Alaska debuts “Airport of the Future” at Sea-Tac

At Seattle-Tacoma International, Alaska Airlines and partner Horizon Air have cut the ribbon on phase one of their new “Airport of the Future” check-in facility, replacing traditional ticket counters with “islands” of self-service kiosks and bag-check stations. The first island, with 11 check-in kiosks and 16 bag-checking stations, opened last week for Alaska Airlines customers; two more will open by mid-2008. The new facilities will be available for Horizon Air customers beginning in February. When all three are open, they will provide 50 kiosks and 56 bag-check stations. “Through the removal of ticket counters and the relocation of office space upstairs to the mezzanine level, customer service space will increase from about 9,000 square feet to nearly 14,000 square feet,” a spokesman said.