Airports plan more tech to shorten waits
But passengers will have to do more of the work themselves as check-in kiosks and bag drops proliferate.
With forecasts predicting that airline travel worldwide will grow steadily over the next 20 years, airports are turning to technology to try to ease the inevitable human crush that could lead to long wait times and frustrated passengers.
But to shorten those queues, airports plan to ask travelers to do some extra work. Nearly 70% of airport operators worldwide who were surveyed said they plan to increase their technology budget, with a big chunk of that spending going toward devices that let fliers check in, drop off their own luggage and board without dealing with a human, according to SITA, the multinational technology firm that conducted a survey of 180 airport executives.
“The future of air travel is moving towards the passengers’ desire to be more selfsufficient and informed,” said Edward W. Bauer, SITA’s senior director of airports, North America.
Today, 88% of airports have kiosks that let travelers check in without waiting to talk to an airline employee, and 95% of airports expect to have such kiosks in the next three years, the survey found.
More than half of airports now offer a place where passengers can drop off their luggage with some staff assistance, SITA said. By 2021, 78% of airports plan to have unassisted bag drop-off locations.
Other spending will go to technology that will alert travelers through smartphones or airport displays about the wait times before boarding, the survey found. Now, 42% of airports have wait-time monitoring technology, up from 31% in 2017.
Technology to let fliers board a flight without checking with an airline employee has yet to take off in many airports but may become more common as more airports invest in ways to identify passengers using biometrics, such as fingerprints, facial recognition and retinal scans, the survey said.
Airports have reason to focus on future wait times. Nearly 8 billion passengers are expected to fly in 2036, almost double the number who flew last year, according to a forecast by the International Air Transport Assn., a trade group for the world’s airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines raises bag fees
Hawaiian Airlines has become the latest U.S.based carrier to raise its checked bag fee, an increase that industry experts say is an effort to compensate for rising fuel and labor costs.
The Honolulu-based carrier on Tuesday began charging passengers $30 for the first checked bag and $40 for the second, up from $25 and $35. The move follows similar increases since August by JetBlue, Alaska, United, Delta and American Airlines.
At Hawaiian Airlines, the higher fee applies to flights between the U.S. mainland and the Hawaiian islands but does not apply to flights between the islands. Passengers on international flights operated by Hawaiian Airlines can check two bags at no charge.
The nation’s 23 largest carriers reported a combined profit of $15.5 billion last year, including $4.6 billion from baggage fees, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Airlines for America, a trade group that represents the largest carriers, released an analysis this month showing that fuel costs for the first nine months of the year rose 34% compared with the same period in 2017, while labor costs grew 6%.
As a result, the trade group says, the combined pretax profit margin for the airline industry dropped from 12.1% to 8.2% in that same period.
Delta uniforms, seats f ind new life
Six months ago, Delta Air Lines employees began to strut around planes and airports across the world wearing new uniforms created by fashion designer Zac Posen.
But the old uniforms worn by the more than 86,000 employees of the Atlanta-based carriers weren’t dumped into a landfill. They have been turned into backpacks, travel kits, passport covers and other products — an effort by the carrier to recycle and cut back on waste.
Delta reported Thursday that it donated more than 350,000 pounds of “retired textiles,” including the retired red dresses, navy suits and black trench coats that Delta crew members have worn since 2006, to be converted into new products. The airline also donated the leather from old airline seats to make wallets and messenger bags.
Delta partnered with Portland, Ore.-based Looptworks, which turns recycled or discarded material into new items. The sale of the products supports charitable groups in Portland and Atlanta. Retired uniforms that were still in good condition were donated to the Salvation Army.
A pillow made of an old Delta uniform sells for $35 while a tote bag made from uniforms and bomber jackets goes for $160. A messenger bag made from uniforms and seat materials sells for $180.
Delta describes the effort as the “largest single-company textile diversion program in U.S. history.”
But it isn’t the first by an airline. Southwest Airlines donated material from old seats to Looptworks in 2015 to turn into backpacks and duffel bags.