Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) today signed a service agreement with aviation technology provider SITA to equip ERL with SITA Check-in Kiosks and SITA Self Bag Drop services at KL City Air Terminal in KL Sentral. The new facilities are expected to be installed and operational by Q2 2024. This will enable passengers to check in and drop their bags at the city center train station prior to taking the KLIA Ekspres train to the airport, thereby reducing the stress upon arrival. The hardware is supported by SITA Flex, a powerful next-generation platform enabling smooth and efficient passenger processing on and off airport.
The new agreement opens the door to the future of airline check-in and passenger experience. With the self-check-in and self-bag drop (SBD) kiosks, the check-in process is faster and will allow passengers to tag and drop off their bags within 30 seconds. SBDs have also been installed at KL International Airport since March 2018.
The deal marks a new era of connected and intermodal travel where passengers can benefit from joined-up services that reduce hassle and improve the travel experience.
Noormah Mohd Noor, Chief Executive Officer of ERL said, “Our renewed partnership with SITA aims to modernise our in-town check-in process and enhance passenger experience. Self-check-in and self-bag drop facilities can potentially provide cost efficiencies for airlines while offering added convenience for passengers. The self-check-in kiosks are identical to those at the KL International Airport, and every airline that currently allows their passengers to do kiosk check-in at the airport can automatically extend this convenience to KL Sentral.”
“We just reopened the in-town check-in facility in September with Malaysia Airlines being the first to restart the check-in services, and another Malaysia-based airline to restart within this month. As air travel continues to recover, we remain committed to providing our passengers with a seamless and efficient travel experience,” added Noormah.
Sumesh Patel, President, Asia Pacific, SITA said, “The future of travel will be intermodal, and we’re excited to help join the dots between air and rail services via this partnership with ERL. Whatever the form of travel, there’s the need for safe, automated, smarter, and more efficient journeys. Across the travel industry we face similar issues and there is a need to tackle these together through common and shared approaches — be that for air travel, cruises, railways, or events. At SITA, we have the experience of bringing multiple stakeholders together through a single platform and helping adopt digital ways of simplifying experiences and operations.”
ERL has partnered with SITA since 2007 to provide the platform for any airline to offer check-in services at KL Sentral. Under the new five-year contract, SITA will provide four self-check-in kiosks and two SBD kiosks initially and this set-up can be easily scaled up to match growing demand in the future. Three conventional manned check-in counters will be maintained for those who still need staff assistance.