Northwest Airlines Boarding Passes Are Just a Click Away for Customers
Internet Check-In Will Further Fulfill NWA's Pledge to Bust Check-In Lines For Travelers
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine bypassing the long check-in lines at the airport ticket counter because you've already checked yourself in and printed out your boarding pass in the comfort of your home or office. Not too long ago, customers were successfully introduced to the convenience of e-tickets. Now, Northwest Airlines (Nasdaq: NWAC) is the first major carrier to launch new technology that's even more convenient -- Internet check-in through nwa.com. Starting today, Northwest will offer an Internet check-in program to customers departing from a total of 27 markets in the U.S. where Internet check-in is now accepted. A complete list of the Internet check-in markets can be found on the nwa.com web site. The service will be available to all customers flying domestically by the end of the year. If a customer holds a boarding pass that they've printed out themselves through Internet check-in, they can walk by all lines and go straight to their gate for boarding. All customers who use Internet check-in will receive 1,000 WorldPerks Bonus Miles through December 31, 2000.
This new service literally puts the entire check-in process at the passenger's fingertips, while still offering the functionality of other popular Northwest self-service devices. With Internet check-in, passengers can:
* Print their own boarding pass from their home or office computer
* Change to a different flight
* Change or confirm a seat assignment
* Enter or change a WorldPerks number or reservation
* Obtain WorldPerks Elite Card Member upgrades
* Upgrade to First Class on available flights with a Northwest E-First(SM)upgrade
Internet check-in is an innovative process that's both quick and easy:
1. Service available less than 24-hours and more than 90 minutes prior to departure. Passengers can go to the Internet check-in URL at:
www.nwa.com/checkin .
2. The prompt will ask for the passengers' name and a confirmation number, WorldPerks number or a major credit card number.
3. Passengers then answer a series of required security questions, in order to proceed.
4. Next, passengers have ability to print out their boarding pass directly from their computer on regular paper (no special equipment or materials needed).
5. Upon arrival at the airport, passengers may go directly to the boarding agent, bypassing all ticket check-in lines and allowing passengers to go straight to the gate. The agent will scan the bar code on the boarding pass, asking for identification, and then it's on to the plane.
If an Internet check-in passenger is traveling with luggage, there is additional information advising passengers to check luggage curbside at a Northwest SkyCap station.
"People don't like long lines or lack of information," said Dirk McMahon, senior vice president, Northwest Ground Services. "New Northwest initiatives like Internet check-in will help bust those lines while giving customers the information and control they tell us they want."
"Continuing to enhance the capabilities of our self-service devices makes the customer experience easier and more enjoyable, and that's our main objective," said McMahon. In fact, Northwest's ever growing self-service check-in kiosks at domestic airports will number close to 250 by year-end.
Northwest Airlines is the world's fourth largest airline and with its partners offers more than 2,600 daily departures with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam. Also with its travel partners, Northwest serves more than 750 cities in 120 countries on 6 continents. Based on statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Northwest was the most on-time U.S. airline among the seven largest network carriers for the period 1990-1999. Northwest is the 2000 recipient of Air Transport World Airline Technology Management Award. Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flyer program is the highest rated U.S.-based program reviewed by InsideFlyer Magazine, the leading authority on airline free travel programs, and in 1999 was named the most preferred frequent flyer program by the readers of Time in Asia. In 1999, Northwest's nwa.com was chosen as best airline Web site by zdNews.com and Business 2.0 and was named one of the top 500 sites by Internet World magazine. For the second consecutive time, Northwest Airlines is the #1 web site overall among airlines according to the Fall 2000 Internet Airlines Scorecard(TM) released by Gomez(TM), a leading authority on the Internet and e-commerce. In addition to its #1 overall rating, nwa.com also ranked #1 as the best airline web site for business travelers.
