Austrian Airlines has launched a new trial that allows baggage drop-off directly on trains from Linz and Salzburg to Vienna Airport. For the new AIRail baggage drop programme the airline has partnered with ÖBB, an Austrian railway company and German IT provider Materna IPS.
Materna IPS developed an App that allows AIRail passengers to check in their baggage during the train ride to the airport. The test phase started on August 23th and will end October 31th 2021. By scanning the passenger´s boarding pass with their smartphones, the bag tag can be printed on the spot using a mobile bag tag printer and the luggage is transported to the final destination. At Vienna Airport, passengers using the AIRail baggage programme don’t have to wait in line and can directly go to their gate. The checked-in luggage can later be collected at the destination airport.
“The mobile bag tag printing on our AIRail connections symbolizes our advance in digitalized processes. We are delighted to have Materna IPS as a reliable partner in this endeavor”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Michael Trestl.
By implementing the bag drop programme on Austrian Airlines’ AIRail connections, Materna IPS expands its self-service offers for passengers flying from Vienna Airport. In 2016, Materna installed the first self-service units on site and the installation has been constantly growing ever since. Nowadays passengers can use one of the 60 check-in counters to check-in and then drop off their luggage at the 46 self bag drop systems. The trial offers guests that arrive by AIRail another way to comfortably check-in the bags and encourages them to travel to the airport by train.