SAS leads airline industry with customer-friendly new automatic ticket machines

SAS leads airline industry with customer-friendly new automatic ticket machines Customers want freedom of choice and simplicity, and SAS can offer these features through ticket-less travel and smoother automation of travel procedures. SAS is a leader in the airline industry in this area. For eleven years the company has been working with increasingly more efficient automatic check-in machines and it now has more than 200 in use. Our customers have made it clear to us: "We want to control our travel and we want to take action ourselves. We can handle simple routines ourselves, but when it is needed we want good personal service." SAS is now introducing new automatic machines for self-service. And the machines offer many more functions than check-ins. Those that are in use today can already perform nine different functions, including the sale and dispensing of different types of tickets. With the aid of logical symbols, a customer is able to make the right selection, and the machines are prepared to accommodate more functions as the technology develops and customers' needs increase. The first 50 new machines will be in place during the coming summer. "The design of the new machines is attractive both graphically and functionally," says Peter Söderlund, who is responsible for SAS's ground-based product development. "It is organized logically, with everything that pertains to a transaction easily visible." Today, one out of every four SAS passengers at the Arlanda Terminal checks in via an automatic machine. SAS would like to see this figure double during the coming year, with only one out of five passengers going to the traditional check-in counter. It is all part of the program to handle passenger flows more efficiently and provide smoother travel with fewer waiting lines. The new automatic machines are made by Höft & Wessel, a German company. For additional information, please contact: Peter Söderlund, Director Product Management On Ground and IT, tel +46 8 797 11 04 or +46 709 97 11 04 SAS CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/03/22/20010321BIT00180/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/03/22/20010321BIT00180/bit0001.pdf