Amsterdam, 28 oktober 2003 - British Airways gaat gebruik maken van IBM technologie voor zelf-incheck balies. Met de installatie van 190 IBM elektronische balies op Heathrow en British Airways bestemmingen in Europa wil de luchtvaartmaatschappij passagiers binnen één minuut laten inchecken.
Ook kunnen passagiers via de touch screen technologie van IBM zelf stoelen kiezen of upgrading aanvragen. Het doel van de zelf-incheck balies is om inchecken sneller en gemakkelijker te laten verlopen en effectiever gebruik te maken van de beperkte ruimte op luchthavens.
Een demo kunt u op de volgende locatie bekijken:
http://www.britishairways.com/e-ticket/demo/demo1.shtml
Voor meer informatie kunt u contact opnemen met:
IBM
Tineke Mertens
Tel. 06 - 200 150 92
tineke.mertens@nl.ibm.com
Onderstaand treft u het originele Engelstalige persbericht aan.
British Airways enables its customers with IBM Technology
London, England October 28 2003 IBM's leading edge self-service kiosks are being combined with British Airways' expertise to make airport check-in easier than ever. A total of 190 new IBM kiosks will be installed at Heathrow Airport and all major British Airways destination airports across Europe. The kiosks are designed to make check-in faster and more convenient while optimising space at airports. British Airways customers can use touch screen technology to check-in, select seats and request upgrades without having to queue at a check-in desk.
Paul Coby, CIO of British Airways, described the launch of the new self-service kiosks as another great milestone in the airline's revolutionary 'customer-enabled BA' (ceBA) programme. He said: "This investment is another building block in our drive to make dealing with British Airways easy. It puts the customer in charge of seating and bypasses queues at peak periods. We are building on our great experience in on-line and self-service forms of check-in and with IBM's technology are delivering a quality service for our passengers."
Behind the application is IBM's Self-service check-in Software designed specifically for airlines. This integrates with the British Airways departure control system to assign seats. The new system is expected to significantly reduce check-in queues, providing a major boost to British Airways in handling the volume of passengers at peak times.
Expected to be completed in February next year, the kiosk roll-out is an integral part of British Airways' ceBA business transformation strategy, which will change how travellers do business with the airline.
Paul Coby said that under the customer enabled BA (ceBA) initiative, British Airways aims to achieve 50% self-service check-in over the next 18 months. He added: "Effective use of IT is fundamental to simplifying the way British Airways does business. IBM's kiosks are a great example of how we are investing in modern technology while at the same time improving customer service and achieving greater levels of efficiency. We are making travel easier and increasing the ways in which customers can deal with us. It's a genuine win-win situation."
"It takes less than a minute to check in at a self-service kiosk" says IBM Travel & Transportation Partner Tony Barsham, "so the benefits for both passengers and British Airways are significant in an industry being driven to increase load factors while reducing costs. By giving passengers various options to conduct their transactions, British Airways is re-building at the core of its business."
About British Airways:
British Airways is one of the world's longest established airlines and has always been regarded as an industry-leader. Amongst airlines British Airways has pioneered the use of kiosks and other self-service forms of check-in and has been active in trialling and rolling out these technologies for more than seven years. Last year, more than 40 million people chose to fly with the airline. 29 million of these passengers flew internationally - representing around one in every 15 people flying from one country to another worldwide. British Airways' worldwide route network covers some 216 destinations in 94 countries (including franchises, subsidiaries and oneworld partners).
About IBM:
IBM, the world's largest technology company, is one of the biggest suppliers of Information Technology to the air transport industry. IBM is an IT supplier to most major airlines globally, and has been working with the airline industry for more than 40 years. As the market leader in self-service check-in kiosks for the travel industry, IBM has more than 3000 check-in kiosks installed or on order at more than 200 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/industries/travel