British Airways will create the best possible airport experience for air travellers by further embracing technology, simplifying procedures and upgrading facilities during the next two years ahead of its move into Heathrow airport’s Terminal 5.
The airline will introduce improvements to check-in, baggage handling, on-board seating allocation, airport lounges and aircraft boarding to ensure a stress-free, speedy and seamless experience for travellers.
The first change is to be launched from April 25, when the airline introduces across-the-board self-service check-in for customers travelling on UK domestic flights. From this date, the only way for customers to check-in will be on ba.com or at an airport kiosk.
Conventional check-in desks will be converted to ‚fast bag drop‘ desks, for customers with luggage to check-in, and dedicated staff will be on hand to help customers at the kiosks.
Customers who check-in on ba.com can print their boarding pass from their home or office printer, up to 24 hours before their flight, allowing them to proceed immediately to the boarding gate on arrival at the airport.
Martin George, commercial director, said: „Making the airport experience simpler and speedier for our customers is the cornerstone of our vision for Terminal 5 and we want to introduce many of these improvements now, ahead of our move.
„Our customers have told us that they are looking for ways to save precious time where possible, so we have developed user-friendly self-service check-in systems, which they think are terrific, to help ease their journey through the airport.“
British Airways will continue to invest in automated check-in systems in expectation that more than 80 per cent of its customers will use self-service check-in by the time it moves into Terminal 5.