Brussels Boosts Airport Kiosks
Brussels Airport in mid-August debuted its first three common-use self-service checkin kiosks in its departure hall, making it one of the first airports in Europe to offer the new checkin technology to its passengers.
The airport's common self-checkin kiosks, which, until recently, were linked to only one airline, enable airlines to trim costs, while offering their passengers a quick and user-friendly checkin. The multi-airline kiosks read passengers' air tickets, mileage cards or credit cards and check them in, allowing travelers to choose their seats and print boarding passes. Passengers with checkin baggage also may use the kiosks, as long as their respective airlines provide this service.
SN Brussels Airlines is Brussels airport operator Brussels International Airport Co.'s launch partner in the kiosk project. In the coming months, passengers of other airlines also will be able to use the kiosks. As more airline companies begin to use the technology, additional kiosks will be placed at different places in the departure hall to satisfy passenger demand.
The airport in August also reported some more sobering news, as passenger traffic figures for the first seven months of 2004 rose less than 3 percent, compared with the same period last year, to 8.9 million. Compared with last year's monthly figures, the number of flights this July increased by 2.7 percent, to 1.69 million, but dropped 25 percent since the record year of 2000.
BIAC in May, while announcing its 2003 full-year results, said it achieved "top-line growth and improved profitability, showing that the cost cutting and recovery measures" it took after the terrorist attacks of 2001 have "paid off." However, BIAC added that the "achieved profitability remains below the standards of the airport industry."
BIAC, though, is "delighted at the progress that was made in the area of service quality," officials said. According to International Air Transport Association surveys, Brussels ranks third in passenger satisfaction among European airports, after Copenhagen and Athens, after ranking 10th in 2002 and 14th in 2001. Brussels also now is the third-most punctual airport in Europe, preceded by Copenhagen and Helsinki.