Delta Cargo kiosks a digital step forward

Delta Cargo has introduced self-service iPad kiosks at its stations in Atlanta and Boston, and is currently testing the technology in other airport hubs that require electronic air waybills (e-AWB) as standard operating procedure.
Kiosks were first tested in Atlanta at all shipment acceptance counters. Since the start of the trial, Delta Cargo has seen a significant increase in the speed of transition from paper to e-AWB bookings for US domestic shipments in Atlanta.
Moreover, following what the carried said had been positive customer feedback, these kiosks have also been rolled out in Boston, and will shortly be available at New York JFK and Seattle cargo acceptance counters.
Delta’s current eAWB penetration rate is 81..3%, which is above IATA’s global goal of 68% eAWB for 2018.
The air waybill, the airline notes, is a critical air cargo document that constitutes the ‘contract of carriage’ between the shipper and Delta.
The new kiosk technology supports Delta Cargo’s and IATA’s efforts to move the industry from paper air waybills to e-AWBs. Meanwhile, it provides customers with “a streamlined digital experience to book all U.S. domestic product shipments”, Delta observed.
“The introduction of Delta Cargo’s self-service experience contributes to a more environmentally friendly and simple booking process, while also providing expedited service to customers,” said Lindsey Jalil, managing director commercial at the freight carrier.
“With initiatives such as this we are working towards our goal of achieving 100 percent e-AWB penetration in the United States by the end of the year and internationally in 2019.”
Earlier this month (August), Delta Cargo expanded the functionality of its booking portal to cover all the different products it offers.
The airline said that the expansion means that the full Delta product portfolio, including pharma, are now available on the platform, while users will also now be able to track cargo by location, including aircraft and truck view with a real-time map.
The portal will also offer improved flight search, allowing users to sort and filter cargo specific flight schedules at booking, an electronic air waybill indicator, a recurring booking tool to set up automatic bookings up to 12 weeks in advance for certain products, the ability to build and share booking templates and manage subscriptions to alerts and news.