TrendAirport kiosks do more things, but they do not yet check luggage
There is trend toward installing more self-serving kiosk at U.S. airports – an have these kiosk do more; thousands of self-serve kiosks in the last few years so passengers can print boarding passes, confirm flights and change seats on the touch-screen computers; in the future, kiosks may let passengers buy a meal on the plane or volunteer to give up a seat if a flight is overbooked.
The growing army of self-serve kiosk computers at U.S. airports never sleeps, never complains, and works fast. Today the machines are being asked to do more than ever.
Los Angeles Times’s Hugo Martín writes that responding to the growing frustration with airport lines, America’s major airlines have added thousands of self-serve kiosks in the last few years so passengers can print boarding passes, confirm flights and change seats on the touch-screen computers.
At Los Angeles International Airport, the newest kiosks also print luggage tags, provide airport maps, and let passengers buy seat upgrades and make hotel reservations.
US Airways, Alaska Airlines, and other carriers have recently installed kiosks on the curb outside terminals so passengers can print boarding passes and bypass the crowds inside. Some of the computers are weather-resistant.
The most advanced airport kiosks can even let passengers get on a plane without ever printing a boarding pass, said Owen Wild, a vice president for NCR Corp., the largest manufacturer of airline kiosks. These new kiosks send a digital message to a passenger’s cellphone. The passenger can open an attachment to the phone message and let the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screener or airline attendant scan the bar code that appears on the screen.
Currently, airlines that use self-serve kiosks can serve an average of 55 passengers per hour per agent, compared with only 21 without the kiosks, according to industry studies.
In the future, kiosks may let passengers buy a meal on the plane or volunteer to give up a seat if a flight is overbooked, said Valerie Wunder, a spokeswoman for US Airways. “We are looking to enhance what the customer can do at the kiosk,” she said.
Martín writes that the trend has taken off. In 2003, NCR Corp. operated about 2,000 kiosks in 120 airports in North America. By 2005, the company had installed about 4,800 kiosks at 285 airports. Today NCR has more than 8,400 kiosks at more than 300 airports worldwide.
Airline representatives say they have not reduced the number of human attendants to make way for the kiosks. “Our goal is to make the process faster with the current staffing that we have and give passengers a little more freedom,” said Billy Sanez, an American Airlines spokesman.
One of the only things the kiosks can not do is check a bag. An airline agent must still stick a tag on the luggage and make sure it is under the airline’s weight limit.
Not everyone likes the new technology. Industry studies show that self-serve kiosks are increasingly popular with younger passengers who feel at ease using high-tech gadgets. Older travelers who are uncomfortable using computers and hand-held devices prefer to talk to humans. “For Grandma, who comes into town once a year, she wants someone to help her get through the gate,” said Jeff Butler, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of customer services.
