Mumbai airport has emerged as Number One in terms of passenger self-service check-ins, according to the 2011 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey. Self-service check-ins by passengers travelling through Mumbai airport have gone up from 36 per cent to 65 per cent over the past year.
The sixth edition of this survey was carried out with a representative sample of the world's leading airport hubs. It includes Abu Dhabi International Airport (Abu Dhabi), Beijing International Airport (China), Frankfurt International Airport (Germany), São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (Brazil) and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. It is estimated that 283.5 million passengers pass through these six airports.
Time management
The survey found that 70 per cent of passengers use the Web check-in option occasionally or frequently. Worldwide, this percentage is around 65 per cent. A total of 98 per cent of Mumbai survey respondents were carrying either a mobile phone (56 per cent) or a smart-phone (42 per cent).
The majority of smart-phone carriers — 80 per cent — said they would like to connect to a free airport Wi-Fi network while 38 per cent were willing to pay for access, compared to 10 per cent globally. About 78 per cent of the respondents wanted services such as information on gate changes, flight delays and boarding status made available.
While 25 per cent of the users would like to know about the time taken to reach the departure gate, 23 per cent want to know the location of the nearest lounge, 15 per cent require information on wait times at security and 7 per cent wanted to know about parking at the airport.
People are more concerned about time management as 68 per cent of the frequent flyers have already signed up for SMS alerts on flight information. Among all passengers carrying a mobile device, 48 per cent already receive SMS notifications and a further 46 per cent would like to receive them.
Higher than global number
Globally, 57 per cent of the passengers go for online booking but in Mumbai this number is as high as 63 per cent. Among those who book online, 59 per cent visit online travel agencies while 34 per cent prefer airline Websites.
Commenting on the survey, Mr Vikram Sethi, Vice-President and Head (Terminal Operations), Mumbai International Airport Limited said: “There will be a further increase in offsite check-in/self check-in as the government requirement for airlines to stamp boarding cards generated from kiosks is being discontinued and airlines will have to conduct identity checks at the boarding gate.”
Mr Maneesh Jaikrishna, SITA Country Director for India and Subcontinent, said that the investment in passenger facilitation made by Mumbai International Airport and its customer airlines was paying off.