Star Alliance introduces new checkin concept at Tokyo Narita

STAR ALLIANCE has completed its rollout of a new check-in concept in the south wing of Tokyo Narita Airport Terminal 1, which it says reduces the space required by 20 per cent.

The layout of the check-in area at the terminal has changed with check-in desks now designated by airline rather than by travel class.

According to the alliance, the new layout complements the installation of new self check-in machines, which can issue boarding passes and print baggage tags.

There are a total of 116 self check-in kiosks, and these can be used by customers flying with any of the 17 Star Alliance member carriers operating out of Terminal 1.

Passengers with hand luggage can proceed directly to the gate after checking themselves in, while those with checked baggage can obtain tags from the kiosk before dropping them off at the bag-drop counters.

“Our initiative in Narita is part of our global strategy of reducing operational complexities and striving for standardisation with the aim of providing customers with a better travel experience,” says Mark Schwab, chief executive of Star Alliance.

“Initial statistics show that the majority of travellers are already making use of the new self-service option.”

Air India is a member of Star Alliance and flies four times a week between Tokyo and Delhi.

Flight AI307 takes off from Delhi at 2115 and lands in Tokyo at 0845 (Sunday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday). Return flight AI306 leaves from Tokyo at 1115 and lands in Delhi at 1700 (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday). Singapore Airlines has introduced mySQupgrade, an invitation-only service that allows economy-class customers to upgrade to premium economy.

An email will be sent to select customers seven days before their scheduled departure, inviting them to bid for an upgrade.

Minimum and maximum bidding amounts will be displayed on the page along with a “strength metre” that gives customers an indication of how likely they are to receive the upgrade.

Successful bidders can expect an email notification 48 hours before departure. Their credit cards will be charged accordingly, and they will receive a new flight itinerary detailing the upgrade.

Seat selection can be done by logging into the “Manage Booking” section on the airline’s website.

Those that wish to modify or cancel their bids may do so up to 50 hours prior to the departure of their flights. land in Mumbai at 2035.

Currently, a connecting flight takes off from Mangaluru at 0705, lands in and takes off from Bengaluru at 0755 and 0855 respectively. It reaches the final destination, Mumbai at 1040. This will change from August 7.

Connecting flight 9W2400 will take off from Mangaluru at 0815 and reach Bengaluru at 0920. After a two hours layover, it will finally land in Mumbai at 1300.

Flights from Mumbai to Mangaluru have been rescheduled/ cancelled as well.

Flight 9W435 that takes off from Mumbai at 2030 will be terminated from August 7. Jet Airways will fly two flights in its place that will take off from Mumbai at 1730 and 2100.

The connecting flight service via Bengaluru that takes off at 1600 will no longer fly from August 7. There will be no replacement for this service.