Over 100 common use self-service (CUSS) kiosks, along with 150 common use passenger processing system (CUPPS) workstations, will be operated at San Diego Airport using the SITA AirportConnect Open platform.

SITA’s passenger processing technology will underpin San Diego’s ‘Green Build’ project, which will enable growth from the current 17 million annual passengers to 33 million by 2030.

Over 100 common use self-service (CUSS) kiosks, along with 150 common use passenger processing system (CUPPS) workstations, will be operated using the SITA AirportConnect Open platform.

Thella F. Bowens, President/CEO, San Diego International Airport, said: “Our passengers will also enjoy improved flows through the airport and new services such as the new upper-level roadway “Smart Curb” for fast check-in and bag drop at curb side kiosks and check-in counters.

“Passengers can be confident that the development of the airport is being accomplished with a strong commitment to the environment.”

» Click here for more information.

Speakers from more than 20 organisations, including the likes of Malaysia Airports, AirAsia, Emirates, ANA, IATA, Star Alliance and Air France KLM, will address delegates at FTE Asia 2012.

Future Travel Experience Asia begins on February 8, but we are still being inundated with new registrations daily. Delivered in partnership with IATA, ACI Asia-Pacific and Malaysia Airports, through an outstanding conference, exhibition and social programme it promises to provide the best future ideas to travel industry stakeholders on improving the passenger experience on the ground.

FTE Asia will also explore how airports and airlines should be adapting their strategies for the future in response to changing technologies and passenger needs.

Among the leading organisations speaking are Malaysia Airports, Emirates, All Nippon Airways, IATA, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, AirAsia, Tokyo International Air Terminal, Aéroports de Paris, Cathay Pacific Airways, Air France KLM, Amadeus, Changi Airport Group, Star Alliance, Australia Customs and Border Protection Service and Future Airports.

» See who has already registered

» View the full conference programme

» Register for FTE Asia

Cathay Pacific Director Service Delivery Philippe de Gentile-Williams at the iconic Long Bar of The Wing’s Level 7 Business Class Lounge.

The opening of the Level 7 Business Class Lounge of The Wing at Hong Kong International Airport marks the latest stage of the complete renovation of the airline’s flagship lounge. This follows the recent refurbishment of the Level 6 facility.

Designed by London-based architects Foster+Partners, all of the The Wing renovations will be completed in full by the fourth quarter of 2012.

The latest stage of the project features a signature Noodle Bar and The Coffee Loft, in addition to the more conventional business areas and shower suites.

Cathay Pacific Director Service Delivery Philippe de Gentile-Williams said: “The refurbishment of The Wing highlights our commitment to offering the highest level of products and services to our valued customers. We will continue to make significant investments to ensure we deliver the very best to our passengers both on the ground and in the air.”

» More information can be found here.

Lufthansa passengers with an existing booking can choose to be checked-in automatically 23 hours before their departure time.

Lufthansa is expanding its automatic check-in service, which will now be available on approximately 400 routes.

The service has previously been available for members of the Miles & More frequent flyer programme travelling on German and Italian routes, but will now be made available on a widespread basis having proved popular among passengers.

Passengers with an existing booking can choose to be automatically checked-in 23 hours before their flight and receive an electronic boarding pass, which can be accessed via email or a web-enabled mobile phone.

Passengers who are checked-in automatically but have baggage to check-in are required to drop their bags at a bag drop counter.

» More information can be found here.

Eighty of the Auto Bag Drop systems are already in operation at six Australian airports. The innovation will be presented in Asia for the first time at FTE Asia 2012.

ICM Airport Technics will exhibit its Auto Bag Drop innovation at FTE Asia 2012, Kuala Lumpur, 8-10 February.

This self check-in facility, including full-service baggage drop, is designed to increase check-in capacity and availability while decreasing operational costs. The flexible and modern design bestows confidence in a new development in civil aviation. Its look is fully customisable.

The Qantas ICM Bag Drop System uses a two-step method. Passengers check in via a kiosk or online. This first step consists of time-consuming processes e.g. choice of seat or printing of boarding card. The second step, the baggage check-in time is thus reduced to between 15-45 seconds, depending on the passenger’s experience.

Together with Qantas, ICM Airport Technics has developed a new self-service Bag Drop System. Eighty of these systems are already in operation at six Australian airports. For the first time in Asia, the system will be introduced at FTE Asia 2012 in Kuala Lumpur.

IER will unveil at Future Travel Experience Asia a unique concept to enhance the self-scanning experience for passengers.

The innovative self-scanning concept is based on an IER Podium Gate Reader, which has been designed to accommodate an agent’s operations during the boarding process.

This new approach to process boarding allows two additional boarding lanes to be positioned side-by-side, operating in a self-service mode under the remote control of the agent. The agent is at the traditional boarding gate counter to treat exceptions while supervising the two self-boarding lanes.

IER’s podium, which is both ergonomic and aesthetic, integrates light and sound replication and indicates the status of boarding process to staff. The agent responsible for the boarding can easily monitor one or two Podium Gate Readers to achieve a secure and fast boarding process.

This concept of self-boarding is based on the IER 602, the latest IER barcode scanner generation.

Next generation passenger processing

The IER 602 is the advanced, versatile scanner that takes your airport or airline operation into the next generation of passenger processing. By incorporating flat bed multi-format barcode reading with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and NFC (Near Field Communication) reading technology into a scanner with a bright active LCD display, IER delivers the ideal product for reading mobile devices and enabling passenger self-scanning.

At a time when passengers require more services, and airlines and airports are exploring new ways to process passengers, IER continues to design innovative solutions to extend the self-service experience.

For more information: www.ier.aero

A delegation from AirAsia will attend FTE Asia 2012 to share their current thoughts on self-service and source inspiration from our outstanding collection of speakers and exhibitors.

As well as speaking in the conference at FTE Asia 2012, we are very excited to report that AirAsia will be sending a major delegation to the event.

With over 30 million passengers last year, and close to 300 aircraft on order, the airline is no doubt thinking about how it will effectively process all the passengers and baggage that will be generated as a result of that growth.

We are delighted that they are using FTE Asia to share their current thoughts on self-service and source inspiration from our outstanding collection of speakers and exhibitors.

The event begins in just under two weeks, so register here today.

The new Premium Lounge at Heathrow Airport is Qatar Airways’ first such facility outside of Doha.

Qatar Airways’ new Premium Lounge at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4 is its first dedicated lounge for First and Business Class passengers outside of its Doha hub.

The facility is designed to resemble a boutique hotel and will offer a five-star service. As well as offering entertainment, it will feature hotel-style refreshment facilities and a business centre with free WiFi.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “London has long been one of our best-performing routes, so Heathrow was an obvious choice for our first Premium Lounge outside Doha.

“With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place this summer, the international spotlight will be on the British capital and we look forward to the increase in capacity and welcoming more premium travellers on our high demand services to London.”

More information can be found here.

The joint project between SITA Lab and Orange Business Services highlights how NFC can be used to simplify the passenger journey through the airport.

SITA’s SIM-based proof-of-concept highlights how a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone can simplify the check-in and boarding process for the passenger.

The joint project between SITA Lab and Orange Business Services, shows how passengers can make use of NFC to pass through security, airline lounge and boarding gates. DESKO and Kaba also contributed to the pilot, providing advanced scanners, readers and security access gates.

Jim Peters, SITA Chief Technology Officer and head of SITA Lab, said: “Mobile NFC is still a maturing technology with multiple implementation models. We chose to implement a solution that takes full advantage of the secure element on the SIM card and over-the-air deployment from a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) to the device.

“The project was a success and we now have a dedicated NFC demo room at our offices in Geneva where airlines and airports can experience this new type of passenger journey and discuss the technology which makes it happen.”

More information can be found here.

FTE correspondent Ralph Anker interviewed Michael O’Leary in Budapest this week.

As low-cost carriers continue to explore every possible avenue to reduce costs, a number of them are starting to think radically to make savings, with self-service emerging as a common theme. However, one person who clearly isn’t a fan is Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary. FTE correspondent Ralph Anker, Editor of our sister publication anna.aero, made the most of a rare opportunity to ask the typically opinionated O’Leary for his views on self-service, mobile boarding and IATA’s Checkpoint of the Future…

FTE: Ryanair previously invested heavily in kiosks before moving check-in completely online. Do you regret this investment in kiosks?
MOL: Not at all. We bought a total of 80 kiosks for a 300-fleet airline. We put the kiosks into Stansted originally, where they were very successful for a period of time. The issue for us was that Dublin Airport turned around and wanted to charge us for space to put the kiosks in there when we’ve already paid for the terminal through the passenger charges, so why are we paying again? So, we then refused to buy any more kiosks, which was the sensible thing to do, and instead we moved check-in back onto the Internet, because what the hell does a kiosk do that you can’t do on the Internet? We were the first to move all of the check-in back onto the Internet because now 99% of passengers check-in online, but we still have some kiosks in Stansted. We spent very little on kiosks, less than €100,000.

Ryanair invested in 80 kiosks at Stansted Airport before adopting online check-in instead. “What the hell does a kiosk do that you can’t do on the internet?”, O’Leary asks.

FTE: Even when passengers check-in online, if they have baggage to check-in, they still have to queue up at bag drop counters. What are your plans to combat this with self-service bag drop?
MOL: None. There’s no way we’d ever let passengers loose on a self-service bag drop. They’d be losing the bags themselves. The key thing with us is only 25% of passengers are now checking-in a bag. We’ve actually got rid of the queues for checked-in bags and even at bag drop they’re tiny.

FTE: Have you heard of IATA’s Checkpoint of the Future? Does it represent a step forward?
MOL: No, I haven’t heard of it, but if it’s been developed by IATA I’m not too excited about it.

FTE: What are Ryanair’s plans regarding mobile boarding passes?
MOL: None, because again it does nothing. If you’ve printed out your piece of paper from the website, what does the mobile phone do for you? Nothing.

While self-service and utilising mobile technology might not be a priority for Ryanair, a number of other airlines are exploring the benefits in order to satisfy their growth projections. At FTE Asia 2012, February 8-10, more than 20 speakers from the likes of AirAsia, Emirates, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Air France KLM and Virgin Australia will address delegates on a range of themes including self-service, innovative baggage and passenger processing initiatives, mobile technology and NFC, and the airport of 2025.

>> View the full FTE Asia 2012 conference programme

>> Register for FTE Asia 2012