I’m not going to write about Ryanair, because everyone else has in the last few weeks. However, if airlines are going to get rid of check-in desks, why do they not get rid of check-in altogether? Check-in online is effectively a waste of time; it doesn’t guarantee you are going to show up at the airport. It is surely only a matter of time before airlines move to a paperless system.
Currently, for those who travel frequently, check-in online is just another thing to remember to do, which can be severely hampered by a faulty printer (speaking from experience).
In the future, the logical progression would seem to be:
- Effectively check-in when you book online. This cuts out a step for the passenger and means those who book first get the best choice of seats (for airlines that offer that choice)
- If you are travelling with the airline for the first time, you are issued with a coded card and corresponding tags for your luggage
- Your card then acts as your boarding pass and is swiped by passport control
- When you arrive at the departure lounge, your card is swiped again
- You can load your swipe card with as much personal information as you want. This way if your luggage goes missing you can automatically be texted, etc. rather than having to continuously phone the airport
- You can use your card to pay for drinks, etc. on the plane which then gets taken off your account with the airline.
- You can load where you are staying into your card (optional) which can then be loaded with special offers relevant to where your locality, thus financing the cards
All the technology is there for the above to happen and it would make travelling easier and more efficient for airlines. It makes overbooking flights more tricky, but there could be ways around this. Does anybody have any better ideas?
