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Online check-in rising at Ruzyně

But software troubles slow kiosk installation

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 8th, 2007 issue

Jan Přerovský/THE PRAGUE POST
Passengers settle in for a long wait at Ruzyně's check-in counters.
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Frequent visitors to Prague Ruzyně International Airport can hardly fail to notice the long lines of passengers waiting at airline check-in counters.  
Those lines may soon shorten as online check-in gains momentum among the airlines serving Ruzyně. Not only are airlines extending online check-in options, automated check-in kiosks that are already staples in many airports could be installed as early as this fall.
The country’s leading air carrier, Czech Airlines (ČSA), announced in early August that it would extend online check-in to destinations in the United Kingdom and Germany this month. So far, online check-in has only been available through a pilot program launched June 18 on www.czechairlines.com, which allowed online check-in for flights to Paris and Amsterdam.
Within one month of the program’s launch, more than 5,000 passengers had used the service, according to a press release on the company’s Web site.
The success of the project made the management contemplate quick expansion of the program.
“Priority destinations for online check-in will be the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the rest of Western Europe, said Peter Baláž, head of e-marketing at ČSA.
Following the experience of some leading European airlines such as KLM and Air France, Baláž said about 20 percent of all ČSA passengers could use online check-in within a year.
The online check-in option is a natural extension for passengers already accustomed to buying their tickets online. ČSA spokeswoman Daniela Hupáková says the airline sells about 70 percent of its tickets online.
But the attraction of online sales and service isn’t just for customers. E-tickets save airlines millions of crowns that they would otherwise need to spend on issuing paper tickets.
“We’ve been trying to motivate passengers to purchase tickets online,” said Jan Čamek, spokesman for low-cost carrier SkyEurope. “In fact,” he adds, “Internet sales are essential to us.”
In 2006, SkyEurope sold 77 percent of its tickets online. That figure rose to 85 percent this year, Čamek said.
Software woes
Despite the increase in both online ticket sales and a move toward online check-in, Ruzyně Airport has not yet installed kiosks where passengers could print e-tickets or check in at the airport.
The delay has been due, in part, to particular airlines using software that is incompatible with what such kiosks require, said airport spokeswoman Eva Krejčí.
“An airline must have certified compatible software that it can later customize into different language mutations. As far as I know, none of the airlines has been ready to use the kiosks in Prague,” Krejčí said.
Still, several airlines are working toward making such kiosks a reality. In preparation, airport management bought seven kiosks last year.
Krejčí said Lufthansa anticipates putting those kiosks to use as early as October.
Other airlines, including low-cost carriers SkyEurope and Smart Wings, have also expressed interest, she said. Meanwhile, British Airways and Swiss already use software that could allow them to implement kiosk check-in in Prague.
Perhaps surprisingly, Baláž said ČSA uses software incompatible with the kiosks already purchased for the airport. The company is now focusing on how best to address this.

František Bouc can be reached at fbouc@praguepost.com


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