US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - US Airways Expands Curbside And Kiosk Check-In At Philadelphia International Airport

http://www.usairways.com/about/press/nw_03_0701.htm

ARLINGTON, Va., July 1, 2003 -- US Airways has introduced 12 new curbside check-in stations and six new Self-Service Check-in kiosks at Philadelphia International Airport this week, giving customers the ability to check in at18 new locations.

Customers checking baggage at the curbside in Philadelphia will now receive their boarding passes along with their baggage receipts. Two positions were opened yesterday, with 10 others becoming operational today.

Philadelphia originating customers without checked baggage will also be able to obtain boarding passes at kiosks on the walkways at Terminals B and C beginning today. The six new kiosks are split equally between the B and C walkways, and are located in front of the security checkpoints on the walkway bridges.

"As our customers head to the airport this weekend for what is shaping up to be a very busy holiday, to enhance the airport experience, we have expanded check-in capability at our Philadelphia hub," said Al Crellin, US Airways executive vice president of operations.

With the addition of these six new kiosks, Philadelphia now has a total of 32 US Airways kiosks. Sixteen Self-Service Check-In kiosks are located at the Domestic ticket counter, with four additional kiosks for passengers without checked bags. Four Self-Service kiosks are available at the First Class ticket counter, and two more are in US Airways Express Terminal F.

US Airways is the nation’s seventh-largest airline, serving nearly 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. Most of its route network is concentrated in the eastern U.S., where it is the largest air carrier east of the Mississippi. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate over 3,300 flights per day. For more information on US Airways flight schedules and fares, contact US Airways online at usairways.com, or call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322.

Reporters needing additional information should contact US Airways Corporate Affairs at (703) 872-5100.

Translation: "We know the lines at PHL are horrible because we have cut so many agent positions. Rather than address this, we'll throw some more kiosks at the problem and at least appear to be doing something."

I've been thru PHL at prime time on Monday and Friday and hit a kiosk with no line when the Y and International Y lines were several hundred folks deep. Adding kioks will not address that situation, despite what the Fort Fumble crowd would like to think.

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

I am glad that they have added the curbside check in but they first should get some more workers to unload the luggage. My wife and I flew in from Las Vegas and had to wait 1 hour for our luggage and were told by an employee that this is normal.

I agree w/u Clue on this one. I haven't been through PHL in 6 months or so, but when I was there the normal check-in lines were hundreds deep (out the door).

How many people were lined up at the kiosks you ask? None.

So, what a handy solution it is to add more of the things people don't use...and remove the things they do. Logic? What's that?

-Chris

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by chrislacey:
I agree w/u Clue on this one. I haven't been through PHL in 6 months or so, but when I was there the normal check-in lines were hundreds deep (out the door).

How many people were lined up at the kiosks you ask? None.</font>

I hate the international re-screening at PHL when I get back -- lines are always horrible when a bunch of planes all arrive at once.

The only time I flew in/out of PHL I didn't have any problems, but I'm sure I was not anywhere close to peak times.