Alaska Airlines removes kiosks to create a seamless airport experience
Alaska Airlines has set a target to get passengers through the lobby and to security in five minutes or less. How will this be achieved? Through leveraging the power of mobile tech. The airline explained “much like mobile technology widely used to access sporting events and concerts, your phone is all you need to fly through the lobby.”
Alaska Airlines is investing $2.5 billion in overall improvements to enhance the airport experience within their hubs and focus cities including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Anchorage.
Charu Jain, Alaska Airlines Senior Vice President of Innovation and Merchandising highlighted the rationale behind changing their the kiosk system:
As we thought about how to provide the most caring experience for our guests, it was clear the lobby was a pain point. We realised the majority of our guests were doing most of the kiosk actions on their own phones and we could reduce the congestion in our airports. Alaska was the first airline to introduce kiosks more than 20 years ago, and we’ll be the first airline to remove them.
The airline is pushing towards a re-imagined airport experience centred around mobile check-in. The processes is outlined as follows:
- Check-in and secure a boarding pass before coming to the airport.
- Tag your bag at a new bag tag station, paying for a tagging checked bags using iPad tablets.
- From Spring 2024, move to the self-service automated bag drop which scans your face, ID, and bags.
According to the press release, airports have already begun changing to the new tablets and guests are adapting—with 3 out of 4 guests arriving with a boarding pass in hand to airports with the new technology.
However, the airline will continue to make customer service agents available to passengers who require extra assistance.
For more on Alaska Airlines see:
- Alaska Airlines improves onboard efficiency through real-time data sync
- Alaska’s Electronic Bag Tags Set to Reduce Time Spent Checking Luggage by 40 Per Cent
- Alaska Airlines signs agreement with Shell looking to scale SAF production
Article by Jess Brownlow
