Cathay starts self bag drop at Gatwick

Cathay Pacific has introduced self-check in and self bag drop at London Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal.

London Gatwick is the third Cathay Pacific destination in Europe that has introduced self-check in and bag drop kiosks, following Amsterdam and Paris.

The airline says that its passengers at London Gatwick traditionally spend around two minutes at a check-in desk.

And they say that  using self-service check-in and bagdrop means the whole check-in and bag-drop process takes just under a minute.

Meaning the passenger saves one minute – of their entire trip. A flight from Gatwick to Hong Kong usually takes more than 11 hours.

Cathay does not explain the difference or give any details. Why a passenger would need to spend two minutes at their check-in desk instead of about 30 seconds is a mystery.

Add in all the other times that are part of the trip and that claimed minute is irrelevant.

Better for the passenger or the airline?

Cathay says that the whole check-in and bag-drop process takes just under a minute.

PassengerSelfService.com would like to see positive proof that using a kiosk to do all these things takes less than 60 seconds.

  • check-in
  • print a boarding pass,
  • size and weight a bag
  • print a bag tag
  • attach it to a bag
  • insert that bag into the airport baggage system

Cathay Pacific says it does. We believe it does not.

James Ginns, Cathay Pacific Regional General Manager Europe:

“Gatwick is our first UK airport to launch the new check-in and bag-drop service. This is part of our Future Airport Experience project, the vision of which is to improve the quality of time our customers spend prior to boarding.

“If we ask ourselves how we wish to spend our time at the airport, the answer is most certainly not ‘in a queue’. The latest facilities not only meet our customers’ growing demand for faster, smoother journeys, they also enable our Cathay Pacific staff to interact more proactively with our customers and deliver better on our brand promise of a Life Well Travelled.

“The 10 easy-to-use service kiosks go a long way to make a positive effect on our customers’ journeys. More specifically, in shortening the wait and enabling our passengers to make better use of their time.”

Gatwick’s Project Manager for Process and Technology, Asher Bailey:

“Gatwick is leading the way in offering passengers the latest self-service bag drop technology and the completion of this installation for Cathay Pacific further supports our growth strategy, allowing us to accommodate increasing numbers of passengers, while also eliminating queues and enabling improvements in customer service delivery.”

London Gatwick is the third Cathay Pacific destination in Europe that has introduced self-check in and bag drop kiosks, following Amsterdam and Paris.

N.B. Image credit: cathaypacific.com

Internet links

Cathay Pacific (CX)

Gatwick (LGW)