DL pushing the self-serve checkin kiosks

While waiting in line at PHL for my return flight to ATL, the ticket
agent who had been working one of the desks asked those of us in line if
we were checking baggage and was directing us to the self-serve kiosks.

I had to politely tell her once that I "wanted to check in with a
human"! If more of us say "no" to this stuff, perhaps there will be more
DL personnel working the desks (there was only one at PHL.) Has anyone
else encountered this at other US airports with DL?

Maybe some of us prefer it this way!!

Self Service - 30 seconds from putting in a card to boarding pass in hand,
another minute or two to drop off the luggage.

Standing in line - 45 minutes to get to the counter, then five minutes there
while they type whatever they madly type into the terminal and take the
bags.

You are more then welcome to stand in line, less people waiting for the
kiosks.



"maryanne kehoe" wrote in message
...
While waiting in line at PHL for my return flight to ATL, the ticket
agent who had been working one of the desks asked those of us in line if
we were checking baggage and was directing us to the self-serve kiosks.

I had to politely tell her once that I "wanted to check in with a
human"! If more of us say "no" to this stuff, perhaps there will be more
DL personnel working the desks (there was only one at PHL.) Has anyone
else encountered this at other US airports with DL?

Maybe some of us prefer it this way!!

Mike Cordelli wrote:

Self Service - 30 seconds from putting in a card to boarding pass in hand,
another minute or two to drop off the luggage.

Standing in line - 45 minutes to get to the counter, then five minutes
there
while they type whatever they madly type into the terminal and take the
bags.

You are more then welcome to stand in line, less people waiting for the
kiosks.


Well, what do you expect from someone on WebTV...???

:-)

Natcherly, it's far easier and quicker to use self - service check - in.
Just like using an ATM -- how many of us still use a teller when we want to
get some cash?

--
Best
Greg

"maryanne kehoe" wrote in message
...
While waiting in line at PHL for my return flight to ATL, the ticket
agent who had been working one of the desks asked those of us in line if
we were checking baggage and was directing us to the self-serve kiosks.

I had to politely tell her once that I "wanted to check in with a
human"! If more of us say "no" to this stuff, perhaps there will be more
DL personnel working the desks (there was only one at PHL.) Has anyone
else encountered this at other US airports with DL?

Maybe some of us prefer it this way!!

The other great thing about the kiosks is it's much easier to change
your seat... You can move around to your heart's content, instead of
dealing with an overstressed counter agent with 70 people lined up
behind you.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada

Self Service - 30 seconds from putting in a card to boarding pass in hand,
another minute or two to drop off the luggage.

Standing in line - 45 minutes to get to the counter, then five minutes there
while they type whatever they madly type into the terminal and take the
bags.

You are more then welcome to stand in line, less people waiting for the
kiosks.



"maryanne kehoe" wrote in message
...
While waiting in line at PHL for my return flight to ATL, the ticket
agent who had been working one of the desks asked those of us in line if
we were checking baggage and was directing us to the self-serve kiosks.

I had to politely tell her once that I "wanted to check in with a
human"! If more of us say "no" to this stuff, perhaps there will be more
DL personnel working the desks (there was only one at PHL.) Has anyone
else encountered this at other US airports with DL?

Maybe some of us prefer it this way!!

In article ,
(Geoff Glave) wrote:

The other great thing about the kiosks is it's much easier to change
your seat... You can move around to your heart's content, instead of
dealing with an overstressed counter agent with 70 people lined up
behind you.

Webcheckin is even better. Go straight to the gate

Mike Cordelli wrote:
Self Service - 30 seconds from putting in a card to boarding pass in hand,
another minute or two to drop off the luggage.

Standing in line - 45 minutes to get to the counter,

Not fair. If/when self-serve picks up, then there will also be a long line
waiting to use them. And the airlines will probably need to re-arrange their
setup so that people also queue to use them.

Just wait until grand mothers start to use those kiosks, and you'll find
yourself going to the manned check-in counters because those will now be
faster :-)

This will probably end up being similar to ATMs at banks. The one big
difference is that with airlines, the kiosks won't make you fly more often,
whereas ATMs did change banking habits (people go to ATMs more often than they
went to banks before).

Now, to the airline, the kiosks are great since they allow either reduction in
number of check-in positions (savings on staff), or increase in check-in
capacity without increasing staff.

nobody wrote:

Mike Cordelli wrote:

Self Service - 30 seconds from putting in a card to boarding pass in hand,
another minute or two to drop off the luggage.

Standing in line - 45 minutes to get to the counter,


Not fair. If/when self-serve picks up, then there will also be a long line
waiting to use them. And the airlines will probably need to re-arrange their
setup so that people also queue to use them.

By the time this happens, most of the people that are using them now
will be checking in from home, office, or hotel.


This will probably end up being similar to ATMs at banks. The one big
difference is that with airlines, the kiosks won't make you fly more often,
whereas ATMs did change banking habits (people go to ATMs more often than they
went to banks before).


I stlll see more and longer lines inside the bank than at the ATM.

"Mike Cordelli" wrote in message
om...
Self Service - 30 seconds from putting in a card to boarding pass in hand,
another minute or two to drop off the luggage.

Standing in line - 45 minutes to get to the counter, then five minutes
there
while they type whatever they madly type into the terminal and take the
bags.

You are more then welcome to stand in line, less people waiting for the
kiosks.

Even better: On-line check-in at home or the office.

I do this all the time, including for international travel (my outbound, at
least) especially when not checking any luggage. Even if checking luggage
in conjuction with on-line check-in, with NWA, at least, I can just goto the
kiosk, which will already recognize I'm checked in, and then ask if I have
baggage to check.

I've also done on-line check-in's with Continental & United and find it to
be a great (self)service.

I've been traveling to London a lot lately and I like the ability to do an
on-line check-in from the office, leave the office in the evening for the
airport with boarding-passes in hand, show-up at the airport with
hand-luggage only, and be on my way without any hassle.. other than perhaps
the TSA. For my return, I wish they would allow on-line check-in for
Europe-USA flights, but with the security routines in place for US based
carriers such as NWA (the pre-check-in interview at LGW, as an example) I
don't see it happening soon. It's on my wish list, though! The NWA(KLM)
LGW check-in staff is great, but even with the Gold/Plat Elite / World
Business Class check-in queue, I'd rather check-in electronically and not
have to queue in line.

I have a couple of upcoming international trips involving paper-tickets
because of interlining multiple carriers (i.e. Northwest to KLM to Malev and
then Northwest to Malaysia to Continental); as I can't use the kiosks or
check-in online with a paper ticket, I'd hope those with e-tickets
(stateside) who don't need to be using the counter use the kiosks, so
individuals with a *real* need to check-in at the counter don't have to wait
for those who could of checked in electronically.

Best,

Steve

(maryanne kehoe) wrote:

I had to politely tell her once that I "wanted to check in with a
human"! If more of us say "no" to this stuff, perhaps there will be more
DL personnel working the desks (there was only one at PHL.) Has anyone
else encountered this at other US airports with DL?


If Delta follows American, in a few weeks you won't have a choice. It will be
"Use the kiosk or don't fly."

Maybe some of us prefer it this way!!

It's not a choice.

In article ,
"Clark W. Griswold, Jr." 73115 dot 1041 at compuserve dot com wrote:

(maryanne kehoe) wrote:

I had to politely tell her once that I "wanted to check in with a
human"! If more of us say "no" to this stuff, perhaps there will be more
DL personnel working the desks (there was only one at PHL.) Has anyone
else encountered this at other US airports with DL?


If Delta follows American, in a few weeks you won't have a choice. It will be
"Use the kiosk or don't fly."

I thought CO was the worst. Hard to find a real live agent there