It will be the largest deployment of common-use self service (CUSS) kiosks at Heathrow and will serve in excess of 18 airlines.
British Airports Authority (BAA), the owner and operator of Heathrow and five other UK airports, is the client. Under the contract, ARINC will temporarily upgrade 150 older check-in kiosks in the terminals with new IBM software for improved operation, beginning in April 2010. This phase will be followed by a complete replacement of all older kiosk units, to begin in September 2010. A total of 202 new IBM kiosks will be installed by the first quarter 2011. The installation will be fully managed by ARINC, which will also provide service and support for older kiosks until they are replaced.
ARINC won the contract against a number of other suppliers in a competitive procurement that started in mid-2009. With the Heathrow contract, ARINC and IBM now account for more than 60% of all common-use CUSS kiosk deployments in the world. Some of the world’s leading airlines will be among initial users of the new kiosks.
ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, ARINC has regional headquarters in London and Singapore.
