May 3, 2012 GENEVA -- Global air transport IT provider SITA today celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of its self-service check-in kiosks. Air Alaska was the first to receive a SITA kiosk back in 1997, since then more than 5,200 have been installed at close to 200 airports around the world. During this time SITA kiosks have reduced queuing and improved the journey for hundreds of millions of passengers by providing fast and easy check-in.
In 2003, SITAs first common use self-service (CUSS) kiosks made their appearance at Toronto Pearson International Airport as part of the Greater Toronto Airport Authoritys US$ 4.4 billion development program. Then in 2009, SITA launched AirportConnect S3 Kiosk the worlds most compact freestanding model, with the smallest footprint of any fully functioning check-in kiosk. These have rapidly become the kiosk of choice for airlines and airports and this month the 1,000th AirportConnect S3 will be delivered by SITA. The history of the kiosk at airports continues to evolve, the percentage of passengers who check-in at a kiosk has risen to 20 percent worldwide and this is expected to continue to rise though at a slower rate than in the past. The introduction of online and mobile check-in over the last few years has proved to be hugely popular and, with more than half of passengers carrying smartphones, the trend to check in using personal devices is set to rise. Already some 31 percent of smartphone holders use mobile check-in frequently or occasionally. Matthys Serfontein, SITA Vice President Airport Solutions, said: Kiosk usage is part of a multi-channel service offering from airlines and airports. SITA continues to work with our customers to develop new functionality to make kiosks even more useful. Weve added secure payment processing for additional sales such as upgrades, local transport and meals and our industry survey shows that 70 percent of airlines plan to use kiosks for sales by 2014. Also, services such as self-baggage tagging and bag check at kiosks now allow passengers to experience true end-to-end self-service check-in. In recent years inventive uses for kiosks have been introduced at airports including the SITA WorldTracer kiosk which allows passengers to file a missing baggage claim quickly and simply without the need for an agent. Fifteen years on, the kiosk remains an important fixture at the worlds airports, continually evolving both in appearance and service capability to provide the services that passengers want, quickly and easily. * SITA Airline IT Trends Survey 2011 http://www.sita.aero/content/airline-it-trends-survey-2011 Notes to Editors: About SITA SITA is the world's leading specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions. SITA delivers and manages business solutions for airline, airport, GDS, government and other customers over the worlds most extensive network, which forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry. SITAs portfolio includes managed global communications, infrastructure and outsourcing services, as well as services for airline commercial management and passenger operations, flight operations, aircraft operations and air-to-ground communications, airport management and operations, baggage operations, transportation security and border management, cargo operations and more. With a customer service team of over 2,000 staff around the world, SITA invests significantly in achieving best-in-class customer service, providing integrated local and global support for both its communications and IT application services. SITA has two main subsidiaries: OnAir, which is the leading provider of in-flight connectivity, and CHAMP Cargosystems, the world's only IT company dedicated solely to air cargo. SITA also operates two joint ventures providing services to the air transport community: Aviareto for aircraft asset management and CertiPath for secure electronic identity management. SITA is one of the world's most international companies. Its global reach is based on local presence, with services for over 500 air transport industry members and 2,700 customers in over 200 countries and territories. Set up in 1949 with 11 member airlines, SITA today employs people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages. SITA had consolidated revenues of US$ 1.46 billion (1.10 billion) in 2010. For further information go to www.sita.aero
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