Halifax Stanfield International Airport Developments

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Went through the automated baggage at Stanfield on Sunday. It's perfectly fine for someone my age (early 20s), but there were certainly older people that looked lost. I went in with my check in barcode on my phone and got my baggage tags and boarding pass, which can be done at any airport anywhere, which was followed by a ~20 person line for a single man who looked at your boarding pass and told you which automated baggage machine to go to. I had the option of using one of four for my flight (Air Canada, Halifax -> Ottawa). The line for this one guy got up to as high as ~40 people.

After passing him I went to the machine where I had to position my baggage perfectly in the centre of the belt. It scanned and measured the baggage before accepting. There were plenty of people who were having difficulty positioning their baggage on the belt (too large) or had to remove things (too heavy). They had scales at the automated check-in machines.

Overall it was really quick, but I really do enjoy having a counter for baggage. It makes me feel better knowing that if my baggage ends up on the wrong flight it isn't necessarily my fault.

Nothing particular to Halifax but I love being able to check-in on my phone before reaching the airport, followed by printing my baggage and boarding passes at the automated machines which almost never have lines. It's much easier than having to wait in the check-in lines.

Actually, from your description, it sounds far worse.

Part of the issue is that the airlines and airport authorities generally have done a very poor job of explaining to the non-frequent flyer how this all works. When physical tickets went away years ago I would always go online to my reservation and print out my itinerary, which usually meant several sheets of paper that I had to bring with me, so that alone was a step backwards. Now you are saying that if you have a smart phone you can have it display a bar code that can be scanned to check yourself in instead of inserting an identification of some sort and entering whatever info they required. I never knew that but would be very dubious about depending on it.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by q12

Keith, there are 4 two sided elevators (also escalators and stairs) down to the North Tunnel opposite the luggage carousels and next to Starbucks.


Source: Airport-Technology.com


Source: HSIA

Fascinating. I never saw any of that. I cleared customs and since I only had carry-on bags I was by the northernmost exit door. I saw no signage or anything to indicate there was a way to get to the parkade where my car was. So I walked outside (in the cold!) and across the road to the middle of the parkade to find the elevators to take me up to where my car was. I don't know if the parkade has any elevators other than those in the middle of the structure so it may not have saved me any walking, but it would have kept me out of the cold. I have to think that there is a lack of proper directional signage there since I actually stood and waited for a bit after exiting customs trying to get my bearings, and never saw anything to indicate there was a different way.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Part of the issue is that the airlines and airport authorities generally have done a very poor job of explaining to the non-frequent flyer how this all works.

I had never flown prior to last summer and had absolutely no issues.

Originally Posted by Keith P.

When physical tickets went away years ago I would always go online to my reservation and print out my itinerary, which usually meant several sheets of paper that I had to bring with me, so that alone was a step backwards.

I generally put those sheets of paper inside my closed laptop in my carry-on bag for when I may need them.

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Now you are saying that if you have a smart phone you can have it display a bar code that can be scanned to check yourself in instead of inserting an identification of some sort and entering whatever info they required. I never knew that but would be very dubious about depending on it.

You can scan your passport, too, I believe. I forget which airport I did that at. Regardless, i've done the boarding pass scan on the smartphone at five different airports on two different continents (YYC, YOW, YYT, YHZ, and LHR) with no issues whatsoever.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I had never flown prior to last summer and had absolutely no issues.

Keith's point is still very much correct, the airlines have not done a good communicating how all of this works to those of us who fly infrequently. Last time I flew out of Pearson I decided to use the kiosk. Yeah I figured it out, but there were a lot of very confused people around me, and their concerns should not be brushed aside so lightly.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by JHikka

You can scan your passport, too, I believe.

I don't like putting my passport in a machine that may not give it back.

The problem with this technology is that while it's great when it works right, most people are experiencing either time stress or flight anxiety when they are trying to get through security and into their flight and these things just add to that problem.

[DigitalNinja]

I don't think the passport really "goes into" the machine Keith, you place it on top of an imaging device and it scans the barcode thing on the image and information page. It may have a little slot to insert that page, but it doesn't take your whole passport by any means. And yes, you can use your smartphone or passport.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

Keith's point is still very much correct, the airlines have not done a good communicating how all of this works to those of us who fly infrequently. Last time I flew out of Pearson I decided to use the kiosk. Yeah I figured it out, but there were a lot of very confused people around me, and their concerns should not be brushed aside so lightly.

Which is precisely why the airlines should be providing an actual person (or two) to provide assistance in the event that people are having trouble. I know Air Canada provides assistance at Ottawa International for those who may be lost or having difficulty with the kiosks. They helped me greatly during my first flight.

[Peter Spurway]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Which is precisely why the airlines should be providing an actual person (or two) to provide assistance in the event that people are having trouble. I know Air Canada provides assistance at Ottawa International for those who may be lost or having difficulty with the kiosks. They helped me greatly during my first flight.

Peter Spurway from the Airport Authority here. Each airline does have agents in the kiosk areas to assist passengers with the self check-in process, should they encounter difficulties.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Peter Spurway

Peter Spurway from the Airport Authority here. Each airline does have agents in the kiosk areas to assist passengers with the self check-in process, should they encounter difficulties.

Thank you for your input Mr Spurway, but you can see from the above posts that the new paradigm at Halifax Stanfield is causing some disquiet, and that you are (unintentionally) causing distress and further anxiety to certain members of the travelling public (especially the elderly, infrequent fliers, people with complex travel arrangements or people with limited intellectual capabilities). I know that this was not your intent, but it is a reality none-the-less, and arrangements should have been made to have a limited number of traditional check-in points available for each carrier, in addition to the kiosks. This sort of arrangement would be better customer service, and would allow the travelling public the choice that they want (and deserve). I think you have missed the boat on this one…...

[Keith P.]

Someone was posting pics and posts on Twitter last night of a backup at the self-check baggage kiosks - apparently the system failed or close to it so there were long lines and many irritated customers. Also I read somewhere that business class and above ticket holders still get to use an agent at a desk to check their bags as before. That seems to make it clear that this is simply a cost-saving move for the airlines. Not a fan.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

That seems to make it clear that this is simply a cost-saving move for the airlines. Not a fan.

It wasn't already clear?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I read somewhere that business class and above ticket holders still get to use an agent at a desk to check their bags as before,

So, a perfectly capable 35 year old executive gets cadillac service at the business class check in. Meanwhile poor 88 year old grannie is expected to try and navigate a self serve check in kiosk and then tag and load her own bag onto the conveyer belt.

Somehow this doesn't seem quite right to me……..

[scooby074]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

So, a perfectly capable 35 year old executive gets cadillac service at the business class check in. Meanwhile poor 88 year old grannie is expected to try and navigate a self serve check in kiosk and then tag and load her own bag onto the conveyer belt.

Somehow this doesn't seem quite right to me……..

In fairness though, the Business Class guy is paying substantially more to cover the cost of the ticket agent. Actually on many flights, depending on the number of sold tickets, the business class passengers cover the entire cost of the flight.

Obviously the self checkins are to save costs. There may be a time saving so long as everybody in front of you is tech savvy enough to get checked in in a reasonable period of time, but one "grandma" and any time savings are lost.

Kind of like the self checkouts at Home Depot for example. If you have a bottle of glue and there is no one in front of you, you fly through, however if there are a few other people with carts full of items in line.. youre in for a long wait. Its those times where a good cashier (or ticket agent in this case) really makes things go much faster.

[q12]

Originally Posted by Peter Spurway

The old tower and those upper parts of the building will be clad to integrate them with the rest of the building.

Looks like the new clad is almost complete on the old tower and upper terminal section.


Source Via: https://twitter.com/hfxstanfield

[Keith P.]

I see that the PetroCanada gas station that has been there forever is closing suddenly as of Monday. The airport has arranged for a "pop-up" station nearby, supplied by Irving, to take its place until a new tenant for the permanent station is found.

Seems extremely odd. Smells like hardball lease renewal negotiations went sideways and Suncor took their ball and went home.I wish airport management would focus on making the actual airport itself better with the necessary upgrades to improve the traveler experience instead of trying to create the next Dartmouth Crossing out there.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Someone was posting pics and posts on Twitter last night of a backup at the self-check baggage kiosks - apparently the system failed or close to it so there were long lines and many irritated customers. Also I read somewhere that business class and above ticket holders still get to use an agent at a desk to check their bags as before. That seems to make it clear that this is simply a cost-saving move for the airlines. Not a fan.

I used it on my most recent trip back to Halifax in July - I had to admit; I was a little nervous but really - the system worked fine. It wasn't difficult and there were lots of AC staff around to help. I wouldn't have a problem using it. I did notice that the staff were helping out some of the elderly passengers and some infrequent fliers - which I would expect.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I see that the PetroCanada gas station that has been there forever is closing suddenly as of Monday. The airport has arranged for a "pop-up" station nearby, supplied by Irving, to take its place until a new tenant for the permanent station is found.

Seems extremely odd. Smells like hardball lease renewal negotiations went sideways and Suncor took their ball and went home.I wish airport management would focus on making the actual airport itself better with the necessary upgrades to improve the traveler experience instead of trying to create the next Dartmouth Crossing out there.

To be honest that old Petro Can station is in desperate need of replacement with a new building. The old boarded up service bays probably do not make a great impression on tourists entering the city through the airport. Maybe HIAA told them they had to renovate or modernize their facility, and they decided to pack up.

[Keith P.]

According to another website, Suncor claims they learned of the eviction via the HIAA press release (which I rather doubt to be honest) and that they were in negotiations with plans to renovate the building. According to HIAA, the opposite is true, that Suncor informed them they were withdrawing from the site.

I stand by my original contention that all of this is negotiations gone sour.

[hfx_chris]

Very likely, unfortunately

[ghYHZ]

Once the new airport access roads open......isn’t the current Petro Canada location going to be on the inbound lanes only? Outbound traffic would have to loop around to reach the station and pumps.