Airport Check-in: Kiosks at Sea-Tac; Denver tames a horse
— -- SEATTLE
More Alaska self-service kiosks open
Alaska Airlines opened a second cluster of self-service kiosks and bag drop-off pods at Seattle-Tacoma. It's another step toward Alaska's goal of overhauling its check-in procedures. The Seattle-based carrier is spending $18 million to renovate its ticketing lobby at Sea-Tac in three phases. Each phase consists of a cluster of 11 kiosks and 16 bag-drop pods. The last will open in the summer.
The new check-in setup directs customers of Alaska and Horizon Air, an Alaska subsidiary, to use the kiosks to print boarding passes and tags for checked luggage. Passengers then carry the luggage to nearby drop-off pods for ID checks and bag-tagging by agents. The new lobby design has cut average check-in time by half, the airline says.
DENVER
Mustang sculpture arrives at airport
A 32-foot-tall statute of a rearing mustang is finally being installed at Denver International, years after it was first commissioned. In 1992, the airport paid $300,000 for the fiberglass sculpture, which will sit in a median on Peña Boulevard. A large piece of it fell in June 2006, killing its sculptor, Luis Jimenez, in his New Mexico studio. Jimenez, a nationally renowned artist, had missed several deadlines before he died, and the airport once sought to shift the work to another artist. Jimenez's family members completed his work.
LOS ANGELES
Elite Korean Air travelers get new lounge
Korean Air recently opened a new lounge for premier-class passengers at LAX.
First- and business-class passengers have access to comfortable chairs, snacks and drinks, Wi-Fi, computers and printers, conference rooms, showers and massage chairs at the 9,000-square-foot facility. It's in the Tom Bradley Terminal.
FRANKFURT
Some Lufthansa fliers can self-board
All gates at Lufthansa's Frankfurt hub are now equipped for self-boarding. A scanner reads the bar code on the pass and lets passengers walk through a turnstile to board the aircraft.
An agent is usually present to deal with only non-routine matters, such as torn or damaged passes. Flights to the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom still board passengers the old-fashioned way, with agents checking identification.
CHICAGO
Privatization for Midway makes progress
Chicago's plan to privatize Midway Airport cleared a major hurdle last week when the city met a federal requirement that five of seven airlines approve it. Midway's tenants had been resisting on fears that a private airport operator could impose higher fees.
Southwest, the airport's largest tenant, agreed late last year to privatization after the city promised to freeze total airline fees for six years and limit future increases to the inflation rate.
Delta, AirTran, ATA and Frontier agreed last week. Federal regulators must now approve applications submitted by private operators.
Every Monday, we report on the latest news in airports across the USA. See something noteworthy in your travels? E-mail your suggestions to ryu@usatoday.com.