Alaska has also realized that most of its customers and employees already use Apple-branded devices. According to her, the new terminals already installed are currently working without any problems. They would even encourage 75% of passengers to get their boarding pass before going to the airport, while the old terminals are still available.
The company’s schedule is tight, as it plans to replace all of its check-in kiosks by the end of the year. In addition, it wants to install automatic baggage drop-off points from the spring of 2024. Already set up on a larger scale by some of its competitors at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska does not have any for the time none.
For the company, the objective is to allow passengers to reach the security checkpoint in less than five minutes, for ” allow you to stop at your favorite restaurant or have that precious drink before the journey “. Cost of the operation? $2.5 billion. But, the investment does not seem unreasonable, because one can easily see the future of civil aviation in it.
Source : TechCrunch
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