Rethinking Customer Service and Landside Operations

The new realities of the post-9/11 world have placed a strain on the traditional landside model in which most, if not all, customer transactions occur at the terminal. At many airports, during peak periods, travelers face long lines both at the ticket counter and at security. To make matters worse, terminal lobbies that once seemed spacious are now crowded with EDS machines that are only slightly smaller than the average starter home. Moreover, the slow economy has made travelers more cost conscious. This has increased competition from low-cost, off-airport parking services that eat into airport revenues.

In response to these problems, some airports have begun to reassess how they service customers and use their landside infrastructure. One of the best examples of this can be found at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. At MSP, customers are now able to check-in for flights and check their baggage in the airport’s primary parking structure. This remote check-in service uses electronic ticketing kiosks that provide customers their boarding pass. The kiosks also print bag claim tags that a customer service representative places on the customer’s bags. Luggage is then placed on a conveyer and transported to a separate area for screening. The kiosks are fast and easy to use even for the inexperienced traveler. Plus, the self-service nature of the system enables one customer service representative to service multiple kiosks.

This service has been very well received by customers - and for good reason. It relieves them of the burden of dragging their luggage all the way to the terminal – no small benefit when one is traveling with children and/or large bags. Moreover, it allows customers to by-pass the typically much longer lines at the counters in the terminal lobby and proceed directly to security.

Vancouver International Airport has taken remote check-in a step further by making the service available to cruise line passengers. Eligible passengers are able to check in for their flights before leaving the cruise ship and check their baggage as well. Trucks transport the baggage directly to the airport for processing. YVR has even taken the extra step of promoting their remote check-in service on their website (yvr.ca).

The benefits of these types of remote check-in facilities should not be underestimated. First, from an operational perspective, remote check-in reduces pressure on the terminal lobby. Fewer customers need to visit the ticket counters, which means shorter lines and less congestion. Second, bags checked at a remote location can be screened in non-public areas rather than in the terminal lobby. This may reduce the number of EDS machines needed in public areas. Third, remote check-in systems diversify check-in options. This could help prevent a major customer bottleneck in the event check-in is disrupted or slowed for some reason in the terminal.

Finally, remote check-in has the potential to increase revenues. MSP’s remote check-in facility dramatically enhanced the customer service at its primary parking structure. That gives customers one more reason to spend the extra money and park at the airport. And at both MSP and YVR, the remote check-in option speeds the check-in process, which means customers have more time to browse terminal concessions.

The Next Generation of Landside Facilities

It is easy to see how the concepts pioneered at MSP and YVR could be implemented at other landside facilities. Consolidated rental car facilities (“CRCF”), for example, would be a particularly attractive location for a remote check-in operation. CRCFs are specialized facilities in which all rental car operations (i.e. customer service building, ready/return area and service facilities) are located in a single area. Customers are transported to and from the CRCF customer service building by a common busing operation or people mover. Typically, these facilities are funded using special facility bonds backed by a customer facility charge (“CFC”) that is paid by rental car customers. This funding mechanism allows airports to build these facilities without incurring any out of pocket costs or impacting their debt capacity. It may also be possible to use CFC proceeds to pay the cost of implementing the remote check-in service at the CRCF.

Providing flight and baggage check-in service at a CRCF could dramatically reduce the customer pressure placed on an airport’s terminal. In a typical business market, roughly 20 to 25 percent of an airport’s passengers pass through a CRCF. The percentage would likely be higher for markets with a significant leisure customer base.

Allowing customers to get their boarding pass and check their luggage at the CRCF would be a huge leap in customer service. Indeed, it could change the nature of CRCFs

from a transitional facility to a location where customers are more inclined to linger – especially if they could gauge the amount of time needed to pass through security at the terminal (for example, by viewing the terminal security lines on a video monitor). This would undoubtedly increase the chance that food and other concessions could successfully operate in the CRCF.

Airports in need of additional parking could even take this concept a step further by combining a remote parking operation with the CRCF. For a relatively small direct cost, an airport could use the CRCF’s infrastructure, flight and baggage checking capability and common transportation system to provide a level of customer service that far exceeds that typically found at remote parking lots.

The mechanics of a flight and baggage check-in service at a CRCF or other facility could vary based on each airport’s unique circumstances. Questions such as where bags are screened (i.e. at the remote location or in a non-public area of the terminal) and how they are transported to the terminal would have to be resolved through discussions with the TSA or CATSA. Likewise, it would be prudent to consult with the airlines early in the planning process to gauge their enthusiasm for the concept.

The Bottom Line