The fourth Airport IT Trends Survey, by ACI, Airline Business and SITA, shows that the self-service revolution is now firmly established in the airport world
One of the clearest messages coming out of this year's Airport IT Trends Survey is that self-service is propelling new technology investment across the global airport community. According to the annual survey, commissioned by Airline Business in partnership with the Airports Council International and SITA, and now in its fourth year, around two-thirds of all airports are implementing self-service check-in kiosks and broadly half are undertaking other self-service applications such as remote check-in and common bag-drop by 2009.
Enabling passengers to process themselves is the primary focus, but the Airport IT Trends research shows some airports are extending self-service/common-use efficiencies to the technologies they provide to airlines. Airports are bankrolling IT and telecommunications to the tune of $2 billion per annum - down on last year's estimates of $3 billion.
The number of respondents to the survey has risen gradually over the past four years and reached 79 this time. This represents the views of over 191 airports and accounts for 48% of the revenues from the top 100 airports in the Airline Business Airports Financial Ranking 2005/06, as well as two-thirds of the traffic.
IT and telecoms investment represents an average of 3% of airports' total revenues on an unweighted basis (5.01% last year) and, on a revenue-weighted basis, 3.23% (4.38% in 2006). However, the study also reveals that over a third of airports invest much more than the industry average, and half enjoyed IT budget increases in 2007, with only 13% experiencing a drop. In 2008, 54% are predicting a boost to their IT budgets while 17% forecast a decrease.
Respondent demographics change annually and there can be fluctuations in the early years of a study, but this does not fully explain the mixed investment picture. One possibility, according to SITA vice-president airport services Catherine Mayer, is that IT and telecoms projects are receiving funding from governments. For example, in some European countries funds from passenger facilities charges go into IT projects. "My guess is their budget is their own budget and they are not including things funded through other means," she says, adding that at "the airports I'm in contact with through SITA and ACI I have not heard one say their budgets or funding has drastically reduced at all."
One marked change in the investment picture over the last year is the switch in emphasis towards operational spending - capital spending takes 38% of the cake (45% last year) with operational spending increasing to 69% (54% last year). The common-use approach and implementing tools for airline tenants, such as Global Information Systems (GIS), is a factor, says ACI manager for airport IT, Thomas Romig. "The investment is going towards operational types of things because these are the areas now demanding them."
Another reason is that airports are playing a larger operational role. "This is representative of the shift towards squeezing operational efficiencies out of their facilities," says Samuel Ingalls, assistant director of aviation information systems at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Iñaki Ascacíbar, director of IT for Spain's airport group Aena, agrees. "Another factor, at least in Spain, is because we have made a great effort on new infrastructure during the last years, we now need new processes and operational systems to take advantage of it," he explains.
Common-use self-service kiosk implementation is playing a key role in industry-wide initiatives to streamline business processes. Projects to install dedicated user kiosks have been undertaken by 52% of airports, rising to 68% by 2009, and although only 27% have already implemented CUSS kiosks, rising to 65% by 2009, within five years CUSS implementations will reach 81%, outstripping dedicated user at 72%.
Hong Kong International Airport says its future development priorities include enhancing security and simplifying business processes. It is introducing CUSS kiosks complete with passport scanners and 2D barcode boarding pass printers in Terminal 1, and will expand to cover more airlines.
Admittedly there is a slow-down in CUSS implementations compared to the expectations of last year's respondents, when 25% had already implemented and another 62% were planning to by 2008. But this could be airports reviewing initial roll-outs before extending the scheme - this is the route UK operator BAA took when it started implementing CUSS at London's Heathrow Terminal 3 four years ago. BAA's head of product development Stephen Challis says: "We will have nearly 60 in Terminal 3 by the end of this year and much of our planning for the new Heathrow East terminal is predicated on common-use kiosks."
Internet check-in may also be having an impact - about three million passengers a year now check into Heathrow online away from the airport. And the study shows airports are also implementing technology to allow passengers to check-in online once they arrive at the airport - 15% have done so already, rising to 49% by 2009.
Passengers are increasingly being processed before they get to the airport. New technology enabling remote check-in has been implemented by 28% and the majority of airports will be offering remote check-in within five years. Remote check-in and bag-drop is further away - only 11% have already implemented, rising to 51% by 2012 .
Off airport check-in
But it is the flexibility of CUSS that is enabling airports like McCarran to take the check-in experience off-airport. Earlier this year remote check-in was extended from two hotels and the Las Vegas Convention Center to the McCarran Rent-A-Car Center where passengers can now check in and leave their bags. "Our target is to have 10% of passengers fully checked in off-airport. However, at some point I'd like to drastically exceed that goal," says Ingalls. "From our standpoint, any person that checks in outside of the traditional airport environment is a benefit to the overall capacity of the airport and probably has a better overall travel experience."
HKIA, which already has two downtown check-ins, plus three at SkyPier ferry ports, is planning more. "Our plan is to further expand remote check-in services at different downtown locations and at more upstream ports in the Pearl River Delta for the convenience of passengers," it says.
But not everyone is sold on remote check-in and bag-drop. BAA's Challis sees it as a niche market in partnership with airlines for large conferences or sporting events. And while Aena's Ascacíbar predicts 50% of its passengers could eventually be processed off airport, depending on the airport profile, he says baggage processing will remain almost 100% at the airport.
What about the global picture? Ascacíbar cautiously suggests off-airport processing will deal with less than 15% of travellers, but SITA's Mayer is more bullish: "We know web check-in will surpass kiosks and agent check-in in the next three to five years. Off-airport, I wonder if it would hit 20-30% in the next three years - that's based on the number of enquiries we have received from airports and airlines."
The challenge will be to further streamline the passage of travellers from kerb to gate, once they have reached the airport. The key areas to work on, according to Challis, will be encouraging best practice among airlines to speed bag checking - airports can help by providing more user-friendly facilities - and using 2D barcodes with mobile phones. BAA is now looking for an airline to trial check-in via mobile at Heathrow.
Finally, Challis sees common bag-drop as a key self-service issue for the future. "We are hoping to start some work before the end of this year in terms of understanding the opportunities. And it will be spring next year by the time we see an experiment on the ground as part of the development of Heathrow East, which will replace Terminal 2 in 2012."
In line with his thinking, the research shows common bag-drop technology is being implemented by 18% of airports, rising to 52% by 2009 and 68% by 2012.
Future challenges
Anonymous verbatim responses taken from the 2007 Airport IT Trends Survey:
- "Increasing passenger and baggage processing capacities using non-traditional check-in and baggage screening locations, off-airport and on-airport"
- "Roll out airport-wide IT backbone and network converting IT from cost centre to profit centre"
- "Implementing common-use gate and ticketing positions"
- "To have all the stakeholders around the table working together and using IT and new technologies in order to simplify the business (passengers, baggage and aircraft operation)"
- "Transitioning IT focus from a build mode to an operate mode"
The Airport IT Trends Survey 2007 can be bought online.
Source: Airline Business
