Welcome To Changing Skies

Author: Kelly Yamanouchi
Source: Denver Post

Frequent travelers know the truth about flying. Once a glamorous pastime, it now is often a frustrating, time-consuming hassle.

For the past several years, financially troubled airlines have searched desperately for ways to cut costs. The result is bare-bones service for many travelers. And though there are signs of an airline-industry recovery, stiff competition, high fuel costs and ongoing bankruptcies portend more cuts to come.

Not all changes have been bad, however. Technological advances trickling into the travel experience have made certain steps quicker and more convenient, and at times even a little fun.

Whether you enjoy flying or just can't wait to get back on the ground, one thing is certain. The industry will continue its seemingly endless series of changes.

A look at some of the latest, plus a few that will be landing soon:

Buy your tickets online

Subtly - or not so subtly - travelers are being pushed to book their flights on airline websites, as carriers seek to reduce costs for staffing ticket counters and call centers and cut fees to third-party agents.

United Airlines closed its last ticket offices in Denver several years ago. Continental Airlines followed suit in 2004, closing its downtown Denver ticket office after 25 years.

Some domestic call centers are also going away as airlines find ways to outsource or automate the work.

To induce travelers to book their own tickets on the airlines' websites, many now offer low Internet price guarantees or bonuses. Some charge an extra $5 or $10 to those who insist on booking over the phone or in person at the airport ticket counter.

Check yourself in

No long lines. No tedious passengers hogging the check-in counter in front of you. No need even to speak to another human.

The new frontier of airport check-ins is filled with do-it-yourself options, including self-service kiosks that read credit cards, frequent-flier cards or passports.

"Obviously we're checking in without human contact," said Larry Meskin of Denver, while in the lobby of Denver International Airport. "Most of the time it's better because it's faster," but "when you have some kind of changes you want to make, it's far more difficult."

Guests at the new Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center can use the hotel's kiosk to check in for flights. Southwest Airlines passengers also can use their BlackBerrys or Palm Pilots to check themselves in, and many airlines provide self-serve check-in kiosks at the airport.

A small Denver-based company now offers the ultimate niche service - a website that checks in Southwest travelers for them, for a fee. APassOnly.com competes with a similar service, boardfirst.com.

There's yet another point where some passengers will be charged for making a human connection. United Airlines now charges $2 a bag for passengers who want to use skycaps for a curbside check-in.

Expect to be searched

Grin and bear it. Security checkpoints are probably here to stay, with recent wait times of about 15 minutes at DIA, but the nature of the search may be changing.

Transportation Security Administration screeners are spending more time searching for explosives and less time confiscating nail scissors, but travelers might still consider shedding their shoes.

"As much of a pain as it is for some people, I'm glad that the security is here," said Denver resident Lynn Downer. "I'm just glad I didn't wear some old socks with holes in them."

Frequent fliers willing to pay a fee will in June be able to avoid some of the delay. Those who participate in the new Registered Traveler program can speed through security checkpoints at some (as yet unnamed) airports.

Quick on, quicker off

Airlines make money when their planes are in the air, not when they're at the terminal waiting for passengers and baggage to be loaded or unloaded.

Because time is money, many airlines are experimenting with ways to speed up the boarding process.

United has two in the works - a boarding system nicknamed "WilMA," for Window-Middle-Aisle, and an automated jet bridge that lets passengers load and exit from both ends of the plane.

WilMA was adopted across United in September, shaving four to five minutes off the average boarding time and $1 million off the airline's annual budget.Jet bridges will be used on some Ted flights starting in May. They're expected to trim 10 minutes off the discount carrier's in-and-out "turn times."

The little things matter

Watch what you want, when you want it. Listen to your favorite kind of music. Stretch your legs. Have a snack.

The airline that offers passengers the best in-flight experience may be the last one flying.

David Miller is "100 percent more likely" to fly Frontier Airlines when he travels because of the carrier's seatback televisions, he said. His sales job takes him away from his Fort Collins home every other week.

Frontier's new Airbus planes come equipped to provide individual DirecTV (for $5) or movie service ($8) to each passenger. It's popular with parents like Miller when traveling with children. "It just makes flying less mundane," he said.

Other airlines are jockeying to provide pleasant diversions, too.

United Airlines added inflight XM Satellite Radio programming in March.

Providing extra legroom isn't that easy. United cut costs by replacing some of its large "mainline" airplanes with smaller regional jets. In 2005, it started promoting the bigger regional jets in its fleet, those with larger cabins, full-size overhead bins and some first-class seats, and branded them "explus."

Both United and Northwest have found that some passengers will pay extra for a little extra space. For $24 to $99, United passengers can upgrade to roomier seats at check-in. Northwest charges $15 for seats such as those in exit rows that come with extra legroom.

Food service was one of the first things to shrink, but some airlines are finding ways to bring it back - for a price. United started making its own $5 snack boxes in 2005.

Stay connected

Flights take off late. Flights get canceled. Important details like those can change minute by minute, leaving travelers anxious, angry or waiting at the terminal.

That's why airlines are finding ways to push up-to-date flight information out to their customers.

For fliers who register, United sends travelers status alerts for flights to their phone, e-mail, pager or fax, and has a wireless channel with flight information. Frontier also has a system for travelers to get flight information on their Palm Pilot, BlackBerry or Web-enabled phone.

Subscribers of AvantGo's mobile Internet service can use a travel guide with information from airlines including Northwest, Frontier and United. Orbitz has a new service to send an alert for an arrival delay to a traveler's friends or family while the traveler is still in flight, in case of a weather delay or flight diversion.