CPH leader in self-service check-in options
New figures from the international industry organisation IATA show that, of all the world's airports, Copenhagen Airport is the one with the largest number of airlines offering passengers the option of using self-service kiosks to check in. Starting 1 May, Cimber Sterling will also offer its customers this option at Copenhagen Airport, raising the number of airlines using the service to 29. That is more than twice as many as any other Nordic airport.
According to a new report from IATA (the International Air Transport Association), Copenhagen Airport is the airport with the largest number of airlines in the world offering kiosk check-in. This means that, also counting other self-service options such as checking in online or via mobile phone, as many as 58% of all passengers at Copenhagen Airport do their own checking in. The industry average is just below 40%.
“In addition to offering check-in on kiosks, we have taken steps to move the checking-in process to the home, allowing passengers to check in, choose their seat and print their boarding card at their leisure at home. A common feature of these initiatives is that they can halve the time passengers spend standing at a counter at the airport, and this benefits passengers, airlines and the airport,” said Susanne Frank, Passenger Manager at Copenhagen Airport.
New airlines offering self-service check-in
A total of 28 airlines at Copenhagen Airport offer one or more types of self-service check-in today, more than at any other Nordic airport. This number will rise to 29 on 1 May 2009, when Cimber Sterling customers will also be able to use the kiosks at the airport. Cimber Sterling will also be moving its check-in counters from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2.
“It's important for us to offer our customers this option of using the kiosks to check in. The main advantage is that passengers will then not have to wait in a check-in queue – there are enough queues anyhow. We want to do what we can to make travelling easier and faster for our customers,” said Cimber Sterling Vice President Jacob Krogsgaard, who added, “CPH is very innovative in this area and gives high priority to resources that can reduce waiting times at the airport. We really appreciate this, and I am sure our mutual customers do so as well.”
The Dutch airline KLM is one of the airlines that already offers check-in at the self-service kiosks at Copenhagen Airport. The airline is now expanding this service offer to include checking in via mobile phone, allowing passengers to check in while they are on their way to the airport.
Thorough analysis
In addition to promoting the various self-service options, CPH also expends resources on further optimising the processes in the terminals. For example, CPH looks at patterns of passenger arrival and the time different processes take, such as how long checking in using a kiosk and bagdrop takes compared with the traditional check-in process.
“Together with the high self-service rate, our analysis allows us to optimise the passenger flow in the terminals. This way, we can reduce the time passengers spend in queues and thus give them a better start to their journey,” said Frank.