LAS VEGAS--Airlines are laying the groundwork for the next big step in the increasingly automated airport experience: a trip from the curb to the plane without interacting with a single airline employee.
For years, travelers have been checking in online or at airport kiosks, and more recently, airlines have converted paper boarding passes into electronic ones. Now carriers are turning to technology that enables travelers to check their own bags and scan those boarding passes--but not always without snags.
At the airport of the near future, "your first interaction could be with a flight attendant," said Ben Minicucci, chief operating officer of Alaska Airlines, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc. ALK -0.52% The carrier has been at the forefront of self-service in the U.S., recently introducing self-tagging of baggage in Seattle and San Diego with eight more airports planned this year.
After testing the technology in Austin, Texas, AMR Corp.'s AAMRQ -0.43% American Airlines is rolling out kiosks that direct travelers to tag their own checked bags in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other major airports over the next two years. And last month in Las Vegas, JetBlue AirwaysCorp. JBLU -1.99% became the first U.S. airline to officially implement self-boarding gates, where fliers scan their own tickets to board the plane.
Airlines say the advanced technology will quicken the airport experience for seasoned travelers--shaving a minute or two from the checked-baggage process alone--while freeing airline employees to focus on fliers with questions. "It's more about throughput with the resources you have than getting rid of humans," said Andrew O'Connor, director of airport solutions at Geneva-based airline IT provider SITA.
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