Air New Zealand is introducing its newly developed Next Gen check-in kiosks across airports in New Zealand, following a successful trial that significantly improved check-in speed and reliability. The rollout begins this week at Auckland Domestic Airport and will extend to all New Zealand airports by the end of July.
The kiosks, designed by Air New Zealand’s research and development team, feature user-friendly technology such as iPads for touchscreen interaction and built-in cameras for passport scanning. During a trial at Auckland’s domestic terminal, four kiosks processed over 30,000 customer journeys, reducing average check-in time from over two minutes to just 37 seconds. The fastest recorded check-in was completed in 18 seconds.
The new kiosks also streamline group check-ins. A recent example saw 21 customers checked in with boarding passes and bag tags issued in just 2.5 minutes, a process that previously took over two minutes per customer. This improvement makes check-in for larger groups up to 20 times faster.
Cost efficiency is another advantage, with each new kiosk costing about a third of the previous models. The airline anticipates saving over $1 million (US$) annually in maintenance costs.
Jeremy O’Brien, Air New Zealand’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer, stated, “We focus our innovation efforts on better customer outcomes. The purpose of our research and development team is to make travel easy and frictionless.”
The project, from conception to rollout, took 13 months and involved extensive testing and refinement based on customer feedback. The technology has also garnered international interest after being showcased at a global aviation conference
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