All Korean Air domestic passengers now have to use self bag drop at the airport.
The airline has converted its economy class check-in desks to bag-drop units for domestic flights, to provide faster and more convenient baggage check-in service to passengers.
Korean Air says that 70% of economy class passengers used self-check-in in August. As a result, bag drop counters were crowded, causing passengers to wait in long lines during peak hours.
All economy class passengers have to check in on Korean Air’s mobile app or website or through kiosks at airports. Self-checked passengers who need to check their baggage can directly go to bag drop counters or use self bag drop machines at the airport.
The counters for First Class, Prestige Class, Morning Calm Club and the counter that provide services for passengers who need special assistance, such as wheelchair and unaccompanied minor services, remain unchanged.
The family care service counter, used by passengers requiring assistance such as unaccompanied minors, pregnant passengers and so on, as well as first class, prestige class and Morning Calm counters will continue normal operations. The counters for U.S.-bound economy class passengers at Incheon International Airport will also continue normal operations.
Self-check-in refers to the process of passengers checking in for a flight, assigning seats and printing out a boarding pass on their own through mobile, web services or airport kiosks. Mobile and web check-ins are available between 48 hours prior to flight departure (24 hours in case of the U.S.) and an hour before (40 minutes for domestic flights). Airport kiosk check-in is available until 60 minutes before flight departure time (20 minutes for domestic flights).
Korean Air also plans to introduce a “self-tagging” service by the end of 2019, which will allow passengers to pick seats and register baggage at the same time while checking in at the kiosk. This service is expected to cut down over 30% of check-in time for each passenger. Passengers can simply print out their baggage tags at the kiosk and put them onto their baggage, then drop them at the bag drop counter.
N.B. Image credit: Korean Air
