Extending Self-Service

The focus of this article is the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Simplifying the Business Program, which serves as the foundation for offering a plethora of self-service options to air passengers. Passenger expectations for airlines providing full service options have grown along with the supporting technology. Consequently, airports and airlines worldwide now offer everything from Internet booking and seat selection to passenger modification of reservations and self-service kiosks for check-in. In fact, during the 2005-2008 period, self check-in kiosks, for example, have increased from 10 airports to 85. According to the 2008 IATA Corporate Air Travel Survey, passengers want to see even more technological advances in self-service options. The worldwide survey of 10,000 active revealed that e-tickets are preferred to paper tickets (by 89% of respondents); most travelers (56%) have used Internet check-in, while the majority (69%) has used self-service airport kiosks. In response to the possibility of having even more choice in self-service options, 54% of travelers favored the idea. On a regional basis, Africa and the Middle East (at 64%) were the most favorably accepting of greater self-service options, followed by North and South America (57%), Europe (53%), and Asia Pacific (51%). IATA, through its programs, is working on improving the global travel experience as it sets standards for technology and processes. Current IATA strategies involve bring about 100% electronic ticketing by the end of May 2008, along with deploying common use kiosks that allow passengers to use the same kiosk to check-in at multiple airlines. Other IATA initiatives include: 1) promoting wider adoption of the bar coded boarding pass for Web-enabled check in and 2) making greater aviation use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). IATA is also working to leverage industry-wide self-service through its Fast Travel program. Working with the airlines, IATA is establishing common processes and standards that will bring harmonization, along with a range of passenger-driven options, to the self-service experience. Goals for Fast Travel include expanding options in self-service check-in, passenger-conducted baggage processing, documentation checks, irregular operations recovery, and boarding/post-flight. IATA sees the cooperation of airlines and airports in expanding self-service offerings as a win/win situation for all involved.