Online Check-in May Be Eliminated

By Author: Steve Robinson
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British Airways, well known for its cheap travel options, including cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages, is testing a new service that will automatically check in passengers before their flights.

Selected passengers flying out of airports in France during October are being given the option of being automatically checked in a day prior to departure, assigned a seat, and sent an electronic boarding pass.

The goal, according to British Airways, is to give its passengers one less thing to deal with (i.e. checking in online the day before a scheduled flight) before heading to the airport.

The airline says that its passengers will always be given the choice as to whether they want to use automated check-in and will be able to request a change in their seat assignments if they are not satisfied with their assigned seats. Eventually the hope is to give passengers the ability to store their seat preferences in the system to increase the likelihood of them being assigned seats that they want.

Some experts are skeptical of the motivation behind this test. Select airlines have started charging ...
... a fee for confirmed seat assignments when tickets are first purchased. These airlines are then releasing “free” seats 24 hours prior to departure, resulting in unhappy customers trying to locate the few remaining aisle and window seats. There is suspicion that British Airways is simply trying to automate this approach to assigning seats.

What most travelers prefer is to be able to confirm their seats at the time they purchase their tickets without having to pay an additional fee.
Currently British Airways allows its passengers to select seats for free within 24 hours of departure, though it acknowledges that the “choice may be limited.”

Its automated check-in trial will be expanded to a larger group of passengers in the spring. If the test is judged a success, British Airways wants to make this option available to all of its passengers by the end of 2013.
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