The world airline industry yesterday committed itself to the introduction of a series of new technologies that could transform the passenger's experience of checking in and being processed through most airports.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which includes virtually all the world's full-service airlines, with 270 member-carriers in 139 countries, is aiming to have done away with paper tickets entirely within three-and-a-half years through the implementation of e-ticketing by the end of 2007.
It is also aiming to introduce a single industry standard for self-service check-in kiosks at airports on a scale that would rival ubiquitous multi-bank ATM cash dispensers that have been established in recent years.
The launch of bar-code technology to replace the magnetic strips on boarding passes will make it possible for passengers to print out their own boarding passes at home or in the office, having made their own seat selection. The aim is to cut queues at airports and to reduce airlines' check-in costs.
The vision being promoted by IATA to simplify the experience of air travel also includes the launch of radio frequency identification (RFID) baggage tags to improve the ease of baggage handling.
"The future is always knowing exactly where your bag is," said Giovanni Bisignani, the IATA director general.
A big airline may handle 70 million pieces of baggage a year, with half-a-million being mislaid. IATA claims that the use of RFID technology, which is being tested by some airlines including KLM of the Netherlands, will cut cases of lost baggage by 30-40 per cent. The technology is already being used for inventory tracking by some big supermarket groups.
The association claims e-ticketing alone will save the industry $3 billion a year. IATA processes 300 million paper tickets each year, at a cost of up to $10 each, compared with around $1 for an e-ticket.
Some regions, in particular north America, are already issuing a majority of bookings in the form of e-tickets.
"We will drive paper tickets out of the system, reduce airline costs and at the same time improve customer service," Mr Bisignani told the IATA annual meeting in Singapore. Consumers demanded convenience and value but were not willing to pay for the complexity that had been built into the global air transport system. Processes also had to be simplified to ensure commercial viability for the "struggling" aviation industry, he said. - (Financial Times Service)
