Air tickets sold at kiosks

One of Taiwan's domestic airlines made new inroads into cyberspace yesterday, allowing travelers to buy tickets on the Web and electronically check themselves in at two of Taiwan's domestic airports.

The kiosk-style machine, designed to allow passengers to automatically check themselves in, was formally inaugurated yesterday at Sungshan Airport (松山機場).

Mandarin Airlines (華信航空) said that both Internet and phone purchases will be able to order tickets, pay and check in by themselves -- save baggage check-in. That will still work the old-fashioned way -- handing them over to counter staff.

A Mandarin Airlines official at Sungshan Airport in Taipei said yesterday the introduction of the DIY kiosk will make passenger check-in more convenient.

The official, surnamed Chang, said that passengers need only insert their credit card into the check-in machine and enter their identification card number. Once the information is verified passengers will be able to make their seating choice and receive their boarding pass immediately.

"We have placed two DIY kiosks at Sungshan Airport in Taipei and another two at the Hsiaokang Airport (小港機場) in Kaohsiung," Chang said, adding that the kiosks have met with approval of more than 1,000 passengers who used the machines during a recent trial run held since mid-February.

"It takes only 30 seconds for passengers to receive their boarding pass with the use of the machine," said Chang.

In the initial stage, the kiosk will be used only on the airline's Taipei-Kaohsiung route. But, if the trial proves successful, the new check-in machine will be introduced at other domestic terminals, according to Huang Sung-yuan (黃松原), head of the airline's information section.

Huang hopes the new service will make the company's operations more cost-effective.