BA off to a flier with self-service check-in

British Airways is bringing check-in times for customers down to under a minute with 190 new self-service kiosks at Heathrow and across its European destinations.

The touch-screen kiosks from IBM allow customers to check-in, select seats and request upgrades. The system aims to significantly reduce check-in queues, especially at peak times.

The rollout is expected to be complete by February next year, and is the latest part of the airline's 'customer enabled' BA programme that will use IT to transform how travellers do business with BA.

Paul Coby, CIO at BA, said in a statement that the airline aims to achieve 50 per cent self-service check-in over the next 18 months.

"Effective use of IT is fundamental to simplifying the way British Airways does business," he said. "IBM's kiosks are a great example of how we are investing in modern technology while at the same time improving customer service and achieving greater levels of efficiency. We are making travel easier and increasing the ways in which customers can deal with us."

The kiosks use IBM's self-service airline check-in software, which integrates with BA's departure control system to assign seats.