Alaska Airlines redesigned their airport check-in to improve the way their customers went through. According to a story entitled Hustle & Flow on FastCompany, the airline studied theme parks, hospitals, and retailers to see how they handled similar situations.

Then, the team built mock-ups in a warehouse using cardboard boxes for podiums, kiosks, and belts in order to find ways to increase efficiency. The resulting makeover at the Seattle airport is likely to save almost $8 million a year (and means they won’t have to spend $500 million building a new terminal).

[Through 37signals]