Sopra Group Ensures a Smooth Take Off for easyJet Self Check-In Kiosks

With the delivery of its 100th aircraft in April 2005, easyJet is now not just the largest low-cost carrier in Europe, but the second largest airline of any type (only Lufthansa is bigger in Europe).  It flies to 62 of Europe's busiest airports on 195 routes, and this year will carry close to 30 million passengers on around 750 flights every day.

Effective exploitation of IT is core to the easyJet business model, and unlocking its value is fundamental to driving down costs and increasing revenues.  Innovation plays a major part in this, and for such a rapidly growing airline, partnering with 3rd parties in order to increase bandwidth, tap into specialist skills and manage risk is a core part of the strategy.

easyJet chose Sopra Group to work on their new self check-in kiosk application, and they are now responsible for all development and support.  The implementation in Nottingham East Midland airport last year marked another world first for easyJet when 100% of passengers checked in using the kiosk, which allows passengers to check in, and print a boarding card and baggage tags for hold luggage.

The easyJet kiosk is also live in Berlin and Geneva, where it successfully coped with 42 flights every Saturday during the ski season!  There are plans to roll out the application extensively across the network.  The biggest benefits are a halving of overall check-in times compared with traditional methods, as well as a substantial reduction of processing costs, contributing to the airline's ability to offer its remarkably good value fares.

Support and development is delivered out of Sopra Group's Edinburgh offices, which are directly linked into easyJet's development environment at Luton airport.  The development team is considered very much an extension of easyJet's own department, and the companies work closely together to ensure effective business delivery is at the heart of the relationship.

John Thorp, easyJet's head of IT, comments "Sopra Group has demonstrated real flexibility in what is a very dynamic environment here at easyJet.  They have some great people, and allow them to get on with the job.  The fact that they are in Edinburgh and we are in Luton is immaterial – in fact our frequent services between Luton and Edinburgh make them one of our closest partners!"