New Delta check-in software saves time at kiosks

I don’t normally fly Delta airlines, so I haven’t been tracking the number of redundant screens on their automated check-in kiosks the way that David Pogue has, but I do know that most airlines have a pretty mediocre check-in interface.

It turns out that a new Delta software system has been in development for months, and is now being rolled out to all 1,400 kiosks they have placed in 195 cities:

They actually sent me a PowerPoint deck that shows the new kiosk software, side-by-side with the old, and I can tell you for sure that they’ve streamlined the process a lot. (The kiosks are used 70,000 times a day for check-in, so that translates into a lot of saved time.)

The new software system offers a quick-print option that lets you swipe your card, select your destination and then immediately print your boarding pass.

It also gets rid of the “continue” button, since that’s a little redundant.

Sounds like a good start. If other airlines follow suit and start to streamline their digital check-in process, we could really see some welcome improvement in airport line-speed.