British Airways has completed the installation of dozens of hosted bag-drop machines at its home at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, with more than 3.5 million customers having used the new technology so far.
With around 125,000 customers travelling on up to 800 flights every day, the airline is constantly looking at ways to ensure its flights depart on time and customers are able to travel with increasing ease through the airport.
As part of British Airways’ £6.5 billion investment for customers, a total of 72 hosted bag drop machines are now in place in Terminal 5, with customer service agents on hand to provide assistance when needed.
The number of machines has been increased after customers praised their ease of use, allowing travellers to take more control of their journey. The kiosks provide users with clear instructions, reducing the time it takes them to tag and process a bag, and essentially reducing queuing time for customers.
Yannick Berneau, British Airways’ Head of Customer Experience at Terminal 5 said:
“Removing the ‘desk’ as a physical barrier between customers and our agents allows us to offer the more personalised service that British Airways prides itself on. Hosted bag-drops are a great combination of automation and traditional customer service. The introduction of automation across the terminal has meant that our customers avoid queues and enjoy a faster, smoother journey through the airport.”
As part of British Airways’ investment for customers the airline is also enhancing its service training for airport customer service agents, providing them with iPads with specialised apps to enable the first representative a customer encounters to solve their issue or problem.
