BA is to trial a new service allowing passengers to be automatically checked in ahead of their flight.
The automated service will check in passengers 24 hours before their flight, assign them a seat and send them their boarding pass electronically.
Launching this month, the trial will initially be offered to selected passengers departing from French airports, before being extended to “a larger group of travellers in the spring”.
If these trials are successful, BA says it will then make the service an option for all customers across the BA network by the end of next year.
BA said that during the trial “seats will be allocated on an individual basis" and added "if customers wish to change the seat allocated they will be able to do so”.
The carrier also said: “In the future, the vision is to allow customers to store their preferences and if they are available, be allocated seats accordingly.”
Frank van der Post, BA’s managing director of brands and customer experience, said: “Customers have so much to think about prior to a trip, be that finishing up in the office or getting the kids’ suitcases packed.
"We’re aiming to give them one less thing to think about by giving them the choice to be checked in automatically and sent their boarding pass electronically. Then they just need to drop off any bags and make their way to the plane.”
The carrier has also announced plans to trial a complimentary porter service for First passengers and Gold Executive Club members at Heathrow T5.
Set to launch this autumn, the trial will see customers greeted as their vehicle pulls up at T5, and offered the services of a porter who will escort them and transport their luggage to the First check-in area.
ba.com