Samuel Ingalls, assistant director of aviation, Information Systems, Las Vegas McCarran: “Off-site check-in drives efficiencies – the more that we can decongest the airport, the more efficient it is. It represents a de facto expansion of the airport itself and it’s taking the airport to the passenger.”

Las Vegas McCarran International airport led the way for check-in at off-site airport locations three years ago and today uses RFID to track passengers’ bags from five remote locations: three hotels, a convention center and car rental facility. The US has long-established check-in practices from an off-airport location, where passengers have been open to paying a convenience fee to check-in, have their bags dropped off and their boarding passes hand-delivered – processes which fast-track them to the departure gate and avoid queues at the ticket counter. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fully regulates the transfer of bags from their point of origin, through to the screening process and loading onto the flight. “Off-site check-in drives efficiencies – the more that we can decongest the airport, the more efficient it is,” said Samuel Ingalls, assistant director of aviation, Information Systems, Las Vegas McCarran. “It represents a de facto expansion of the airport itself and it’s taking the airport to the passenger. Things have become so extended and virtualized that we are going beyond the airport boundaries. It also enhances our overall airport capacity, rather than having to expand our brick and mortar facilities.”

Leisure travelers who check-in remotely are inevitably helping airports with revenue gains on non-aeronauticals because they aren’t standing in a queue, said Ingalls. “If passengers are waiting to check-in, airports certainly are not gaining.”
Airlines signing up to the service across the US have grown markedly – including Continental, Delta, United and American Airlines, as well as low-cost airlines JetBlue and AirTran. Southwest will offer remote check-in from June.

American Airlines, which offers a remote ‘Advanced bag check’ service to 20 US airports, is growing to serve its customers from convention centers – a move that will further drive cost savings, explained Roy Braganza, senior manager of remote check-in, American Airlines. “We have essentially taken the skycap operation of curbside check-in and put it into a remote site. Taking the service to hotels started late last year and we have used our cruise ship model to check-in large volumes of people so that people in convention centers can now be checked-in. This doesn’t present any cost to the airline, unlike curbside check-in,” he said.

By allowing more passengers to utilize the service in remote areas, the airport’s traditional landside infrastructure will change, he said. “When you see you are handling 20% of bags remotely, the ticket counters will shrink. The airports see a benefit here – checking-in away from the airports is better.”

Orlando-based Bags (Baggage Airline Guest Services), provider of remote skycap services in the US, is looking to expand the scope of its service to cruise ships traveling to Europe. “We are in discussions with a number of European airlines, including SAS in Copenhagen and Virgin Atlantic,” said Craig Mateer, CEO, Bags.

International focus

Ingalls foresees the possibility of the remote check-in trend catching on in more localized areas. “I think it will continue to grow significantly. The traveler could go and have dinner and then check-in for their flight.”

“What we have done and allows us to be successful is to expand our infrastructure so there is a volume of passengers to serve. Our expectation is to grow in Europe at a minimum – to Copenhagen, Barcelona and London this year. We need to operate for multiple airlines for this service to work. My expectation is that we will move quickly in Europe – we have learned how to do this in the US,” said Mateer.

Braganza also discussed proposals for a remote check-in service at a New York train station, as well as London Heathrow airport and Barcelona, across hotels and cruise ships for American Airlines customers.

While technology has now made it possible to set up a remote check-in application anywhere with an internet connection, the cruise ship model is playing an important role in driving growth, enabling a remote check-in program to be added wherever the cruise ship travels to. Extending the reach of the airport to check-in points at the train stations is also being considered. Five Airport Express stations in Hong Kong already offer the service from a convenient in-town check-in desk.

Ingalls foresees the possibility of the remote check-in trend catching on in more localized areas. “I think it will continue to grow significantly. The traveler could go and have dinner and then check-in for their flight. There is a benefit to the host and of the check-in environment – people will spend more money on their property, so you can spread the benefits out.”

In the short-term, the reality will be a processing of larger passenger groups – supported by a hotel or convention facility that is hosting the off-site check-in location. As checking-in from remote locations continues to grow, airports will be looking to downsize and converting that space to be of some benefit to them, said Braganza.
Dave Tomber, manager, strategic facility planning, Seattle airport, concedes that as check-in practices are changing, remote check-in will not only ease congestion, but could help to drive new terminal configurations. “It may not be the case in future that we need to build two levels of the same footprint – of the arrivals hall and check-in desk. The arrivals hall could be the major identity for the terminal, so there will be a smaller footprint – perhaps from two levels to one,” he said. “Dispersing activity away from the airport is a challenge but also a great opportunity. If you can conduct part of the process away from the ticketing lobby, that is a better way to manage capacity.”

How do you establish an offsite check-in program?

Identify airports where your customer base needs a solution to ease the physical constraint of the airport experience. Congested lobby or ticket counters are a good indicator, but the introduction of the baggage to the screening process is essential to the success of the program. If you can process customers with more ease but you surge the bag flow with negative throughput does not equate to a successful service solution.

What are the costs of establishing such a program?

Minimum, if any, cost to the airline.

What are the real challenges to establishing an offsite check-in program?

In some markets, the off-site check-in program is based on seasonality of travel, which varies by location. Travel in the Las Vegas market tends to be steady year round, with minor demand reductions in the months of July and August due to a decrease in convention activity.

Travel in strong Cruise markets tends to be very seasonal. The significant variation in traffic is due to the repositioning of cruise vessels every year.
Other challenges include: distance from the off-site location to the airport; traffic congestion; and airline schedules.

What criteria must a location fulfill in order to be suitable for offsite check-in?

Ideally, offsite check-in is suited for locations with strong consumer appeal. The location must give the airlines participating in off-site check-in access to high volumes of customers concentrated in very strategic areas, like the Las Vegas Strip and the South Florida Ports. In addition, the location should be a focus city for the airline offering offsite services.

Can offsite check-in work in any location?

No, this service is only successful in markets where it makes sense for the customer and complements the operation and baggage process at the airport.

What regulatory approvals are needed and how are these secured?

The airlines and airports that participate in offsite check-in are regulated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Therefore, the protocols used in the offsite check-in program must comply with the security program the TSA has approved for both entities.

How prevalent is door-to-door pick-up of luggage at present and could it become the number one choice of passengers?

The door-to-door luggage pick-up service is provided by several companies. In many cases, these companies utilize the services of overnight delivery companies, like FEDEX, UPS, or DHL, to fulfil the service. Prices vary but are generally much higher than fees charged by some airlines (bags fly free on Southwest Airlines), and fees charged at off-site check-in locations. Therefore, this premium travel service does not appeal to the average traveler.

Ingalls: “One thing is certain regarding off-site check-in: The passenger reaction to the program, in its many different operating implementations around the world, has been phenomenally positive. The benefit to all parties of taking the airport to the passenger simply can’t be overstated!”

How do you establish an off-site check-in program?

This really varies, depending on the focus of the program in a particular geographic location. One thing is certain: one size doesn’t fit all situations and/or locations.

There are many parties to bring together on any off-site program. Airport, airline, security, location and vendor personnel must all be at the table when developing such a program.

There are generally several agreements by and between the various parties. While this can seem to be a challenging task, it is really a necessity.

What are the costs of establishing such a program?

The costs also vary depending on the factors in each respective program. There is no simplistic way to quantify the costs, given the number of potential variables.

With that said, the costs of developing an off-site program certainly pale in comparison to the potential savings and customer service benefits that stand to be realized by de facto extension of the airport to the customer.

What are the real challenges to establishing an off-site check-in program?

The biggest challenge can be getting the orchestra of different parties to all sing together in tune. There are many varied interests among the involved parties (and just as many different benefits that stand to accrue). One party needs to ensure that all move forward together, balancing all of the interests and agendas through to a positive conclusion.

Once up and running, awareness becomes a challenge. Making sure that potential users are aware of the availability of the service is critical to its ultimate success. There are usually many outlets for such awareness, such as in-flight magazines, website announcements, room announcements (hotel or cruise ship) and other
message outlets.

What criteria must a location fulfil in order to be suitable for off-site check-in?

The specific criteria necessary is dependant on the specific elements of a particular off-site check-in location. It will be different for a hotel location versus a convention location, versus a cruise ship location, versus a multi-modal transport station location, etc.

In general, the location should be VERY convenient to the target customers. It cannot be situated in a location that is far off the beaten path of those potential customers.

It should have adequate work room, including a secure storage area for checked luggage. It should also have adequate access to the baggage transport pickup. Adequate power and data, along with appropriate environmental conditioning round out the requirements.

Can off-site check-in work in any location?

I believe that it can indeed work in almost any major city, though probably with different driving factors for different locations. For example, what works in Las Vegas wouldn’t necessarily work in Chicago. However, I do believe that in any major city, there is some factor or set of factors that likely makes off-site processing of passengers an
attractive option.

What regulatory approvals are needed and how are these secured?

There are a series of regulatory hurdles to overcome in any location. In some cases, these requirements are location-specific.

Generally speaking, security will play the largest role, from a regulatory standpoint. Working closely with the appropriate security personnel from the very start is a must!

How prevalent is door-to-door pick-up of luggage at present and could it become the number one choice of passengers?

I don’t know how prevalent it will become, but it certainly could play an increasingly larger role. One thing is certain regarding off-site check-in: The passenger reaction to the program, in its many different operating implementations around the world, has been phenomenally positive. The benefit to all parties of taking the airport to the passenger simply can’t be overstated!