70 percent of air passengers want self-service while on a journey

New Delhi, Oct.7 (ANI-Business Wire India): The most comprehensive global survey ever undertaken of passenger use of air transport self-service technology has found popular demand is now reaching out into non-traditional areas of self-service as airline passengers demonstrate their increasing ease with online, kiosk and mobile phone channels.

While online booking and check-in are nearing their full potential, there is now a clear demand from the travelling public for self-service on other steps of the passenger journey including automated security checks, which are now acceptable to 70 percent of respondents compared to 58 percent in last year's survey.

Similarly, the demand for automatic boarding gates is now at 70 percent compared to 57 percent last year.

Two-thirds of survey respondents would use kiosks for other purposes including booking/changing a flight; purchasing additional services (e.g. baggage fees, meals), printing bag tags; self-transfer; claiming delayed baggage.

In addition, there has been dramatic year-on-year growth in the percentage of passengers using airline websites to book hotels, up from 21 percent in 2009, to 38 percent in this year's survey; car rental, 19 percent to 35 percent. Similar growth is being recorded in other ancillary revenue streams including purchase of travel insurance, bus and train tickets and duty free items.

This year's SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey includes two new airports: China's Beijing International Airport which served 65.3 million passengers last year and Germany's busiest airport, Frankfurt, which had 50.9 million passengers.

The 5th annual SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey is an in-depth look at the attitudes and habits of a representative sample of the 287.6 million passengers who use seven leading international airports. It includes previous survey participants: Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Mumbai International; Moscow Domodedovo; Sao Paulo Guarulhos, Brazil; and OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg. (ANI)