Gulf carrier Emirates has taken off-airport check-in to a new level with a mobile service that comes to passengers’ homes.
The service comes as a number of airlines have been experimenting with hotel check-ins and Antipodean carrier Virgin Australia has been pioneering “pop-up” facilities in areas such as cruise terminals.
Emirates passengers in Dubai can now have a mobile check-in agent and security staffer come to their house to issue a boarding pass and collect their luggage. The service is also available for people staying in hotels.
It isn’t free and at AED350 ($US95) per trip, it isn’t cheap.
But it’s available to people flying all classes and the price includes up to seven pieces of luggage. This means passengers need only transport themselves to the airport where they can go directly to immigration.
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“Emirates has been running trials for its Home Check-in service since October to ensure that the customer experience and security checks are faultless,’’ the airline said. “The service seals each bag and stores them in a separate hold in the van. Emirates Home Check-in will be operated with a new fleet of vans. “
Passengers can book the Home Check-In just after buying their ticket or up to 12 hours prior to departure from Dubai.
They pay an extra AED35 for each additional piece of baggage beyond the seven pieces and they can pay excess baggage fees through the service if their luggage is overweight.
Virgin Australia’s cutting-edge off-terminal service has been offering cruise passengers connecting to its flights the ability to check in after ships berth at two cruise terminals in Sydney.
The service, created by Off Airport Check-In Solutions (OACIS) using Amadeus’ Airport Common Use Service cloud technology, allows passengers disembarking from a cruise to drop their bags, pick up their boarding pass and explore Sydney bag-free.
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The Australian carrier recently used the technology at a tourism conference in Adelaide, where it proved a big hit with attendees, and plans to expand its use to other conferences and hotels.
In addition to providing passenger convenience, Virgin says the service also helps ease airport congestion by allowing passengers to go straight to their flight.
