Smartphones to Make Airport Check-in Desks Obsolete, Study Says
Airport check-in will become the exception rather than the rule within 10 years as terminals and airlines boost connectivity with smartphones, a study from reservation-systems provider Amadeus IT Holding SA (AMS) suggests.
The report, titled “From Chaos to Collaboration,” also says airlines will develop “intelligent” tickets that update people on delays and tags that track individual bags around the world. Computer-game and “augmented-reality” technology could be used to enhance airport transit, and terminal shops will tap digital spending records to help lure transiting passengers, it says.
“We’re just starting to realize -- the industry is starting to realize -- the impact the mobile will have,” Denis Lacroix, Amadeus’s vice-president for product development, said in the report. “The fact that literally everyone within three to five years will have the rough equivalent of an iPhone or lightweight smart device will profoundly change the way a trip takes place.”
Airlines are already using wireless links to streamline travel. EasyJet Plc, Europe’s second-biggest discount airline, last month introduced a smartphone application allowing clients to search and book flights on their handsets, as well as check their flight’s status.
In August, British Airways issued Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPad tablet computers to its crews loaded with information on frequent flyers with the aim of providing a bespoke in-flight service.
Personal Chips
Security concerns are likely to restrict the use of wireless applications at border crossings, the report says.
“If you talk to a technologist they will tell you it’s perfectly possible to have a chip in your arm, or use facial recognition technology and walk on to a plane or a vehicle without checking in,” Tim Jones, a technology consultant, said in the report. “But it seems as if the regulators or border- control staff are intent on adding extra layers of security, rather than removing them.”
The report, compiled for Amadeus by The Futures Company, drew on a survey last July of passengers in seven nations including the U.S., China, Brazil and the U.K., and interviews with technology- and travel-industry experts.
To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Rothwell in London at srothwell@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net
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