Feasibiility for in town/remote check in for Australian Domestic and International services

[Quickstatus]

floppy disks??

The B747 /767 and a320/330 uses/used floppy disks

 

[serfty]

When Tulla first opened, both Ansett and TAA had in town check in. They were adjacent to each other in A'Beckett Street. Check your bags, get on a bus and off you'd go. Had to do your own bags inbound, but the bus would take you back.

In 1977 I paid $20(!) to use the service.

 

[elanshin]

The intown checkin at Hong Kong is great...last year we arrived from Guangzhou by train. Checked in our bags at Central, wandered around HK with only our carryon, then took the train to the airport for our evening flight

Depending on the airline and itinerary, i think you can even check in at GZ and ferry to sky pier. That said i don't think you can easily go landside HK doing this though.

 

[Rangalad]

When Tulla first opened, both Ansett and TAA had in town check in. They were adjacent to each other in A'Beckett Street. Check your bags, get on a bus and off you'd go. (Had to do your own bags inbound.)

In 1977 I paid $20(!) to use the service.

Late 80s, Qantas had in town check in at the Hyatt on Collins Melbourne and The Regent Hotel (now Four Seasons) Sydney.

 

[Virgin Bart]

The real problem with Australia is not our ability to do these things. It's the cost. This is a relatively labour intensive process. Our wages would mean such a service would cost a fair bit - then no one would use it etc.

Bingo.

 

[Cloud9]

They invented the Electronic TV, Walkman, lithium battery, blue LED. Sega, Nintendo, Sony
But they can't do online Tak-U-Bin or Shinkansen bookings.

Still on paper train tickets
But hey the train turn up when they are supposed to and a Passport arrives

That's maybe the much more important point.

Unlike us, they work.

 

[Seat0B]

In 1977 I paid $20(!) to use the service.

Wow that was quite expensive back then.

 

[serfty]

Wow that was quite expensive back then.

Yes, same price as two cases of beer off pallat at the nearby Victoria market

It was the heady days of the two airline system.

You had already sold one kidney to fly; what's another finger.

 

[Forg]

That's maybe the much more important point.

Unlike us, they work.

They do 1.5x as much work & take 3x as long to do it …


The fact that every airline does online check-in means that in-town check-in would have to be viable & surely can’t cost that much. You’d have thought an airline could do a deal with large hotel chains which almost always have staff at reception & always have a PC in front of them.
What does an Uber delivery cost - that looks to be the sticking-point?
The only gap for which there’s currently no infrastructure is a way for the Uber to drop bags at the airport, innit?

 

[Warragul]

I imagine there would be additional additional security measures required for the time between dropping your bag off and it be being screened - eg tamper proof containers. monitored transport and probably staff vetting. Not insurmountable, but more cost and complexity (for the airline).

 

[Noah Count]

From anywhere in JPN to anywhere in JPN

Your hotel can just book Tak-U-bin who will transport your luggage to airport or anywhere else.
From airport same service to your JPN destinations alleviating need to drag heavy luggage on trains.
Of course distance determines time required

Companies like Yamato Black Cat provide very cost effective, efficient and reliable Tak-U-Bin

We Once left a passport in hotel safe. Rang hotel. They got the passport delivered from a hotel to another hotel in another part of JPN within a day.

Thanks, I am aware of the luggage forwarding services in Japan, the only reason I mentioned the one in Shinjuku was that I have used them and was for HLO. At times I have landed on QF25 (early morning) and my connection was either late in the evening or ever early the following morning (red eyes). I found it easier just to drop off the bag even HLO spend the day in Tokyo or surrounding suburbs and not have to worry about dragging it around or on the trains and just head back to the airport pick it up and be on my way. At other times if the correct size locker was available I used to just leave my stuff in the locker for the day, collect it and take it to the airport.

 

[Quickstatus]

just to drop off the bag

HND has 24hr baggage storage incl large item like ski bags for up to 2 weeks via T3 in the arrival lobby or upstairs in the departure lobby.
This is a counter service not lockers.
QF25>>T3 arrival lobby, go up to departure lobby, store baggage, then explore.

But yes the major Tokyo train stations have hundreds of lockers and even manned counter service same day baggage services by outfits like Yamato Black Cat, JAL-ABC, Sagawa.

Coin locker finder, can also search via Suica.

 

[Cloud9]

They do 1.5x as much work & take 3x as long to do it …


The fact that every airline does online check-in means that in-town check-in would have to be viable & surely can’t cost that much. You’d have thought an airline could do a deal with large hotel chains which almost always have staff at reception & always have a PC in front of them.
What does an Uber delivery cost - that looks to be the sticking-point?
The only gap for which there’s currently no infrastructure is a way for the Uber to drop bags at the airport, innit?

Call me a fuddy duddy, but for me it comes down to which is the most relative High Trust society when it comes to hand off and courier in safe hands of things like international bound suitcases.

It ain't Australia. Hasn't been for a long time.

 

[Quickstatus]

when it comes to hand off and courier in safe hands of things like international bound suitcases.

Ala Schapelle?

 

[Noah Count]

HND has 24hr baggage storage incl large item like ski bags for up to 2 weeks via T3 in the arrival lobby or upstairs in the departure lobby.
This is a counter service not lockers.
QF25>>T3 arrival lobby, go up to departure lobby, store baggage, then explore.

But yes the major Tokyo train stations have hundreds of lockers and even manned counter service same day baggage services by outfits like Yamato Black Cat, JAL-ABC, Sagawa.

Coin locker finder, can also search via Suica.

Well it was worth it for me joining/ adding to the thread as I have learnt something new, I did not know this service was available in HND. When we travel as a family we normally arrive be it HND, NRT and on the odd occasion KIX depending on the carrier and flight. Normally we just pick up the luggahe and head into town or go through the baggage transfer process for a domestic connection. When Travelling solo I am HLO so on arrival I just go through the normal immigration/ customs process and leave the airport, I have never enquired or asked if HL could be stored.

Good to know and I will lock that information away should I need it in the future.

 

[Forg]

Ala Schapelle?

Yeah I doubt we’d be hiring drug-traffickers to be the Uber drivers transporting the luggage …

I imagine there would be additional additional security measures required for the time between dropping your bag off and it be being screened - eg tamper proof containers. monitored transport and probably staff vetting. Not insurmountable, but more cost and complexity (for the airline).

Yeah I had in mind theft, but had totally forgotten the dangers relating to that.

 

[Quickstatus]

Good to know and I will lock that information away should I need it in the future.

Here

There are also coin lockers
As with baggage storage, coin lockers are in arrival and departure floors.

Once we had luggage split up over 4 locations
HND baggage storage for some stuff we were not going to use in JPN.
Yamato black cat ski bags and other stuff to accom in Madarao
Yamato black cat 2 days of baggage to hotel in Tokyo before heading to Madarao
We were left with 1 day pack for exploring tokyo after arriving early into HND

It is as simple as asking the hotel front desk to organise.

...........................

I don't really think a Remote Checkin facility would be of benefit to the airline or passenger to be honest.
The downside to the airline is they are now responsible for the baggage a lot earlier in the process.
The "checked in" passenger could dilly dally their arrival to the airport
The Schapelle issue may be significant for some passengers

......

Unlike us, they work.

Karoshi in some cases.......

 

[dajop]

Probably the one place it might work is a check in counter at Southern Cross station (bus terminal) with dedicated service straight to MEL on Skybus. That's if they remain if/when the rail makes it to the airport (in fact could be a differentiator).

 

[kpc]

Probably the one place it might work is a check in counter at Southern Cross station (bus terminal) with dedicated service straight to MEL on Skybus. That's if they remain if/when the rail makes it to the airport (in fact could be a differentiator).

Or Central Station in Sydney.

 

[LionKing]

I posted this because:
There has been reports saying MTR is considering shutting down In-Town Check in due to low demand.

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In fact, there has been a new service by SF Express for in home check in, where a dedicated staff will come to your home to check in your bags and issue you boarding pass:

Home Baggage Check-in Service - Hong Kong International Airport

www.hongkongairport.com

Therefore there is no point to argue for a rail service to the airport which will enable this service.

I would say if we can hire working holiday visa people to run this service at minimum wage, I think that is feasible, and furthermore, I don't understand why airports don't have space for baggage storage when there are plenty of wasted space for large open space car parks at MEL, BNE etc.?