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Qantas Group, the Australian airline company, has begun a trial of new self-service kiosks that are four times faster than existing kiosks for customers on domestic flights, according to a press release.
The airline expects to have the kiosks, which are in trial in Terminal 3 at Sydney Airport, fully installed by early June and around 140 kiosks across all major domestic airports by September.
The kiosks will replace the existing units that customers use to check in and print baggage tags.
Travelers will check in online, use the kiosks to print bag tags, drop luggage at the auto bag drops and use a digital boarding pass to board the flight.
With more than three quarters of customers already checking in online and using digital boarding passes on their smartphone, the new kiosks will primarily be used for bag tag printing. Customers will also be able to use the kiosks to purchase additional bags.
The process to print a bag tag will take just 20 seconds on average.
Any customers who haven’t checked in prior to arriving at the airport will be able to use QR codes on the kiosks to check in online and receive a digital boarding pass. Customers will still have the option to be checked in by a customer service agent if needed.
Stephanie Tully, chief customer service officer, said the pandemic accelerated the shift towards digital services, with an almost 40% increase in the number of customers checking in online in just two years.