Date of Award

Fall 11-1995

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Aeronautical Science

Department

Aeronautical Science

Committee Chair

Henry R. Lehrer

Committee Member

Gerald D. Gibb

Committee Member

John Longshore

Abstract

This study was conducted in an attempt to determine whether airlines can benefit from a fully automated customer service system which will be used by major, Part 121, operators for domestic travel purposes only. The proposed system will be designed to alleviate airport terminals check-in counter congestion and improve customer service personnel effectiveness and efficiency.

Domestic traffic is expected to increase by 50 percent by the year 2004. An Automatic Ticketing and Baggage (ATB) system will allow passengers to process all flight related transactions only once. A self checking-in system allows a passenger to obtain boarding passes and destination bag tags. From there the passenger simply boards the aircraft. This can be accomplished without the interaction of airline employees who can be deployed to handle more critical matters. With the introduction of an automated system, it is anticipated that there will be little need for additional passenger processing facilities such as land-side expansion or other major infrastructure. Employing a questionnaire survey, the author attempted to determine if a need exists for such a system.

The automated system will be used by frequent fliers, particularly business travelers and other "seasoned" passengers who travel under time constraints. Current check-in procedures can be time consuming and stressful. The user-friendly system will be located at strategic points where high utilization will be expected. Possible locations for an automated check-in system include curbside check-in, strategic points within the terminal buildings, and areas within the sterile holding area. Vendors are available that can provide the already existing hardware and software needed to implement the system.

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