Innovative Trends in IT Aviation: Date:   Tuesday , December 08, 2015 AirAsia (India) Ltd is a joint venture between Tata Sons Limited, Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd & AirAsia, with AirAsia Investment Limited holding 49%, Tata Sons Limited holding 41.06% and Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd holding 9.94% in the airline. AirAsia India commenced its operations on 12th June 2014 and currently has Bengaluru, Kochi, Goa, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Vizag, New Delhi, Guwahati & Imphal in its destination network. Mittu Chandilya is the CEO & MD of AirAsia India. Today, with the advent of Low Cost Carriers, travel by air is very affordable. Gone are the days when it was meant for the rich and affluent. Several Airlines across the globe are trying their best to keep fares low to make it affordable for everyone who want to experience air travel. With the increase in number of passengers, there is definitely a lot of work and challenges for the Airport Operators and the Airlines across the world to ensure that there is no compromise on the quality of the service, no matter what the load. To address these challenges, Airline and Airline operators across the world are bringing new innovations with the help of IT solutions and below are some of the few methods which are getting implemented on a rapid phase. Web check-in: Imagine sitting in the office/home premises and initiating the check-in process. If a passenger gets to choose his seat or request for special services on the flight, it is sure to ease the overall check-in process. It is highly beneficial for the passengers who carry a hand baggage so that they can directly walk into the security check and avoid standing in queue at the check-in counters. Airport Kiosk: Airport kiosk, also known as the Self Service Check-in kiosk can be dedicated to a specific airline or can be shared as a common one by multiple airlines. A kiosk can be used for number of self-service processes like Check-in, booking, change in reservation and others. This technology which comes with a very simple user interface has helped in increasing passenger processing speed. Latest generation Kiosks come with an optional bag tag printer and passport scanner which eventually eases the entire check-in process with the help of self-bag drop. Self-bag drop solution: Self-Bag Drop is a product that allows passengers to check-in their baggage without any intervention of a Customer Service agent. It enables a true end-to-end self-service check-in process. Similar to kiosks, Self-Bag Drop units can either be dedicated to a single airline or can be shared by multiple airlines. How Self-Bag Drop Works: Self-Service Check-in: - Check-in at the kiosk preferably where the bag tags are printed for self-tagging - Proceed to a self-service bag drop section Passenger Identification process: - Passenger scans his/her 2D boarding pass at the bag drop unit - The bag drop unit identifies the airline and opens the corresponding airline bag drop application - The passenger\'s check-in information is displayed - Optionally, the passenger can also print his/her bag tag if not done at the check-in kiosk initially Bag drop process involved: - Passenger places his/her check-in bag on the belt - System scans the bag tag, weights and measures the bag - If all the baggage rules of the airlines (weight, dimension) are complied with, the bag is sent onto the Baggage Handling System - A baggage receipt is issued to the passenger - If the baggage rules are not complied with, the passenger receives a notification of what needs to be done Additional processes that can be handled by the Self Bag Drop unit: - Excess baggage charges - Inactive/active bag tag status changes Key benefits to the passengers: - Reduces lengthy queue in Bag drop-off section - Provides faster access to airside facilities - Improved travel experience through greater convenience and facilities