This is just another FR idea/plan to cut costs and avoid paying airport operators or handling companies any fees associated with check-in desks and any associated infrastructure, the thin end of the wedge some may say.
BladePilot - I understand what you're saying, but one can look at things in a different way.
An airport terminal is basically a big open-plan building that can be subdivided into a few major sections. If there is less need landside for space for check-in desks, then the barrier between landside and departure lounge could perhaps be moved, to enlarge the departure lounge and possibly also security areas, and thus potentially increase the terminal's capacity, with minimal capital expenditure. Even better, the enlarged departure lounge means more retail shops can be added, giving the airport operator a chance for extra revenue.
Since the airport fees charged to airlines show up as an item in the ticket price, the game for an airport operator is all abou extracting the maximum revenue per passenger passing through the airport, whilst also maximising the number of passengers passing through the existing building in a given period of time