Delta Airlines

The use of new technology, such as internet e-check-in and self-service kiosks, allows the processing of a significant number of passengers to be decentralized from the airport itself. This allows a better use of airport staff resources and reduces bottlenecks while, more significantly, allowing more departing passengers to be processed. Frequent flyers and business flyers who tend to travel with little luggage and appreciate any time-saving measures are currently leading the way in self-service check-in use. The other functions of self service kiosks are the kiosks help customers shave 5 to 15 minutes off the time they have to stand in line. Passengers can use the kiosks to check in for their flights, get boarding passes for originating or connecting flights, select or change seats, request to stand by for an upgrade, check baggage, change flights, and initiate multiparty check-ins. Delta plans to add more than 400 kiosks and enhance functionality to include international check-in and fee collection. With this change, Delta will offer customers more than 800 kiosks in airports nationwide. Airports such as Northwest and Delta airlines are now finding that the self-service kiosk is a valuable tool in the reduction of queues. But while the kiosk technology has been around for some time, it has still taken the industry a lot of coaxing to make passengers comfortable with the technology. The self service kiosk technology includes networked special-purpose microcomputer terminals * Video touch screens * Built-in thermal printers * Magnetic-stripe card reader The TouchPort which is being manufactured by Kinetics USA provides the best of the available technology system for the implementation of the Self service kiosk. The system consists of: * Intel ® P4 Processor 2. 8 GHz * 15† Touch Screen Display (Optional 17† Touch Screen Display Available) * 8† Wide-format Thermal Printer * Magnetic â€Å"Dip† Style Card Reader * Built-in System Support * Snap & Go Installation * Ease of Serviceability * System Reliability * The system is completely customizable and can be modified to include a large number of features as per the requirements of the buyers. Moreover, the system is easy to maintain is not very costly also. Ans2. -Delta customers will benefit from: –  · Broader reach and enhanced functionality – More than 400 enhanced kiosks will be available in 80 U. S. cities by the end of 2002.  · Quicker transaction times – Delta customers who use kiosks will receive a boarding card in less than one minute, on average.  · Dedicated customer service agents – Delta provides customer service agents dedicated to assisting customers with kiosk usage and baggage check. Self-service check-in kiosks are just one product in an array of technology enhancements provided by Delta to make travel easier for its customers. Delta offers the industry’s most extensive line of virtual check-in products available, including virtual check-in through delta. com, a toll-free telephone line, wireless Palm Powered handhelds and Web-enabled phones. Additionally, Gate Information Display Screens (GIDS) and Flight Information Display Screens (FIDS) are other technology products designed to save customers time, while keeping them informed. Delta Air Lines, the world’s second largest carrier in terms of passengers carried and the leading U. S. airline across the Atlantic, offers 5,590 flights each day to 410 destinations in 71 countries on Delta, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection carriers and Delta’s worldwide partners. Delta is a founding member of Sky Team, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Without the use of such information kiosks, the customers had to spend a lot of time waiting in the queue for checking-in the airport. Moreover, the customers who are frequent travelers and business class people who do not have much time get annoyed with such long waiting times. As a result, such a system would definitely help the travelers and a lot of customers would be delighted to use this system and it creates a lot of value for the company as well. Ans3. – These fully automated information kiosks provide a very high business value for the airline industry which is one of the most emerging fields because of the increasing globalization. Thus a large no of people keep travelling for business purposes to various countries. These corporate people do not like spending their precious time waiting in the queue to check-in to the airport. As a result, the implementation of such self service kiosks are always of a very high value for the airline industry as it helps them getting more customers. Yes, they do give an airline company a lot of competitive advantage. When an airline company implements such an information system, by which a customer can do all the things sitting at home and has to just walk in to the airport half an hour before his flight would surely give that company a competitive advantage over the others who are not implementing. Because the customers of those airline companies have to spend a lot of time after coming to the airport when the other company lets them do everything at their convenience. Traveling for business or pleasure isn't what it used to be. In order to develop and maintain brand loyalty while streamlining operations in an increasingly competitive global market, airports, air carriers and hoteliers have been challenged to transform their business processes and integrate new forms of customer-facing technology. Self-service technology has played an important role in this industry transformation. Today, travelers can manage air, hotel, train, and rental car reservations and check-in using kiosk, web or mobile applications. Increasingly, these applications support preferences ranging from dietary restrictions to airplane seating to hotel room/bed types and much more. In addition, travelers can use self-service kiosks while at an airport, hotel or off-site location, bypassing long queues. While selfservice travel kiosks have the potential to improve the traveler experience by making traveling easier, quicker and more enjoyable, some travelers may experience barriers when trying to use them. Self-service kiosks often utilize touch-screens which can be difficult if not impossible for persons to use if they are blind or have low vision or mobility impairments as a result of age or disability. Providers of self-service travel kiosks are increasingly interested in removing such barriers in order to: †¢ Continuously improve the traveler experience and differentiate themselves. †¢ Build brand loyalty in an increasingly competitive global market †¢ Capture market share for the growing segment of travelers with disabilities, whose annual business and leisure.