City Checkin on the way back? Some people are thinking about the customers.

Some remember with nostalgia the days of BOAC, BEA, British Eagle, British United,Pan Am and others Central London checkin. First introduced by BOAC (All over the world we take good care of you) in its wonderful art deco style towered building in Buckingham Palace Road, it was the entry point to a much more relaxed style of air travel. Once there and checked in, the passengers' pre flight hassles were largely over.From that point they were either taken effortlessly to the airport by coach (each flight had its own),or, in flying boat days by train from the building's own platform. Airlines large and small across the world had similar city centre arrangments.

Unfortunately as airport terminals improved and accountants became more powerful these became just too tempting a target for cost cutting and nearly all disappeared from the scene.

Encouragingly for those interested in genuine service and meeting passengers needs, downtown checkin has begun to reappear over the last ten or so years. The UK has toyed with it again in assosciation with BAA's Heathrow Express at Paddington but it hasn't taken firm root. Europe, with its relatively low service ethic, lags behind. As was predictable, Asia led the way in the revival. Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur's new airports of 1997/8 both had bright modern rail linked facilities which enabled passengers to get rid of their bags at the earliest opportunity and go straight to departures at the airport. What a difference that can make both for business travellers and families lugging several pieces between them.
Literally less persperation and less anxiety.

So who and where is next? Not perhaps the who and where many would have named if asked. The answer is Brussels Airlines, now with 19 destinations in Sub Saharan Africa (BA has 9, Virgin 5). They have instituted city checkin at 5 of these,- Conakry,Freetown, Kigali, Kinshasa and Monrovia which are not the easiest places in which to make the logistics and the required security arrangements work. Maybe they will prompt some rethinking amongst others. To satisfy the nowt for nowt accountants it's a service for which many would pay a reasonable extra charge. (Note reasonable is key before you get too excited in the Finance Departments). Meanwhile several cheers for the Asians and the Belgians.