Skype check-in

Estonian Air announced its new trial of allowing passengers traveling from Moscow Sheremetyevo airport to the Estonian capital, Tallinn, to check-in via video Skype chat. Deutsche Welle talked to the airline's station manager for Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Alex Tashin, for more details on the program.

Deutsche Welle: How do passengers check-in for a flight on Skype?

Alex Tashin: Passengers dial the Skype account and are greeted by a service agent at the Moscow airport and are asked to state their flight number and name. Passengers will also be asked to present the first page of their passport to the camera for inspection. Then, of course, the passenger will have the possibility to give a seat preference and after these steps have been made, the boarding pass will reach the passenger in about a minute as an attached document on the Skype messenger system. The only thing the passenger has to do is save the document and print it out.

Then the passenger can go and board the flight?

Yes, the passenger can go through the security control and show the boarding pass. There is a bar code and go through straight to the gate and board the flight. If there is any baggage, of course, he or she would have to go to the drop-off desk as normal.

Currently, on Estonian Air and many airlines around the world, there is an online check-in process. What's the advantage of doing it over a Skype video chat?

The advantage is because you have different people who have different ways of being comfortable using the Internet. When we talk about the conventional ways of check-in, Internet check-in or mobile check-in or text message check-in, you have to be pretty sure of how to use the Internet. With Skype, you have a personal touch. All you have to do is dial this number, be able to use Skype and that's it. You have a person in front of you, talking to you, and you don't have to follow any further clicks and steps as it is with a normal Internet check-in. It is innovative, it is something completely new.

Can anyone taking an Estonian Air flight from Moscow to Tallinn take advantage of this system?

Yes. The check-in systems for each flight is normally open within a pre-defined timeframe. Usually it's three to five hours before the flight time. With Skype, the timeframe has to be open, let's say, a day in advance. Our main goal is to monitor the way that Skype is being used during the test phase. This will take another two weeks. Once this is done, then we will be able to guarantee a check-in timeframe within 20 hours before the departure time.

Interview: Cyrus Farivar
Editor: Sean Sinico