At Oulu airport, the machines are in use for Finnair flights. Bag drop machines will be introduced at Turku Airport in near future.
The machines will allow the passengers to check-in their luggage according to their own schedule. A passenger using self-service may come to the airport well in advance of the flight, since they can check-in their luggage to be carried in the cargo hold earlier than before.
Manned check-in desks are often opened only two hours before the scheduled departure. Consequently, machines will make check-in more flexible.
According to an airline survey, the time used at the machine is only half of that used at the service desk. The new machines at Helsinki Airport will increase the capacity further and ease peak hour congestion.
Personal service will continue even while automation increases. New technology will release staff to serve customers in special situations and provide help to those who need or wish for personal assistance.
On the other hand, customers used to self-service can speed up their travelling. This will make it possible to improve the customer experience of all passengers and shorten the queueing times.
“Technology is new and requires a bit of getting used to at first,” says Eero Knuutila, service development manager for Finavia.
However, he believes that once the passengers have tired out the machine, they will notice how easy it is to use. The majority will then use self-service to check-in their luggage also the next time.
Soon you will be able to print the luggage tags at home
More benefits will be available once the number of people using self-service increases. In the near future, luggage tags printed at home will increase the number of bag drop machine users further.
“We are following the usage rate and measure how much the machines speed up travel times. Based on the results, we will make decisions regarding 2016,” says Knuutila.
More bag drop machines will be installed after summer. Before this, airline employees will be trained, so that they know how to advise and guide the passengers.