I was flying out of SNA yesterday, and the lines at the UA counter was extremely long, while the America West counter next door was virtually empty.

I spotted the 2 empty self check-in machines at America West, and wished I could somehow use them to check myself into the UA flight.

This gave me a thought - what if the airlines pitched in together to build truly universal check-in machines at EVERY airport? That way every passenger could leverage the machines to check in, regardless of what airlines they fly.

Imagine how nice that would be:

8am - UA rush - UA passengers check into the ATM like check in machines.

10am - Southwest rush - Southwest passengers check in...

etc etc...

Wouldn't a system like this reduce the number of lines that you have to stand in, AND reduce the employee burden at the counters?

UALoneKplus,

Efforts are currently underway to introduce such a system, called CUPSS (Common Use Passenger Self Service.)

www.guardian.com.au/ng/cupss.htm

I think I read that they're trying it out in Vancouver and Amsterdam.

I think that CUPSS would require an airport that uses CUTE, the Common Use Terminal Environment.

In most USA airports, each airline manages its own systems. The airline has its own computers, gate readers, etc. The carriers also "own" the gates, so they can install the systems long-term.

In most other places, the gates are not "owned." The hardware is all the same, it's able to connect to each different airline's network as needed. It permits carriers to use only the gates, check-in desks, etc. that they need.

There are CUTE systems in a few USA locations: Honolulu, Atlanta Terminal E, JFK Terminal 4, and probably some others.

So we'll see how this pans out... I think it's a great idea. In the meantime, I'll continue to use Delta's telephone check-in--it's just great.

-Mats.

Northwest and Continental e>service check-in kiosks are interchangable and there's an icon that you can push in the upper left corner to switch from one airline to another.