Boarding Pass Please
THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS
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BOARDING-PASS KIOSKS such as this one in a hotel lobby, allow passengers to bypass the lineups at airport
check-in counters.
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STAINLESS STEEL WITH a brushed satin finish gives this kiosk a sleek, modern look.
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Sleek stainless steel boarding-pass kiosks are sprouting up all around the world
By Carroll McCormick
Nickel Magazine, July 2006 -- As the International Air Transport Association (IATA) moves toward 100% electronic ticketing among its roughly 270 member airlines by 2007, boarding-pass kiosks, which allow passengers to bypass the lineups at check-in counters, are becoming more common in airports around the world.
Although kiosks proprietary to individual airlines, and usable only by their own passengers, have been sprouting up in airport terminals over the past decade, the IATA has been helping airports and airlines adopt Common-Use Self-Serve (CUSS) technology, which allows passengers flying on any number of airlines to obtain boarding passes from the same kiosk.
The cost of installing and maintaining kiosks is shared among airlines. CUSS technology makes it affordable and practical to station kiosks outside the terminal (for example, in parking areas and hotel lobbies) to serve passengers of multiple airlines. Twenty-seven airports have installed nearly 600 CUSS kiosks already, and they will eventually number in the thousands throughout the world.
When the Vancouver International Airport Authority in British Columbia, Canada, decided to offer electronic ticketing, it specified a design that included S31600 trim with a brushed satin finish for the kiosk fronts. The striking result is modern and sleek, like aircraft themselves.
"We wanted a design that was consistent and iconic so passengers would have no doubt the kiosks were for airport check-in, and without a lot of supporting signage," says Kevin Molloy, the airport’s vice-president of simplified passenger travel and chief information officer. There are 77 CUSS kiosks at the airport and, so far, 19 in locations outside, such as Delta and Hyatt Regency hotels and the Vancouver Tourist Information Centre.
IBM Canada in Markam, Ontario, manufactured the kiosks using about one square metre of S31600 in 11- and 14-gauge sheet steel for the front bezel and lower kick plates of each kiosk. "Stainless is generally a low-maintenance finish," says an IBM spokesperson. "The airport requested customization of the trim, including the front stainless bezel and the lower stainless steel kick plates."
IBM has built kiosks with stainless steel trim for many other airlines and airports, including Air Canada, British Airways, Air New Zealand and the Las Vegas and Manchester International Airports. Even the Canada Border Security Agency ordered kiosks with stainless steel trim and accents, for its Iris Recognition Biometric Trusted Traveller Program.
Carroll McCormick is a Montreal-based freelance writer.
PHOTOS: Vancouver Airport Authority
Kevin Molloy Mike Quinn |
