|
|
|
|
|
       |
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grace Chng
Editor, Digital Life
SMS boarding pass
March 01, 2009 Sunday, 06:00 AM
Grace Chng is impressed by how efficient Germans are, through the use of technology.
Postings from Germany AS EXPECTED, the Germans are efficient and on time. Nothing bothers them as much as people not being punctual. I've been impressed with their efficiency. Our flight to Munich took 55 minutes on AirBerlin. We're out of the airport and sitting in the bus 15 minutes after we landed. We didn't have to wait 5 minutes for our bags. It's all so fast. Labour is expensive so the Germans are turning to technology to help with customer service. We'll know of phone, online and mobile check-ins for flights. The Germans have taken it one step further. Passengers can download their boarding passes into their cellphones. The boarding passes with the barcode contain information like seat number, boarding time and gate number. Pass this barcode over a scanner and you're on your way. This new service has just been launched and the airlines have taken newspaper ads to promote it. Nothing was said about the luggage but I would assume one of two things: You can walk up to a counter to check-in your bags as you would when you do a mobile, online or phone check-in. But I think, it will be a self-service kiosk. Once the barcode boarding pass is authenticated by the kiosk, then it will ask if you've luggage. If you do, then it'll print the luggage tags and you attach it to your bags and put it on a conveyor belt. In Singapore self-service kiosks are already available for some SQ flights. In the US, it's very common. It's a good way of saving labour and time. Watch out for my next posting in Berlin. Tags: technology 
Your comments are welcome. The following rules apply: |
|
|
Other blogs by Grace Chng
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Best viewed at 1152x864 resolution with IE 6.0 or
FireFox 2.0 and above Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co.
Regn No. 198402868E | Privacy Statement
| Terms & Conditions
|
|
the SMS boarding pass has been around with mainland China's airlines for sometime already.
The SMS based services are in vogue not just in Europe but also in Japan and Korea where service is not only efficient but also often comes with a pleasant smile. I do think in some respects, Singapore can move faster- particularly when I see the continuation of the bus card tapping system, and retrieving / reclaiming the ridiculous 1 dollar deposit on the standard mrt ticket when we are done with it, and so on. I am sure with some effort, SBS Transit and SMRT can make make it better and more pleasant(right now, SMRT and the SBS Rail offer very good service except for minor glitches here there but SBS buses have a long way to go).
Wm, totally agree with you.
I'm all for self-service and it works really well when everything you need works, e.g. not changing to an earlier flight, not being double-booked etc. The frustration for the customer starts when he needs assistance and there is hardly any airline staff around to service you because the airlines have laid off most of their front-line staff. This results in customer service being almost non-existent in continental Europe, especially in Scandinavia.