November 20, 06

NEWS / American introducing international, self-serve check-in

American Airlines said Monday it is introducing international, self-serve check-in.

The Fort Worth-based airline said it has installed 365 check-in kiosks that are equipped with passport readers. The airline plans to ???continuously roll out more check-in machines with this capability to the rest of the American network,??? the company said in a statement.

American said it has tested international check-in at several airports, and ???customers have enjoyed the new flexibility and speed.???

The service is available to most customers with international electronic tickets. All passengers will still have their documents verified, whether by an agent during self-service check in or by an agent at the gate prior to boarding.

Passengers begin by swiping their passport or inserting a credit card through the machine??™s reader and selecting their itinerary. If a passenger is traveling with a passport that is not machine-readable, they must follow the prompts on the screen to enter the information manually.

Passengers who are residents of the United States but not U.S. citizens will be asked to swipe their U.S. Alien Resident cards.

After completing the identification process, the boarding pass will be issued.

Should passengers require agent assistance during the process to verify visas, travel documents, name conflicts and expired passports, ticket agents will be available at the machines to assist in completing the transaction.

In addition to the new international self-service check-in capability, American now offers a way for customers to save even more time at the airport by enabling them to provide government-required data ahead of time -- online at AA.com -- regardless of whether the ticket is purchased at AA.com. Customers can enter required information, such as country of residence, emergency contact name/phone number and temporary address for those visiting the U.S.

The data can be entered and edited when the reservation is retrieved, and will help simplify and expedite passenger check in at the airport.

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