Passengers Increasingly Head for Ticketing Machines

The extent to which air travelers are adopting electronic ticketing kiosks has been demonstrated in dramatic fashion by some numbers recently released by Northwest Airlines Inc., which was the first major airline to deploy the technology. Some two-thirds of the Minneapolis-based carrier's passengers used the kiosks in October, up from half in May and one-third in May 2002. The airline, which has domestic hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis, and Memphis, carries 60 million passengers annually, making it the world's fourth-largest carrier. Since deployment began in 1997, it has installed 755 ticketing kiosks in 188 airports around world, typically at terminals, in parking garages, and at curbsides. The machines allow travelers to buy domestic and international tickets, print out boarding passes, and lock in seat assignments while bypassing often serpentine lines at check-in counters. According to the Detroit News, customer adoption has been so encouraging the airline now says it plans to offer passengers, while they're printing their boarding passes, the ability to use the kiosks to order and pay for food they'll eat on the plane. Payment will by credit card, and the kiosk will print a food coupon that passengers will give to flight attendants.