Delta, Northwest Airlines, and Vancouver Airport: The Business Value of Customer

Introduction Delta Airlines, along with many of its major competitors within the airline industry, have been utilizing self-service kiosks as a means to reduce, if not eliminate, the long lines at airport ticket counters. These kiosks offer business and leisure travelers the opportunity to print out a boarding pass, get a baggage ticket, or simply check the status of a flight on their own terms. To help Delta implement this initiative, Kinetics, USA, was hired to provide the company with self-service kiosks. Kinetics is the world 's leading provider of innovative, self-service technology. Trends seem to indicate that airline travelers are more inclined to use a kiosk if they can reduce the time spent getting their boarding pass and making seating arrangements. Airports on average, are reporting that approximately 70% of all airline travelers are incorporating check-in transactions performed through one of the available convenient self-service options. Kiosks have been shown to shave 5 to15 minutes off of standing in line. This shortened waiting time provides passengers with more time to arrive at the terminal gate, and allows them to get through security checkpoints without the concern of missing a flight. Vancouver International Airport has expanded the use of self-service kiosks, particularly "common-use" kiosks. The latter refer to kiosks where a passenger can retrieve information from any flight, not just the flight or airline that he or she happens to be on. In that regard, the airport has witnessed a tremendous departure from traditional airline travel norms. This "common-use" system was developed by IBM and Arinc Inc., a Maryland-based company known for its communication and engineering expertise. This technology has lowered operating costs by reducing the need for additional ticket counter employees. New kiosks have been expanded into surrounding airport parking lots and hotels; which cater specifically to the travelers. Cruise ships will soon

References: • www.kineticsusa.com • www.usairways.com/travel/webcheckin • www.ibm.com/industries/travel/doc/content/solution/184451306.html • www.flightinternational.com/articles/article.aspx • Kiosk Magazine, September/October 2004 issue