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American Morning
Minding Your Business: 90-Second Airport Check-In
Aired February 05, 2003 - 07:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: An airline hopes to cut the waiting time in ticket lines dramatically, and you won't believe how fast they say it will be.
For more on that, and a market preview, let's turn to Andy Serwer, the man in the pink today.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, thanks very much.
ZAHN: You look so lovely, Andy.
SERWER: Well, listen, I've got to thank Jack Cafferty for lending me this shirt. What do you think? Do you like it?
ZAHN: Yes, he told you it was salmon, right?
SERWER: Salmon, absolutely.
ZAHN: Little did you know.
SERWER: I kind of like it.
Listen, not a good day for your 401(k) yesterday, Paula. Stocks down all across the board. The Dow was down 96 points -- there you go -- your Nasdaq, your S&P. Telecom stocks, insurance stocks got beat up. All eyes will be on the U.N. this morning across from Wall Street waiting to hear what Colin Powell has to say.
ZAHN: We kind of know what he's going to say. How do you think the market will react to it?
SERWER: Well, you know, I think people on Wall Street aren't really sure. I mean, you know, I have no idea, and I think no one on Wall Street has any idea. I mean, people are really on their edge of their seats on this one, I think. So, it's going to be very interesting. I mean, some are saying there's no way to go but up from here, so we'll have to see if that bears out.
ZAHN: On to swift travel.
SERWER: Yes, first, I want to talk a little -- there's a couple of airline stories this morning we're following. First of all, on the brink, American Airlines yesterday demanding $1.8 billion in wage concessions. The question here everyone is asking is, is this company going to be following United Airlines into bankruptcy? Unthinkable a couple of months ago, but now the stock has fallen below 3. It lost $3.5 billion last year, losing 5 million in cash a day. Let's turn to this 90-second checkout. This is good news for consumers.
ZAHN: Do you believe it?
SERWER: Well, Delta Airlines swears it is going to get you through check-in in 90 seconds. Let's talk about how long it takes right now, though. Delta at its own Web site says that in certain cities, it takes two hours at Salt Lake, an hour-and-a-half in L.A., an hour at JFK, and almost an hour in San Francisco. They plan to get it down to 90 seconds basically by using those automated check-in machines. I don't know if you've used those yet, Paula.
ZAHN: Yes.
SERWER: I like them. I mean, I think they're really great. But they say now that you're actually going to be able to check your bags at those automatic check-ins. They're basically moving people behind the counters. They're going to greet you as you come in, put you to the right place, get you to stick your card in and move in. Now, this has nothing to do with...
ZAHN: And the baggage gets checked at the same time.
SERWER: Yes, it will.
ZAHN: So, all of that is done in 90 seconds.
SERWER: Right. But this has nothing to do with security, and security can also take an hour. That's a whole separate problem that has to do with the airports. But at least one airline is addressing it, and of course, this is also a cost-saving measure as well.
ZAHN: I've got an idea for you.
SERWER: Don't think they're doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
ZAHN: I'd like to send you to an airport with your stopwatch.
SERWER: Yes.
ZAHN: And time it.
SERWER: Well, we'll see. And they're going to be under the gun with this thing...
ZAHN: It sounds good.
SERWER: ... because they're saying 90 seconds. They're rolling it out today.
ZAHN: Andy Serwer, thanks.
SERWER: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 5, 2003 - 07:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: An airline hopes to cut the waiting time in ticket lines dramatically, and you won't believe how fast they say it will be.
For more on that, and a market preview, let's turn to Andy Serwer, the man in the pink today.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, thanks very much.
ZAHN: You look so lovely, Andy.
SERWER: Well, listen, I've got to thank Jack Cafferty for lending me this shirt. What do you think? Do you like it?
ZAHN: Yes, he told you it was salmon, right?
SERWER: Salmon, absolutely.
ZAHN: Little did you know.
SERWER: I kind of like it.
Listen, not a good day for your 401(k) yesterday, Paula. Stocks down all across the board. The Dow was down 96 points -- there you go -- your Nasdaq, your S&P. Telecom stocks, insurance stocks got beat up. All eyes will be on the U.N. this morning across from Wall Street waiting to hear what Colin Powell has to say.
ZAHN: We kind of know what he's going to say. How do you think the market will react to it?
SERWER: Well, you know, I think people on Wall Street aren't really sure. I mean, you know, I have no idea, and I think no one on Wall Street has any idea. I mean, people are really on their edge of their seats on this one, I think. So, it's going to be very interesting. I mean, some are saying there's no way to go but up from here, so we'll have to see if that bears out.
ZAHN: On to swift travel.
SERWER: Yes, first, I want to talk a little -- there's a couple of airline stories this morning we're following. First of all, on the brink, American Airlines yesterday demanding $1.8 billion in wage concessions. The question here everyone is asking is, is this company going to be following United Airlines into bankruptcy? Unthinkable a couple of months ago, but now the stock has fallen below 3. It lost $3.5 billion last year, losing 5 million in cash a day. Let's turn to this 90-second checkout. This is good news for consumers.
ZAHN: Do you believe it?
SERWER: Well, Delta Airlines swears it is going to get you through check-in in 90 seconds. Let's talk about how long it takes right now, though. Delta at its own Web site says that in certain cities, it takes two hours at Salt Lake, an hour-and-a-half in L.A., an hour at JFK, and almost an hour in San Francisco. They plan to get it down to 90 seconds basically by using those automated check-in machines. I don't know if you've used those yet, Paula.
ZAHN: Yes.
SERWER: I like them. I mean, I think they're really great. But they say now that you're actually going to be able to check your bags at those automatic check-ins. They're basically moving people behind the counters. They're going to greet you as you come in, put you to the right place, get you to stick your card in and move in. Now, this has nothing to do with...
ZAHN: And the baggage gets checked at the same time.
SERWER: Yes, it will.
ZAHN: So, all of that is done in 90 seconds.
SERWER: Right. But this has nothing to do with security, and security can also take an hour. That's a whole separate problem that has to do with the airports. But at least one airline is addressing it, and of course, this is also a cost-saving measure as well.
ZAHN: I've got an idea for you.
SERWER: Don't think they're doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
ZAHN: I'd like to send you to an airport with your stopwatch.
SERWER: Yes.
ZAHN: And time it.
SERWER: Well, we'll see. And they're going to be under the gun with this thing...
ZAHN: It sounds good.
SERWER: ... because they're saying 90 seconds. They're rolling it out today.
ZAHN: Andy Serwer, thanks.
SERWER: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
