Checking in baggage at Auckland domestic new process
 

Hi,
the new process for checking in bags (i.e. customers scanning bag tags while dropping off bags) looks like a recipe for disaster when it's busy. Some people still have trouble with the kiosks! Not sure how this new requirement will be coped with.
It used to be bad enough just lining up to drop off the bags.
Can't quite see how this enhances the customer experience. It only seems to free up an AirNZ member from scanning behind the scenes.
Premium desk is of little assistance I find, it's too slow usually.

Yep it's a disaster when it's busy

My partners name has a hyphen in it so Air NZ's automated systems refused to do anything for her. She cannot check-in online or check-in at a kiosk and must always see a staff member to get them to manually do it, which is a hassle when they tend to be so hard to find. Pretty poor really, but understandable I guess given the age of their IT systems.

:D Ain't that the truth!!

Like most things- when it works- it is fine. My last 3 drops were failures.

A cynic might say Air NZ is trying to capture 'lost' ancillary revenue - bags being over weight.... perhaps too many folks dropping bags over 23kg? or worse, over 32kg which needs 2 staff to lift.

I think you're partially correct - but I was also told a year or so ago one of the reasons for moving to this was to get more accurate weight data for aircraft loading. I'd just assumed bags were weighted behind the scenes automatically but I don't think that is the case at all airports and that some of this is still manual.

I would also have assumed bags were weighed behind the scenes, but if not then this change is a quite plausible explanation.

One small data point, just observed this at 1330 on Weds arvo, very quiet in the terminal. Long line at the new bag drop. Think their new "clever" system is too clever for many of their customers! People just looking confused! Only one harried employee trying to help all six drop off booths

Hawaiian's check-in system (which was, ironically, modelled on the original NZ version) has scales aligned to each kiosk so that the bag is weighed at the kiosk before it is tagged and then wheeled over to be dropped off. Admittedly this doesn't rule out a situation where someone could weigh and tag the bag, and then open the bag to sneak more stuff inside, but this seems like a better way of managing the drop process. Oh well, too late now.

yep 100+ people waiting to lodge their bags on Saturday morning - queue snaked right around the check-in area. Goodness knows how long it would take to get through that.

This has changed my behavior - I always used kiosk to check myself in (typically travel with baggage), now I will go the elite counter