This article originally published in Self-Service World magazine's special section, FOCUS: Self-Service in Travel, March 2007.
Case study:
Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii's largest and longest-running airline, serving travelers for more than 77 years. Based in the city of Honolulu, the airline operates between six Hawaiian Islands, the United States mainland and Australia, America Samoa and Tahiti.
Well-known for its prompt service and on-time flight percentage, Hawaiian Airlines continues to grow with more flights and passengers. In fact, on a typical day an estimated 17,000 passengers board Hawaiian Airlines flights. In order to accommodate this growth in its small-scale lobbies, the airline began to look toward self-service kiosks to streamline its pre-flight functionalities.
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| Passengers flying Hawaiian Airlines can check-in themselves and their luggage, including excess and overweight baggage, as well as print luggage tags and receipts and boarding passes. |
Kinetics was one of several self-service providers Hawaiian Airlines considered when making its self-service push. Known as a pioneer of airline self-service, Kinetics was ultimately selected for its leadership and expertise in the self-service industry. In addition, its Web-based self-check-in and baggage check-in solutions were exactly what Hawaiian Airlines was looking for.
"Travelers hate waiting in line, and we wanted to be more efficient without sacrificing quality of service," said Blaine Miyasato, Hawaiian Airlines' vice president of customer services. "In our quest for greater customer convenience, speed and efficiency, Kinetics proved to be the ideal technology partner, continuously enhancing our processes with best-in-class solutions."
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To use the self-check-in solution, passengers enter their luggage information online at the Hawaiian Airlines Web site. Any fees for excess or overweight baggage — including surfboards — also are handled online, further reducing airport wait times. Passengers then use Kinetics' TouchPort self-service kiosks at the airport to print their luggage tags and boarding passes.
Passengers who have a self-printed boarding pass simply wave their pass under a barcode reader at the kiosk for instant recognition and printing of their luggage tags. They then receive a single baggage receipt — an industry first — and proceed to the gate where another barcode reader automatically verifies their status to board.
"Hawaiian Airlines has become the only airline in Hawaii to offer a remote luggage check-in solution, made possible with state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure from Kinetics," said Miyasato "The check-in process is easy and convenient. From start to finish, it takes our passengers less than a minute to check in and proceed to their flight."
The Kinetics self-service kiosks are now used by 90 percent of Hawaiian Airlines' customers. The kiosks have improved airline efficiency and have given airport personnel the ability to better focus on customer service. The self-service devices now are being used at all of the Hawaiian Airlines island locations and also have been implemented at airport locations on the mainland.
"Kinetics has redefined travel worldwide by transforming complex processes into simple, convenient solutions for airlines and their passengers," said Theresa Heinz, president of Kinetics.
"As airline customers continue to not only adopt but demand self-service technology, we look forward to continuing to support Hawaiian Airlines' initiatives to improve its operational efficiencies by offering time-saving technologies, and therefore, a more convenient way to fly."
