NEWS worthy Clips (2/3)

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News worthy Clips

Airport face-lifts smooth out travel wrinkles for fliers

For years, Jim Pancero put up with bags, carts, and other travelers blocking his way as he moved slowly in the lines at check-in counters at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport’s South Terminal.

Pancero, a Minneapolis business traveler who often goes to Atlanta, is breathing a little easier since Delta Air Lines earlier this year opened its new $26-million ticketing lobby. An of architecture, queue management, interior design, software and logistics, the new lobby has minimized use of traditional ticket counters. In their place, Delta has clustered 106 kiosks and redeployed its workers. The result: shorter lines, more room for passengers to roam and swifter passage to the security checkpoint at the world’s busiest airport.

Delta and Hartsfield-Jackson are among about a dozen U.S. airlines and airports that have largely given up traditional ticket counters that run parallel to the terminal entryway and force passengers to queue up in long, snaking lines that allow little room to spread out.

Instead, airport are clearing out the space, setting electronic kiosks and counters at an angle to the entryway, and spreading out passengers needing to catch their planes. The chief aim is to minimize the effects of crowds by separating passengers from each other and moving them away from the congested check-in counter.

As they build or , airports are also paying more attention to aesthetics and that could help them become more competitive: walled-off, separate check-in areas for premium customers; higher ceilings and more windows; and wider concourse hallways.

Electronic kiosks are gaining acceptance with travelers. About 70 percent of business travelers used kiosks at least once in 2007, says Forrester Research. Experienced travelers now largely prefer them to standing in lines, says Henry Harteveldt of Forrester.

According to architect Stanis Smith, “through good design, air ports can become a place people enjoy.”

Vocabulary Focus

breathe easier (idiom) ---to be able to relax, especially after a difficult event

redeploy (v) ---to move employees to a different place or use them in a more effective way

congested (adj) ---too blocked or crowed and causing difficulties

aesthetics (n) ---the enjoyment of beauty, or the display of great beauty

Specialized terms