E-Checkin Eases New TSA Rule

Keen to minimize hassles for their best customers, airlines are scrambling to expand technology-enabled options that provide advance boarding passes in light of the federal government's recently announced procedural changes at the airport.

As part of its effort to eliminate the secondary screening process of random "selectees" at boarding gates and keep all additional screening restricted to the security checkpoints, the Transportation Security Administration by spring is expected to require travelers in all U.S. airports to obtain a boarding pass before approaching the main security lines—even if they are not checking bags.

In addition to expanding self-service kiosks and high-status checkin counters, the Big Six airlines all either recently rolled out an online checkin product or are seeking to have one up and running shortly. Continental and United airlines remain the only two of the six working on a product, and Continental expects a mid-February launch for domestic checkin. United is "evaluating different technologies," said a spokesperson. American Airlines and US Airways last month joined Delta and Northwest airlines in offering the new online option. "This is a product that was under development for some time," said a US Airways spokesperson. Like AA's product, however, Delta only permits loyalty program members to use it.

Most Internet systems allow only domestic checkin, though Northwest's product—launched in October—works for destinations in Asia, Europe (except Amsterdam), Mexico and Canada. Northwest also offers the widest window of checkin time, up to 30 hours ahead. Continental's anticipated product will provide a 12-hour window, matching AA's. The five airlines with an existing or defined product said travelers can check in for their return flight at the same time, as long as it falls within the same window of time.

"We have publicized the use of Internet checkin, but I don't know the usage," said Harriet Washburn, vice president of corporate travel at Chicago-based Aon Corp., who echoed several other buyers in saying airport kiosks are very popular with frequent travelers. "The bulk of our travelers use the kiosks. They're marvelous—they should have been invented 20 years ago. Very few of those with status even choose the priority lines over the kiosks."

All majors reported an unwavering increase in kiosk usage. Among e-ticket holders in November, Continental reported 78 percent used a kiosk—about 60 percent of all travelers. United, which in 2001 scaled back its original rollout plans, said it will add 300 units at 30 more stations this year. Most of the kiosks require any credit card for identification, though Continental and Northwest passengers also can use a driver's license if it has a magnetic strip. Continental in the next few months plans to join Northwest in enabling international checkin at self-service kiosks. Northwest passengers can use kiosks for international return trips only from Canada to the United States.

"There is some confusion over how people deal with checked baggage," said John Strayer, corporate travel vice president of Philadelphia-based CDI Corp., who nevertheless estimated that about 60 percent of company travelers travel without checked luggage.

American, Delta and US Airways travelers can check baggage at all of their kiosks with the assistance of an agent; Continental, Northwest and United said the same of some checkin-area kiosks.

To drive up kiosk usage, airlines are employing agents to introduce e-ticket holders to the kiosks. This encouragement also can take the form of kiosk placement: For instance, in United and Continental hub airports, passengers in a traditional queue approach a checkin counter that has two built-in kiosks per agent. United's and Delta's Web sites include a demonstration, and United's kiosks are connected to a phone for agent assistance.

"When United rolled out kiosks at Dulles, they had an agent standing at the machine to help you through," said Karen VanBuskirk, senior principal at American Management Systems in Alexandria, Va. "That's helpful. The world is moving in the direction of technology solutions for all transactions that can be accomplished that way—we all just have to get on the bandwagon."

While it might seem difficult for airlines to get their checkin agents to help travelers with a system that could theoretically put them out of a job, Continental, for one, said that is not what is happening. "Once we introduced the kiosk in 1996, we've been able to serve more customers with the same number of employees," said a spokesperson. No airline said they planned to eliminate traditional priority lines for first class and elite status travelers, and New York-based Omnicom director of worldwide travel Tony Occhipinti noted that airlines still are "amenable to matching status" in the event of a change in preferred vendor.

Clearly, buyers play a significant role in communicating procedural changes to travelers.

"To me, communication is one of the key values we can bring to business travelers now," VanBuskirk said.

"Logan Airport was one of the first to adopt this policy," said Terry Sullo, manager of travel and meeting services at Akamai Technologies Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. "When we got the word, I surveyed our preferred airlines on their options for advance boarding passes, immediately e-mailed the information to travelers and posted it to the intranet."

Of course, the message does not always get through. "My experience has been that there will always be a number of people who disregard the mail you send, and they'll get to the gate and then go to the line and miss their flight," Strayer said. "Especially for hub airlines, the lines at peak times are a problem."

Buyers also sometimes encounter confusion among airlines, airports and government authorities. "What I've found is that TSA's statements can be different than what the airlines tell us," said Michael Hall, corporate travel manager for Johnson Controls in Milwaukee, Wis. "You have the need for standardization of rules, plus the quirks brought on by new technology, but these are just procedural things that need to be worked out. Personally, I've been impressed with TSA."

Following U.S. Department of Transportation undersecretary James Loy's comments last year that airports should concentrate security at specified checkpoints, TSA tested the elimination of gate-based screening in New York and California. The shift also eliminates the predictability of being tagged for additional screening since, in addition to screening travelers who have booked travel in suspect ways, roving groups of screeners now will select people at random for further screening at the checkpoints. Meanwhile, travelers should not expect that boarding passes printed at home enable them to get out of secondary screening. "We're sophisticated enough," said a TSA spokesperson. "No one is going to slip one by the goalie."

Denver International Airport, which last week began TSA's new screening procedure, reconfigured its checkpoints to create an extra lane for further scrutiny. To date, 84 airports are working under the revised policy. Participating major airports include Boston Logan for US Airways passengers only; Charlotte/Douglas; Detroit; Houston for all airlines except Southwest; Los Angeles for AA passengers only; Miami for AA and international passengers from Terminal A; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Newark for Continental passengers in Terminal C; New York JFK for JetBlue passengers; New York LaGuardia for Delta and Northwest passengers; Pittsburgh; Seattle; and Washington Dulles.