Tristar500 - you are starting to sound like King Canute sitting on the beach commanding the tide to retreat. You cannot turn back the tide of online progress. Online check in is here, and it is popular with the passengers. I would rather check in online than queue for 20 minutes. If they could just find the way to avoid me queuing for the fast bag drop it would be even better. People are booking tickets online in preference to waiting on the phone for 15 mins for a salesperson. They do that because they compare prices online and then buy what they find. Self service check in is faster than queueing at the airport especially on a busy day.
On the one hand you complain that we can't compete with the locos, then you say that the domestic network is disappearing and we should be a people-orientated business. Well I'm going to have to give you a harsh dose of reality but if you want the domestic network to succeed then you are going to have to start emulating the locos in terms of cost base, because the premiums we can charge don't cover the cost of the extra service we offer, especially when many of the extra services we offer, such as baggage handling, pushback tugs etc don't even add value - they cost more and perform worse than ground handling agents. I used to get a lot less hassle and a lot more on time departures on a turnaround at NCL than I did at EDI, and as a passenger I saw no significant difference in the service levels landside.