WASHINGTON -- More global airline passengers prefer to check-in online than any other method according to the 2008 annual IATA Corporate Air Travel Survey, the first time that the online option beat out the airline check-in counter.
The survey showed that 42% prefer to check in online, while 40% prefer to use the check-in counter. Among the remaining 18%, the most popular option is the check-in kiosk, favored by 12% of travelers, further suggesting that the traditional airport check-in desk is falling out of favor around the globe.
IATA has been doing the survey for about 20 years and started including questions about online check-in a few years ago.
The online preference has been getting more popular globally every year, said Philippe Bruyere, director of IATA's Simplifying the Business program, which includes initiatives like e-ticketing and bar-coded boarding passes.
"It's been growing steadily," he said during a roundtable meeting with the media.
The IATA survey shows passengers around the world are increasingly looking for more self-service options, relying more on technology than people for check-in, bag checks and other flight interactions.
The percentage of flyers who want more of those choices was 54% in the Asia-Pacific region, 55% in the Americas, 57% in Europe and 65% in Africa and the Middle East.
A pleasant, on-time trip
Of no surprise were other survey findings that more than three-quarters of passengers considered on-time flights the most important factor in making their "journey a pleasant one," while 63% said it was the prompt and safe arrival of their checked baggage.
Slightly more than half identified excellent in-flight service. Just under half said named "fast journey times through the airport."
Bruyere said the survey results show the continued need for its Simplifying the Business program, which IATA says can save the global aviation industry up to $13.9 billion annually.
"It lowers cost and brings value to the passengers," he said.
IATA says it's already met its e-ticketing goal for compliant airlines. The organization is now embarking on other initiatives like its baggage improvement program, or BIP, which, Bruyere said, can cut bag mishandlings by half and save the industry about $1.9 billion a year.
Some of the BIP measures are far from high-tech.
At one airport, he said, one IATA solution was to paint lines like highway markers in a baggage sorting area to make sure the handlers do not bunch bangs too closely together, making it easier for workers to direct the bags to the right spot.