Silent Devaluation - Premium Check-in Changes
 

Has anyone else noticed the (relatively) recent change to AA's Premium Check-In Queues? Previously there were very few, if any, kiosks in the premium area and most passengers were assisted in lines staffed with agents. This has now changed to a dramatic reduction of staffed desks / expansion of kiosk in the premium areas. I have also noticed that agents are unwilling to help pax (even CK) with checking in unless they have tried the Kiosk and failed. I have seen this at LAX (T4), SFO, SJC, and CLT.

I believe this a terrible change. While in theory it does allow you to avoid queues, I for one HATE the kiosks. They are unbelievably slow and ask way too many questions/upsells. Too add insult to injury-- I can't even tag my own bag anyway since the kiosk does not provide the priority tag (not that it does anything)

This has also resulted in skeleton staffing at the bag drop and "passenger assistance lanes". So if you actually need assistance, need anything other than an impersonal bag drop, or simply don't want to use the terrible kiosk, it all leads to frustration for AA's "most valued" passengers.

Death by 1000 cuts.

LAX T4 has at least five to six priority counters open most of the time (at least when I happen to be there), so no - can't complain. Unless there are arguing elite pax ("But I always bring fifty six carry on on board without a problem i nthe past") the wait time is usually ok.

I used the premium check in this weekend at both MSY and CLT. I ignored the kiosks, and in both cases the counter agents were happy to check my bag and print the BP, as usual.

There's drama here, alright.

Can anyone cite the actual year-over-year change in desks/kiosks at major AA stations?

Faced with the task of self bag-tagging by Alaska in SEA or LAX, the OP might become apoplectic.

Jeff Butler, Vice President of Customer Service – Airports, Alaska Airlines, said: “Customers who have used the service are delighted to be able to help themselves by tagging their own bags, dropping them off and going on their way. We are committed to making Alaska the easiest airline to fly on and self bag tagging is another step toward that goal.”

http://www.futuretravelexperience.co...-self-tagging/

At least in my home airports (on the East Coast), there have always been slews of kiosks in the "priority" check-in areas, and AA staff has refused to help passengers unless the passengers have tried the kiosks first.

I view more kiosks as a plus. Unlike real people, at least the kiosks can't refuse to to things in their discretion, refuse to follow policy, etc.

AA has been implementing this for 3+ years and may only recently have rolled this out at the airports frequented by OP. In any event, calling this a "devaluation" is way over the top. Counter agents are perfectly happy to check in those who either can't use a kiosk because they require a document check or have some other ticketing issue or simply can't manage a kiosk. There is also usually a floating agent helping people through the process.

On those rare occasions when I have a bag to check, I find the kiosks much preferable to dealing with an agent. It is simple, fast & efficient. I am not certain why it is better service and thus a perk of flying in a premium class or having "status" that AA pays someone to do what a pre-programmed can do at least as well, if not better.

the changes to make most airports combine all premium together started rolling out more than 2 years ago. Of course, some airports with 3 class planes still have a dedicated first.


But yeah, AA needs to up staffing. One pax with any sort of problem basically shuts down the queue

I mostly fly out of AUS and there is a single priority line serviced by, at most, two agents. It's a rare day that there are fewer than two parties in line there so if I'm checking bags my first stop is almost always at the hoi polloi kiosks. So if inadequate staffing and service in the priority area is a devaluation, it's old news from my perspective.

A concomitant change was extending premium queues to all from CK to credit card holders, and eliminating First Class queues. And yes, one person with a significant issue jams the queue, particularly in smaller airports or during low staffing hours. Going for self-service checking.

I just ignore the kiosks just as I ignore self-checkout in grocery stores. I figure for 12k on fares a year they can have a human print my boarding pass and answer my questions about the load and upgrade list. I’ve found at least at LAA stations there is always someone there at the counter that remembers what it was like to be a full-service airline—and seems genuinely happy to have a customer compliment them for still trying in spite of the mess that USAir dba AA has become.

Funny ... I always prefer self checkout. Much more efficient.

I suppose the kiosks are just as efficient. I used them the other day at LAX because I was worried about meeting the bag checkin deadline. I was annoyed at all the questions that I don't remember from the last time I used them. There was definitely someone there to put in the red priority tag when I tagged it.

The handwriting is on the wall. Flagship check-in is a concession to the ME3 where necessary.

As consumers, we are moving toward a preference for automated processing at check-in, for hotels, Global Entry, supermarkets and many other locations.

I'm okay with that....if and only if the kiosks are FAST, can handle almost everything, and there's still the option of me going immediately to a human without delay when I know my scenario isn't covered by the kiosk.

Global Entry is a good example of it working pretty well.
Supermarkets are a good example of it working poorly, because the hardware/software sucks and too much skill is required on the part of the user to move FAST. When we reach a point where I can bag groceries as I walk the aisles and then walk through a scanner that prices the entire cart at once, I'll be happy. (This has been promised for a few years now but I haven't actually seen it.)

I love hotels that have a fully Digital Key where I only need to interact with the FDC at some point during the stay if I'm interested in getting extra physical keys for kids or whatever.

I like self-check-out at the supermarket if I only have a few items but find that the regular lanes are so much easier if I have a full grocery cart. In the same way, If the kiosks are fast and thus speed up my waiting time, I'm all for them. But I have found, as an earlier poster remarked, that there are so many hoops to jump through and questions to answer that it's easier for an agent to check my passport, tag my bags with a priority label, print my boarding pass and answer any miscellaneous questions I may have about the airport than using a kiosk only to be directed to an agent later for one of the above issues.

p.s. Pinniped beat me to it while I was writing this. everything he said!!

While I don't disagree that the changes have been slowly rolling out over the past few years, it seems much more dramatic to me recently. The number of Kiosks in the premium area have increased 2-3x and the number of staffed counters are about 25% what they have been previously. Specifically with regard to LAX T4.. there used to be 2 or 3 queues (If I recall- one for First/EXP/Emerald, one for Biz/Plat/Sapphire, one for Gold/Ruby) Now it's mostly kiosks w/ one combined assistance queue and only a handful of agents supporting. At least the T5 Premium Check-in, at least for the moment, is actually pretty good (the old Delta One Checkin).

In theory, I am not opposed to the Kiosk but AA's implementation is terrible. They are extremely slow, taking at least 10-15 seconds between each screen with approximately 10 screens that you need to go through (What airport are you traveling to? Do you want to buy more miles? Do you have a lap child? Do you want to change your seat? Do you conform to the exit seating requirements? Are you checking any special items? How many bags do you want to check? Do you need to reprint your boarding pass?) Then at least 10-15 seconds to print each bag tag and boarding pass. The whole process takes in excess of 3 minutes when it should take 20 seconds. If it took 20 seconds, I wouldn't have a problem with it if actually was quick/efficient... Or if AA's other IT systems worked properly and I didn't need an agent to do things like correct my companion's position on the PALL List.

And yes, as one person stated upthread, one person with an issue shuts down the entire line. That was me the other day when I had to argue with the bag drop agent at CLT that EXPs are entitled to 70lbs/bag NOT 50. It took over 5 minutes to resolve, as the agent insisted on calling over a supervisor (who also told me it was 50lbs) Only when they finally looked at my baggage allowance in sabre did they allow it. In this time 6 people were queued behind me waiting, including a very annoyed CK who tried to use the assistance line and was told to use the kiosk.