US carrier JetBlue Airways has launched an automatic check-in initiative, which will allow customers to focus on their travel plans and not the need to get to a computer 24 hours before their flight departs to check-in.
Automatic check-in removes the need for customers to ever have to check-in for their flights. Eligible customers will receive an email 24 hours before their scheduled flight with a ready-to-print boarding pass, as well as the option to download a mobile boarding pass via JetBlue iOS or Android mobile apps. With the printed boarding pass or mobile app, customers are ready to head to the airport, and on to their flight.
In addition to removing the check-in process, initiating the process a full 24 hours ahead of a flight is also expected to enable the ability to catch and notify customers of any information inconsistencies or issues with special service requests in a reservation that might otherwise remain unresolved until their arrival at the airport. For those customers not currently eligible for automatic check-in, or those customers who need to address outstanding requirements within their booking, the standard check-in notification process will remain in place.
“The idea of asking customers to jump an additional hurdle before their flight is an increasingly antiquated concept,” explained Blair Koch, JetBlue’s VP of Commercial and Shared Development Services. “By having the right systems in place, we can remove this step, and even help identify and prevent issues that can hinder customers from fully enjoying their travel experience.”
Michael Stromer, JetBlue’s VP of Digital, Loyalty & Customer Insights added, “Following our successful smartphone and mobile boarding pass launches, auto check-in is just another example of leveraging technology and common sense to make our customers’ travel experiences better.”
Eligible customers at launch include individuals who have booked domestic itineraries with Even More Space seats and will expand to include additional customers as the programme evolves over the next year. Expansion to include additional customers in assigned core seats, is expected to begin in 2015. International travellers and those customers who still have unassigned seats, become eligible later in the new year.
