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The Progress of the CUSS Project So Far

K I O S K | S Y S T E M S travel & transport

In CUSS We Trust Rich Germain spoke to John Howes, Self-Service Solutions Manager, IBM

IBM is one of the biggest

suppliers of IT to the air

transport industry, and has

been working with the

airline industry for more

than 40 years. More than

3000 IBM check-in kiosks

are now installed or on

order at over 200 locations.

KIOSK EUROPE: As the year draws to a close, what changes, if any, have you seen in consumer behaviour regarding the use of self-service check-in facilities?

JOHN HOWES: the biggest change is the growing nature of the self-service check-in channel. There is no doubt of a building awareness, and subsequent use of, online check-in (OLCI) as the channel of choice. This growth is sure to be encouraged by the airlines, as for them it is simply the lowest cost option. It is clearly a lot less expensive to have a passenger check in at a kiosk, at home or in the office than at a manned desk at the airport. The concept of self-service in general is becoming increasingly embraced

by the traveller. We are now definitely past the tipping point - this is not a new technology anymore, the first air travel kiosks were out in the mid-90’s. In many cases, self-service, through either kiosks or the internet, is now the established channel of choice for check-in.

KE: Is the use of self check-in still predominantly a behaviour of business travellers, or is the ‘pleasure’ traveller embracing it as well?

JH: There is no doubt that there is a higher take-up with business travellers, but all groups are now embracing self-service. After all, most business travellers also travel for pleasure as well. For the infrequent flyer there may be the need for ‘kiosk hosts’ who are there

to encourage use of the kiosk - and to support the passenger if they have any questions. This acts as a ‘jump start’ into the process. A couple of other things that have helped increase general kiosk usage are the web, mobile phones and iPods, coupled with a greater familiarity for everyone with the use of technology and the increasing take-up of e-tickets.

KE: Do you think airlines and other travel companies are doing enough to promote their self-service facilities?

JH: Generally speaking, yes. They are well aware of the cost differential between self-service check-in and counter check-in – the rule of thumb

“...the success of CUSS has been down to a combination of airlines, airports and suppliers all working on the same standard.”

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KIOSK EUROPE Spring 2007 33

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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Conquering Earth was easy, but stairs proved more of a problem...

used is around $3US dollars per check-in at a manned desk, against less than 20 cents for kiosk check-in. The Web is even cheaper again. British Airways is a very good example. As a BA Frequent Flyer, whenever I make a booking, they email me to point out and encourage me to use the self-service options. At the airport there will be kiosk hosts who are there to offer reassurance and answer questions (if I need help). BA has recently remodelled the kiosk positioning in London Heathrow to move them front and centre for the passengers. There is also a dedicated bag drop area for luggage, whether the passenger gets their boarding pass at the kiosk or online.

KE: The CUSS scheme is probably the best example of standardisation in the kiosk industry – what lessons do you think could be learnt from the CUSS project and applied to self-service as a whole?

JH: The key point is cooperation. For some years now, the success of CUSS has been down to a combination of airlines, airports and suppliers all working on the same standard. The CUSS providers have a communal responsibility to ensure their products execute to the CUSS standard, as all participants are potentially impacted by the poor performance of any one participant. In a commercial environment this can be a major challenge.

KE: How has the CUSS standard model evolved over the last few years?

JH: The first point to make is that the first two CUSS airports - Vancouver (2002) and McCaran (2003) have both been very successful CUSS implementations. We did not start with a poor base. The two airports have taken slightly different routes, and both have gone well. Vancouver

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K I O S K | S Y S T E M S travel & transport S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

supports nine CUSS airlines on their airport kiosks, but has in fact deployed more than 30 kiosks (a quarter of their inventory) in downtown hotels. McCarran, who support 15 airlines at the kiosk, has printed over 7 million CUSS boarding passes to date, and has deployed kiosks outside the airport in the Convention Centre, Luxor and Venetian hotels. Here they have also taken the next logical step - you can check-in and, for a small fee, check your bag in at the same time. The next time you see your bag is at your home

that there are a significant number of installations. The key is to make the standard as robust as possible to give user confidence and to ease the process of certification. In the near term, a lot of effort will go into finding the best ways to cater for newer requirements, such as Chip & Pin.

KE: There is a trend towards the integration of hotel and car hire facilities within self check-in terminals. Some say this will never take off, causing more problems than it solves, and some say it’s the natural next step. Where do you stand?

CUSS is no longer the preserve of the business traveller - holiday makers are fast waking up to the benefits, too

airport. So the base is solid. Take-up on CUSS has been slower than expected, not helped by the sad events of 9/11. However CUSS is now part of the IATA Simplifying the Business initiative, and this is now providing the momentum to move forward. There is an increasing interest and take up of CUSS. This was reflected by the first conference focusing purely on CUSS, which took place in Las Vegas during 2006. A lot of recent efforts have involved tightening up the standard itself, now

JH: I stand in favour. Our starting point would be to develop applications to the CUSS standard. We have now completed the development of several hotel check-in applications that do just that. Of course, these applications use devices which are not familiar to airlines, with the best example being room key encoding, but by developing to the CUSS standard we have created the basis for later integration with other applications. Hilton Hotels offer check-in capability for 17 major North American carriers

at their kiosks, by using a component of the IBM CUSS platform to manage the airlines.com web site, effectively offering the guest airline check-in and boarding pass production at a hotel check-in kiosk.

KE: The growth in self check-in over the internet is obviously the biggest competitor for self check-in kiosks – do you see the net eventually overtaking kiosks in this area, or do issues such as secure payment and on-site availability mean that the kiosk will always have its place?

JH: The kiosk (just like the desk) will always have a place. There will be some circumstances when the passenger simply cannot use online facilities. It is important that the traveller is offered a consistent service, be it kiosk, web or mobile. The check-in fl ow and rules should be consistent for all the channels.

KE: Where do you see the mobile phone/ Blackberry ‘boarding pass’ option going?

JH: They are already being used, but it is too early to say what the take-up will be, or what the attitude of the regulatory authorities will be. This whole subject is as much about culture and process as it is about technology. If the application is architected to deliver to multiple channels, then adding an extra channel is not going to be the major issue.

KE: And biometrics?

JH: From a kiosk platform perspective, biometrics are just other technologies that can be integrated into the platform – just like passport, smart card or bar code technologies, or example. As such, they have already been integrated into self-service kiosks for immigration control.

KE: Finally, from the traveller’s point of view, what do you see as being the biggest problems with self check-in at the moment?

JH: One of the major passenger concerns is simply finding the kiosk in the first place! - so the need for good positioning and signage are critical. A kiosk that is not too cluttered, with user dialogue that is intuitive and easy to follow is another important factor. The effort involved in getting this right cannot be over-emphasised.

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