Lufthansa’s newly upgraded RFID-capable check-in terminals, which enable customers to check-in with a machine-readable passport or ID card Europe-wide is one example of the trend towards moving the self-service boundaries forward.
The carrier is maintaining its strategy to offer streamlined methods of check-in, while at the same time recognizing its broad customer base, explained Aage Dünhaupt, Lufthansa’s director of international communications.

Ryanair is phasing out the use of airport check-in desks from its 146 airports by 1 October. Passengers will have to use online check-in and bag drop only.

According to Dünhaupt, while the carrier has played an integral role in developing self-service innovations, the need to have a dedicated check-in desk is still important for network carriers. “We are the first airline in Europe to offer a ticket buying function and check-in combined through our own mobile web portal. On the one hand we are looking at bringing the complexity down for passengers who want to check-in quickly by using our mobile portal and for the other passengers, we are still offering a dedicated area,” said Dünhaupt.

At many airports, Lufthansa enables first or business class passengers to check-in at a separate priority check-in counter. At the same time, the airline agent is being increasingly seen at the front of the terminal, rather than behind a desk. “We still have agents next to our new self-service kiosks to provide passenger assistance, saving the waiting line at a normal check-in counter,” said Dünhaupt.

Cost saving potential

While the business models of network and low-cost carriers can be easily distinguished, their check-in strategies are converging where self-service technologies can offer passengers a faster means of checking-in compared with a manned agent. Jamie Cassidy, British Airways’ general manager, product management, said: “While people use the kiosk as a traditional check-in desk, low-cost and legacy carriers will have a similar check-in strategy but for different reasons. Ryanair are selling on price whereas legacy airlines are selling on service and added value. For British Airways, at check-in it’s more about getting people through a process as quickly as possible. At London Heathrow Terminal 5 we have a target of 80% self-service check-in, with check-in desks in the old format for first class passengers and check-in desks where self-service does not work and where ticket intervention is needed.”

Ryanair is phasing out the use of airport check-in desks from its 146 airports by 1 October. Passengers will have to use online check-in and bag drop only.

Dünhaupt added: “Everyone is under pressure to reduce the costs in the whole process of getting from A to B – the ground product needs to be more efficient but at a reduced cost – there is still potential to do that on the ground.”

Inevitably, the cost saving potential is far greater for airlines encouraging passengers to check-in themselves – either from home, or at a self-service kiosk. It is a further sign that the industry will continue the trend in response to passenger demand for a breeze-through experience. “You can reduce check-in activity for passengers who still want to fly without hand luggage. Some want everything on their mobile – for them it’s more important to have the fast access,” said Dünhaupt.

BMI passengers are able to check-in using their mobiles across some domestic routes, rather than at the kiosk.

Self-service check-in via an airport kiosk has been one way to speed up passenger flow and travellers are now well acquainted with checking-in using touch screen technology. But as John Vinelli, IT manager, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, explained, leisure and business travellers today aren’t all following the same suit when it comes to managing their own check-in. “Airports are struggling with what the airport process actually means nowadays, especially if you don’t check in a bag. I believe that as time goes on a larger number of people will be checking in at home, but the kiosk does have a benefit for people who don’t normally check-in. Airlines seem to be pushing away from dedicated check-in and towards self-service,” he said.

As mobile technology develops as a self-service option, Vinelli believes the airport kiosk could also adapt to provide an enhanced service in future. “Ideas have been suggested where you can get information from your car hire company or hotel check-in at the airport kiosk. If you can reduce the number of kiosks and increase the functionality to give them multiple functions, that makes sense,” he said.

Cost benefits of web over kiosk

Technology is developing so that in the future, customers will be able to tag their own bags using a kiosk.

Doug Godard, WestJet’s senior manager of Design and Strategy – guest services, explained that the airline has seen an annual increase in its internet check-in option – perhaps a sign that the kiosk is losing appeal. In fact, more passengers are now choosing to use the web than the airline’s kiosk facilities – a trend that is saving the airline money. “From an airline perspective, the web is definitely the preferred method due to its low development costs, ease of deploying new product features and operating costs,” said Godard.

As mobile solutions become available to more passengers with the right phone capabilities, customers are not going to be as dependent on the kiosk as they once were – at least during their initial arrival at the airport. “Mobile check-in with WestJet is still relatively small, but with the rapid technological improvements and acceptance among the various stakeholders, we feel it will grow in popularity over the coming years,” said Godard.

Kiosks still have an edge by enabling agents to provide a personal service while checking-in.

But while e-ticketing and mobile boarding passes are the domain of the computer and mobile phone, it’s predicted that the kiosk will play a fundamental role in other key areas of the check-in process. “Self tagging baggage is one product change that we are actively pursuing with our kiosk application and with good results,” said Godard.

IATA’s Fast Travel Initiative, which is developing ways in which passengers can check-in using a variety of CUSS options, wants to ensure that the kiosk achieves its full potential. Paul Behan, project manager, said: “I think the airport kiosk will become far more important. What we want to see in future is the ‘bags ready to go’ project – the idea that you can process the bag yourself at the kiosk. It can read the passenger’s boarding pass, which would have already been printed at home, as well as printing your bag tag for you to take to the agent to be weighed.”

Similarly, Real Time Engineering, which has been investing in the next generation of mobile boarding passes, believes the kiosk will dominate when it comes to passengers with luggage. According to Alaistair Deacon, technical director, the hold baggage passenger still has to do some form of check-in through a kiosk, during the bag drop process. “Where I do see a changing role in the kiosk, I predict it will continue its role with passengers with hold baggage and will move to passengers doing self tagging. The kiosk may decline but it will play a key role in the final function in the tagging and dropping off,” said Deacon.

Real Time Engineering is currently running the ‘first pass’ programme in conjunction with BMI across several of its domestic routes. Instead of printing documents online, customers can choose to have the ‘paperless boarding process’, where a bar code is sent as a picture message, ready for scanning at the security gate. Its success has prompted a further roll out to other BMI routes over the next year.

While experts are pushing ahead with mobile and web technology, check-in without the airport kiosk is an unlikely scenario, said Deacon. “The kiosk’s role is not just about being a check-in machine – it’s no longer the first port of call but will be an integrated point for all aspects of booking. The physical things you can’t do on the internet – that’s where the kiosk comes in.”

A kiosk that performs the same role as an agent during the bag drop process could be introduced.

Continental Airlines currently uses some of the latest in self-service kiosk technology. It was the first carrier to launch the baggage service kiosk – used if a customer’s bag doesn’t arrive. Jared Miller, Continental’s director of customer self-service, explained that self-service kiosks play a crucial role to the airline now and will continue to do so in the future. “The self-service platforms are a really big component to our customer service experience and we are continuing to invest in those platforms,” said Miller. “The motivation for kiosks is that while we’re always conscious of costs, our primary focus is to improve customer service and the kiosk puts more control in the hands of the customer. I think kiosks are playing more of a different role. Most people have already checked in when they get to the airport but they will still use a kiosk for other functions, such as dropping bags and adding frequent flyer points. The kiosk here is a value added feature that will improve their experience.”

The latest kiosks to be installed at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 are a strong sign that the kiosk is here to stay.

Kiosk versus airline agent

The premise behind self-service kiosks – to ease some of the stress of the airport experience and avoid lengthy queues at check-in desks, has also transformed the way airport staff interact with passengers, explained Miller. “Whether it’s the baggage areas, or behind security or the check-in counter, the role of the agent has changed as well. They have a critical role in assisting the customer by getting in front of the check-in counter, to help the customer in a more engaging manner,” he said.

As explained by the experts, CUSS kiosks look set to form part of an integrated check-in experience, which may begin with mobile check-in and then result in some interaction with the kiosk, depending on passenger’s needs.

The Challenge

Travelling for business or pleasure isn’t what it used to be. In order to develop and maintain brand loyalty while streamlining operations in an increasingly competitive global market, travel and transportation companies are challenged to transform their business processes and integrate new forms of customer-facing technology. Self-service kiosks have played an important role in this transformation.

However, while self-service kiosks have the potential to improve the traveller experience by making travelling easier, quicker and more enjoyable, some travellers who have physical disabilities may experience barriers when trying to use them:

• Touchscreens can be difficult if not impossible to use by travellers who have limited or no vision or dexterity
• Buttons, card readers, passport readers and other hardware controls may not be discernable by touch
• An alternative access method, such as audio, may not be available to travellers who have limited or no vision.

An accessible IBM T&T Self-Service Kiosk.

The Industry Opportunity

Accessible kiosks and self-contained, closed systems have already been employed successfully in other industries such as retail banking and government. Travel and transportation companies are increasingly interested in removing barriers to self-service kiosk accessibility so they can:

• Continuously improve the traveller experience and differentiate themselves
• Build brand loyalty in an increasingly competitive global market
• Capture market share for the growing segment of travellers with disabilities
• Comply with a variety of central or regional government accessibility regulations (e.g. Americans with Disabilities Act, Canadian Government Travel Policies, Australian Standards for Accessible Public Transport, UK Disability Discrimination Act, California Civil Code 54.9, etc).

The Market Demand

Active seniors and technologically empowered people with disabilities represent significantly expanding market segments in travel and transportation; their sheer numbers and collective levels of disposable income make them hard to ignore.

For example, some 420 million people across the planet are 65 or older, and their numbers are expected to increase dramatically over the next two decades. In particular, baby boomers entering retirement represent a huge opportunity, since older populations travel more than any other age group, registering some 260 million trips a year. According to one recent industry report, active seniors are one of four major customer segments forecast to have a substantial effect on the airline industry during the next 15 years.

In addition, the worldwide population of nearly 500 million people with disabilities is notable not just for their use of technology in personal and professional settings, but for their sizable spending levels. According to one study, travellers with disabilities spend in excess of $13 billion annually on business and leisure travel. Another study by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration reports that nearly three out of four people with some form of disability use the internet at home and at work. Such a high technology adoption rate indicates that people with disabilities are becoming more adept at using the assistive technologies (e.g. speech input/output, specialised keyboards, etc.) that help them access the internet and computer technology in general.

Meeting the Demand

So how should travel and transportation companies address accessibility in a way that helps them meet the needs of these market segments while making a positive impact on their bottom line?

Firstly, travel and transportation businesses should stay up to date about accessibility laws, regulations, and guidelines in the regions where they operate. Many jurisdictions may require provision of additional or alternative functionality that makes their facilities or services, including self-service kiosks, more accessible to persons with disabilities.

Secondly, travel and transportation businesses should adopt self-service kiosk accessibility best practices to capitalise on market opportunity. While global accessibility standards for travel and transportation industry self-service kiosks have yet to be defined, references such as the IBM Hardware Self-Contained, Closed Product Accessibility Checklist offer useful best practices that can help travel and transportation companies stay ahead of the curve.

Example Solutions

While accessible self-service kiosks are somewhat new in the travel and transportation industry, there are important precedents and examples of successful implementations in multiple industries.

For example, accessibility features are now often standard in automated banking machines (ABMs). Most ABMs now offer audio guidance when the customer plugs a headphone into a headset jack. By following the audio cues and finding the correct buttons via Braille labels on the machine, a customer can conduct transactions as easily as someone without a disability.

The U.S. Postal Service’s Automated Postal Center incorporates the Trace Center’s EZAccess techniques for accessibility. These features, including audio prompts and a special keypad, make it easier for customers who have limited or no vision, physical limitations, and cognitive impairments, to use the system without assistance.

The award-winning Automated Postal Center has helped the U.S. Postal Service generate revenue, improve operational efficiency, and support its key strategy to “Enhance Access and Ease of Use.”

In the travel industry, solutions are now available and being deployed in the market. For example, many subway/train fare card and ticketing kiosks provide audio-based guidance on buying fare cards or tickets.

The Accessible IBM T&T Self-Service Kiosk is an industry-leading solution that integrates several accessibility features into IBM’s market-leading self-service hardware and software applications:

• A headset jack with volume control
• Tactilely discernable hardware controls
• Speech output and layered audio help
• On-screen highlighting
• Specialised keypad or keyboard options that are operable by those with limited dexterity.

This innovative solution debuted in the Guestroom 2010 Exhibit at HITEC 2007, and was also demonstrated at Check-In ‘07. In March 2008, it was demonstrated at the 23rd Annual International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities at California State University-Northridge, where many attendees commented on how useful the solution would be in helping them independently check-in at hotels and airports.

While currently there are no travel industry standards for accessible kiosk design, market demand is increasing for self-service kiosks that can easily be used by seniors and people with disabilities. Travel and transportation companies should seriously consider how implementation of accessible self-service kiosks might help them meet or exceed key business goals related to competitive differentiation, brand loyalty and market share.