"It's a natural extension of the growth of the Internet," says Al Lenza, Northwest's vice president of distribution planning.During the test phase, only Northwest passengers without luggage to check will be able to take advantage of Internet check-in. Northwest is still working out the details as to how to make the service available to passengers who need tocheck their bags. As it stands now, passengers would have to answer the same set of security questions twice - at home and then again at the airport - before surrendering their bags to a SkyCap.

Northwest's biggest challenge, says Lenza, is being able to sell the idea of Internet check-in as being a "substantial improvement" over self-service ticketing machines.

Participants in Northwest's pilot will be able to complete the entire check-in procedure from the comfort of their home or workstation. They will be able to check in at the Northwest Web site a maximum of six hours before the flight and a minimum of one hour before. Passengers will be instructed to enter either a credit card, a flight confirmation number or WorldPerks number. Once identification is verified, travelers can use the Web site to change their seat assignments, arrange for upgrades and print out boarding passes. At the airport, passengers proceed directly to the gate agent, who will scan the bar code from the boarding pass and ask foridentification.

Northwest is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to determine how best to glean security information from passengers in advance. Lenza envisions Internet check-in working exactly the way the airline's electronic-ticketing machines do, with certain passengers singled out for questioning either as a result of a random check or because they meet a certain profile. "Instead of saying `See agent,' it might say `See agent when you get to the airport,' " Lenza says.

Seeking AcceptanceNorthwest plans to roll out the program to include additional corporate clients during the year, and expects to have the option available to all passengers by 2001.But in order for airline executives to realize a future when all passengers will be able to check-in for a flight without having to leave home, they first must be able to convince people to get out of line and go online.

"It takes time to wean people away from the counter," says Alaska Airlines spokesman, Jack Evans. In November, AlaskaAirlines began offering Internet check-in to passengers who purchased tickets through its Web site. Only a very small percentage of Net-savvy fliers have taken advantage of it so far, but Mr. Evans expects that number to grow as long as the airline makes a serious effort to publicise it.

Alaska Airlines first introduced self-service check-in kiosks at airports in 1996, and has found that the most popular machines are the ones located closest to the check-in counter. "We used to find ourselves mocking people in the Soviet Union for standing in line for everything," says Evans. "But the truth is, we're all used to doing it." Lenza acknowledges that there is a certain percentage of passengers who simply prefer the human touch to that of the keyboard. The self-service ticketing machines with the lowest percentage of use are located in Northwest's WorldClubs. "Some top fliers like the personal approach," he says.

`I've never seen one of these before' The other hurdle faced by airlines involves getting theirown personnel up to speed. Often times, front-line employees are the last to learn about technological advancements being promoted by the front office.When Della Maricich used Alaska's Internet check-in to fly from Seattle to Portland on March 2, the gate agent at the counter told her she needed to get a boarding pass. After she showed him the computer-generated pass, he ran around showing everyone what it looked like.

As she stood in line to get on the plane, Maricich handed the second agent her pass, who had a similar reaction."He said `No, I'm sorry, you'll have to get a boarding pass,' " she says. "When I explained to him I'd used the Internet, he said 'Oh, wow! I've never seen one of these before.' "As Internet check-in becomes more mainstream, it's unlikely that passengers who print their boarding passes at home will stand out from the crowd. Like those who use electronic self-service ticketing machines, passengers who check-in online eventually will blend into the bureaucracy once mechanical gatereaders and their flesh and blood counterparts get with the program.

But giving customers the chance to save time by going online could wind up costing the airline a timely departure, if passengers use Internet check-in as a way to buy a few extra minutes before the flight.Maricich says she uses cyberspace check-in to spend more time at home or at the office and less time at the airport. She prefers to arrive at the gate just as her flight is boarding, and sometimes finds herself cut off by the electronic check-in machines, which only issue boarding passes up to 20 minutes before a flight."The advantage of using the Net is that if I've got a boarding pass already, I don't have to get there until 15 minutes before the flight," she says. "It's minutes worth of an advantage, I guess. But I'm not sure the airlines would see it that way."

The Asian Wall Street Journal