Airlines operating in Japan, the UK and the US are already offering customers incentives for checking in via WAP devices, SMS (short message service) handsets or integrated check-in systems installed in hotel lobbies, IBM's global VP for Airlines, Travel and Transportation, Michael Hulley said.
Australian airlines, however, were yet to embrace demand for such services. Australians could expect to wait between three and five years until remote check-in services were offered in local airports, he said.
Airline customers overseas who used technology products to streamline customer service processes were often rewarded with cheaper tickets, better access to seating preferences, and extra frequent flyer points, Hulley said.
Incentives such as these come as part of a worldwide push by airlines to lure customers into using more automated processes when flying. Hulley said airlines worldwide were faced with financial strains stemming from rising fuel costs and demands for higher levels of customer service.
-Airlines are faced with a lot of challenges right now," he said. Using technology to streamline check-in processes would be just one cost-cutting measure available to airlines, he said. IBM had also developed a -wearable PC" that enabled better access to information on aircraft maintenance and flight patterns for flight crew and maintenance staff.
Hulley said that although Australian airlines were slow to examine possibilities of remote check-in processes, they were still -setting the bar for the rest of the world" in their use of electronic ticketing. He estimates electronic ticketing accounts for around 50 percent of tickets sold for some routes serviced by Australian airlines.
Hulley is currently in Australia to talk with IBM's airline customers.
The company's airline customer list includes Qantas, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
