EasyJet attempts to kill off the airport queue with handheld devices
Monday, August 24, 2009 @ 12:00 PM
EasyJet hopes to introduce mobile check-in using handheld devices to reduce queueing at airports.
The budget carrier wants to replace check-in desks with devices that process passenger details and print boarding passes. Queueing at departure gates could also be eliminated, with mobile scanning of boarding passes.
EasyJet is to conduct trials of the system, which The Times understands is called Project Halo, with a view to introducing it from October. The airline will give details to an industry conference in Las Vegas next month in a presentation entitled “EasyJet to Kill off Check-in Desks”.
However, the airline distanced itself yesterday from the notion that it would abandon check-in desks altogether. There was uproar two weeks ago when Ryanair passengers were stranded at Stansted airport because of insufficient check-in desks and, despite the debacle,
Ryanair, easyJet’s great rival, is pressing ahead with plans to remove all its check-in desks in October and require passengers to check-in online instead. Passengers who do not check in online will face a heavy charge to do so at the airport.
According to conference documentation, easyJet will test online check-in as part of a trial at a UK airport this year. Nevertheless, in a statement it said that there would always be a need for desks to process passengers and that it had no plans to charge for check-in at airports.
Airlines are trying to overhaul the check-in process because hiring counters from airport operators is expensive. With yields — the amount made on each ticket — falling because of weak demand, airlines are being forced to be even more aggressive in their cost-cutting.
Doug McVitie, managing director of Arran Aerospace, an aerospace consultancy, said: “Airlines just have to get costs out of the system and, if they can process more passengers with fewer staff using technology, that will lower their costs.
“But there can be a divergence between technology and its application. You still need a human factor and that is why Ryanair has gone too far with removing all its desks. There is little chance that will be adopted as standard among other carriers.”
More advanced check-in systems could allow carriers to generate additional revenue by offering other services. For example, an easyJet employee with a handheld device could approach families to sell the option of sitting together or speedy boarding.
A spokesman for the airline said: “EasyJet has always been a leading innovator in the aviation industry and is constantly looking at the use of the latest technology to further develop its operation and to make flying more pleasant for its customers.”
Source: The Times