AirAsia promotes self check-in
By Presenna Nambiar
KUALA LUMPUR: A new initiative piloted by low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd will eventually see passengers of the airline and its associate, AirAsia X, paying to use check-in counters in Malaysia.
Come Nov 1, AirAsia will limit its number of check-in counters across all airports in a move to migrate passengers to a self check-in regime.
Bag drop-off counters will be made available for passengers who have check-in baggage.
AirAsia commercial regional head Kathleen Tan said while no fee for counter check-ins would be charged at the moment, a fee would be imposed in the future. However, the quantum is not known.
Last year, AirAsia announced the introduction of a "convenience fee" for payments made through credit, debit or charge cards, as a means to subsidise the costs of payment systems.
The charge was RM10 per passenger. "The self check-in method stays true to the low-cost carrier business model as it helps to reduce human labour and save operational costs for AirAsia.
"This will instead translate into more savings for passengers.
"Apart from that, this move to introduce self check-in will also be more convenient for our passengers as they will no longer have to turn up extra early to queue up and this will reduce congestion at the airport," Tan said.
She, however, did not reveal how much AirAsia would save in a year through the initiative.
Passengers can perform self check-ins via the airlines' website, mobile check-in via mobile.air asia.com or via the AirAsia Blackberry App (available via Blackberry App World).
Web check-in is available seven days and up to four hours before the scheduled departure flight while the kiosk check-in is available from 24 hours and up to one hour before theflight.
Tan, however, encouraged passengers to check in via the web, as check-in kiosks are only available in certain airports.
AirAsia is also expected to introduce mobile check-in, through a 2D bar code, in the coming months.
The number of bag drop-off counters available in all airports, will vary according to the size and number of passengers at each airport.
Staff currently manning check-in counters will be reassigned to other departments as well as moved out of counters to boost interaction with passengers.
"We are channelling all our efforts to customer service as we believe that our employees will best represent us as brand ambassadors," Tan said.
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AirAsia encourages travellers to check in online
ReplyDelete2010/10/26
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KUALA LUMPUR: Low-cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia Bhd said it will come up with the quantum of fees for counter check-ins the same way it comes up with low fares.
"It is the same concept as how we come up with our low fares.
"It all depends on the feasibility of the market and cost analysis," AirAsia's commercial regional head Kathleen Tan told the New Straits Times in an email yesterday.
On Nov 1, AirAsia will limit the number of check-in counters at the airports where it operates in Malaysia.
While it will not immediately charge for the use of the few check-in counters, it may do so as early as January next year.
"We are looking at somewhere in the first quarter of 2011.
"But nothing has been confirmed yet," Tan said.
While it is uncommon for airlines around the world to charge for the use of check-in counters, it has been done by some LCCs, which are more cost-sensitive.
Tan said it had been implemented successfully in the United States, New Zealand and Europe -- mostly by LCCs, and the move had helped reduce congestion at airports and added convenience to guests.
"Staying true to the low-cost model, we always provide options for our guests.
"Self check-in is made available for the guests' convenience, and if extra services are required (for example, counter check-in services), they will be charged.
"Similar to our seats, you pay for what you want, such as food, check-in baggage and in-demand seats."
Irish LCC RyanAir, for example, discontinued its airport check-in last year and replaced it with a fast bag-drop for those passengers checking in bags.
At the initial stage, passengers checking in at the airport were charged E10 (RM23), but that service had been discontinued, and all passengers are now required to check in online and print their own boarding passes. The airline has started charging passengers E5 as online check-in fee.
Currently, only about 20 per cent of AirAsia's passengers check in online, despite having about 85 per cent of its passengers booking their tickets online.
Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations feels that AirAsia as a service provider should give consumers a choice to use check-in counters for free.
Its director of communications, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, said even if AirAsia wanted to reduce its operating cost with this move, they should not ignore consumers' needs.
Yayasan Kebajikan Pekerja Asing Bhd general manager Pusparajan Subramaniam said foreign workers, who are frequent users of AirAsia, would be in a precarious situation should the LCC do away with the manned check-in counters.
"Most of these workers don't have access to the Internet and many are even illiterate.
"So, how are they going to do the online check-in?
"The only option for them is for travel agencies to offer a special service for them to do online transactions," he added.
Human Rights advocate Florida Sandasamy also had reservations with AirAsia's move to charge a fee for people opting to check in at manned counters.
"Some of these passengers are from the lower-income group for whom any additional cost, however small, will be a pinch on their budgets," she said.
But travel agents are unfazed by AirAsia's move, saying that it was the airline's prerogative to do so and would help reduce the long queue at check-in counters.
Ganesh Travels director Raja Ratnam believed that all airlines would eventually implement self check-in as a cost-cutting measure.
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