Emirates Opens City Check-In Facility In Dubai With Robot Assistants

Emirates Opens City Check-In Facility In Dubai With Robot Assistants

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Emirates has opened a new check-in facility in the heart of Dubai’s financial district, which some customers may appreciate.

Basics of Emirates’ new city check-in facility

Emirates has just opened a new city check-in and travel store, located in ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The facility is open daily from 8AM until 10PM, and is intended to be a place to conveniently book travel, check-in for flights, drop bags, and shop for travel essentials.

Probably the most interesting feature of this facility is that customers will be able to check-in any bags between four hours and 24 hours of departure, in order to arrive more leisurely at the airport. The facility has self check-in kiosks, dedicated desks with Emirates agents, and what’s being described as the world’s first check-in robot assistant.

The check-in robot assistant is named Sara, and “she” is a portable robotic check-in system who can match faces with scanned passports, check passengers in, and guide them to the luggage drop off area.

For those driving, the facility offers (paid) self-parking and valet. Furthermore, those with valid boarding passes will have complimentary access to select lifestyle facilities in ICD Brookfield Place, and will receive discounts and special offers at restaurants, gyms, and luxury stores.

Those who wish to go directly to the airport from the facility can either take a taxi or a 10-minute walk to the Financial Centre Metro Station, which connects to Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport.

Emirates city check-in facility exterior
Emirates city check-in facility self check-in kiosks
Emirates city check-in facility robot assistant
Emirates city check-in facility agent desk

My take on Emirates’ new check-in facility

In a way, what’s old is new again. Back in the day, city ticketing offices were common, but not many of these exist anymore, at least in countries where credit card payments for flights are the norm.

Emirates’ new check-in facility isn’t going to be for everyone, though I could see some niche situations where people might visit this:

  • If you’re having issues ticketing a reservation and want the help of a real human, going to this facility might be a decent option
  • If you have a checked bag and happen to be near this facility, maybe some people will prefer this to lugging their bag to the airport
  • One of the best ways to fly Emirates first or business class is to upgrade your ticket on the day of departure; assuming upgrades can be done in the same way at the city check-in facility as at the airport, this could be hugely valuable for scoring an upgrade

For those in first class, a while back Emirates added a home check-in option, whereby Emirates will quite literally come to your home, check you in, issue you boarding passes, and pick up your bags. It’s rather over-the-top, but I’m sure it’s something that some people appreciate, especially when you see with how much luggage some travelers take.

Bottom line

Emirates has opened a new city check-in facility in Dubai’s financial district, where you can get your boarding passes, check your bags, and even interact with a robot assistant. I can’t imagine this will appeal to most, but in niche situations, or if you’re just an avgeek who enjoys this kind of stuff, it could be worth checking out this place.

What do you make of Emirates’ city check-in facility? Could you see yourself using it?

Conversations (5)
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  1. Klaus Guest

    As noted by Frankfurtflyer.de, Skywards Platinum members will earn a onetime bonus of 30.000 Status Miles when using the City Check In as long as their Skywards number is in the booking. It’s 5000 status miles for silver members

  2. Qatar still better? Guest

    Beats Rude c/s at DXB!

  3. Eskimo Guest

    When things work out fine, an agent, a kiosk, or a robot doesn't matter. It'll be done in few minutes.

    When things go wrong, I don't need another 'form' of computer to tell me a different version of please see an agent.

    Based on pictures, it's just a kiosk on wheels to navigate me because it's afraid I can't distinguish between human and kiosk to see an agent.

    It's about time all these companies invest...

    When things work out fine, an agent, a kiosk, or a robot doesn't matter. It'll be done in few minutes.

    When things go wrong, I don't need another 'form' of computer to tell me a different version of please see an agent.

    Based on pictures, it's just a kiosk on wheels to navigate me because it's afraid I can't distinguish between human and kiosk to see an agent.

    It's about time all these companies invest in future technology, not a repacked version of current tech.
    Deep (and scary privacy intrusive) tech like walk straight to the conveyor belt. Facial recognition would determine, you and tag your bags.

    The techs are there, just waiting for a large scale deployment.

    And since, we're talking about a city check-in facility. The concept was there forever, and the only reason there are fewer is the cost of operating one. It's always among the first to get budget cuts.

  4. John Fernandes Guest

    Great idea, it's an extended convenience to the traveller. Thanks for introducing this. Another first.
    John

  5. betterbub Diamond

    My pet peeve with these customer-facing robots is that a lot of the people who need assistance with simple tasks like navigating an airport terminal or checking in at a kiosk would much rather talk to an agent to fix their issues than interact with a robot

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Klaus Guest

As noted by Frankfurtflyer.de, Skywards Platinum members will earn a onetime bonus of 30.000 Status Miles when using the City Check In as long as their Skywards number is in the booking. It’s 5000 status miles for silver members

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Qatar still better? Guest

Beats Rude c/s at DXB!

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Eskimo Guest

When things work out fine, an agent, a kiosk, or a robot doesn't matter. It'll be done in few minutes. When things go wrong, I don't need another 'form' of computer to tell me a different version of please see an agent. Based on pictures, it's just a kiosk on wheels to navigate me because it's afraid I can't distinguish between human and kiosk to see an agent. It's about time all these companies invest in future technology, not a repacked version of current tech. Deep (and scary privacy intrusive) tech like walk straight to the conveyor belt. Facial recognition would determine, you and tag your bags. The techs are there, just waiting for a large scale deployment. And since, we're talking about a city check-in facility. The concept was there forever, and the only reason there are fewer is the cost of operating one. It's always among the first to get budget cuts.

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