Automation keeps growing

SITA reports that airport check-in costs are $3.62 for human check-in, 52 cents when a kiosk is used and 16 cents if a passenger checks in from home via the Internet. This kind of data translates into interesting numbers. Take an average airport handling 20 million per year. At worst, without any kiosks and no Internet check-ins, airlines will be paying over $72m in check-in costs. If everyone used the Internet to check-in, these costs drop to $3.2m. That is very compelling, a potential 96% saving. There's more, SITA notes that average check-in at Alaska Airlines dropped from 20 minutes to 5 minutes. Those savings keep adding up, proving that automation can help both airports and airlines . Automation has not done as well in the passenger security arena. Airlines have to provide Advance Passenger Information (API) to the DHS for flights entering the US. The process started in 988 and after 9/11 became mandatory. Currently airlines need to generate API for DHS within 15 minutes of the DCS being closed. This is not a good thing, as a person deemed a threat is not only in the airport system, but has penetrated right into a plane that is about to fly. Last year DHS asked this data 60 minutes prior to takeoff. This meant airlines needed to do the DCS closing 75 minutes before departure. Not good. DHS requires data from passengers that does not exist in the PNR - like first address in the US. This data is also requested in the I-94 Immigration form, which is hand filled out in-flight. So we have DHS asking for the same information twice. British airways apparently advises its passengers to the US to visit their website and provide tis data or have travel agents collect it and store it - no doubt in the notes section of the PNR. PNRs are notoriously weird. They vary between GDS and in an extreme example, an American Express generated PNR has an enormous number of notes lines (a PNR could have 100 data points). All these lines get cut off as the PNR moves through to the airline and eventually is only a few lines long at the gate. All the good data DHS wants is parsed out. What we have said many times before, DHS (and Interpol) need access to PNR data at least 24 hours before DCS. This allows time to mine data for threats and react in time so as not to allow a threat to even enter the aviation system. This means less hassle for airports and airlines. Why is this not happening? Indeed, other than with visa-waiver countries, why don't US consulates collect this data when issuing a visa? The privacy concerns have to be addressed by both governments and industry. Without this issue cleared up air travel will remain under threat from people who plan to do harm in an airport or in-flight. What is more, staying with a PNR-based solution ensures that other forms of travel can be monitored - trains and ferries for instance.