Check-in services and passenger behaviour: Self service technologies in airport systems

• Age and level of education affect the use of SSTs for check-in.
• Time savings are a major factor in choosing online check-in.
• Frequent flyers opt for self check-in and business passengers for the check-in desk.
• Foreign travellers are more likely to use kiosks for check-in.
• The penalisation for using LCC check-in desks impacts on the choice of check-in mode.

The need for airports to optimise space and the need for airlines to bring down their operating costs favours the use of self-service technologies in services provided to passengers and at check-in, specifically. Checking in online and at kiosks in the airport is gaining ground on the use of the airline check-in desk. The objective of this paper is to analyse the socio-demographic factors or flight characteristics that influence a passenger’s choice of check-in from the various options available. For this a multinomial logit is used and applied to an extensive sample of almost 20,000 passengers, of whom 43% were foreigners, at five Spanish airports. The factors that determine the choice of check-in mode include the passenger’s age and level of education, the reason for making the journey, waiting time and the type of airline. The universal use of the new technologies in airport management, and the broad cosmopolitan sample mean that the conclusions can be easily extrapolated to other airport systems.