Page 32 - aruba-today-20170805

A32 FEATURE
Saturday 5 auguSt 2017
The quest to end lost airline luggage

SCOTT MAYEROWITZ everything in their cart, that means more on-time
AP Airlines Writer having it all tallied at once. flights. Delta is also using
LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) — Vic- The same principles ap- RFID to track bags through
tor DaRosa stands under a ply to checked luggage. the labyrinth of conveyor
scorching afternoon sun, Most airlines today use bar- belts below terminals. If
loading bags onto a jet codes on tags to identify bags fall off a belt at a par-
heading to Detroit. As each each suitcase — each tag ticular curve or get suck at
suitcase climbs up the con- has its own unique 10-digit a junction, Delta will now
veyor belt into the plane, a number — and make sure have enough RFID read-
small computer verifies that it is loaded onto the right ers — about 5,200 globally
it actually belongs on that plane. But reading each — to pinpoint the trouble
flight. If one bag didn’t, a barcode with a handheld spot and fix it. The Atlanta-
red light would flash and scanner is time consuming. based airline says it plans to
the belt would stop until Often, a bag or two aren’t have the system online in In this July 12, 2016, photo, workers unload baggage from a
somebody acknowledges scanned or error messages 344 airports by the end of Delta Air Lines flight at Baltimore-Washington International
the mistake and reroutes are missed by workers fo- August. The new tags look Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Md. Associated Press
the luggage. This is the fu- cused on getting planes like traditional ones. But if
ture of baggage handling. out on time. held up to the light, passen- were delayed last year on last year, 208,000 of them
Delta Air Lines is investing Delta designed its system to gers can see a fingernail- American Airlines, accord- arrived within three hours,
$50 million to soothe one stop those errors. At the air- size chip and a credit card ing to statistics reported to according to the airline.
of air travel’s biggest head- line’s 84 largest airports — size antenna inlayed inside. the Department of Trans- Another 25,000 were re-
aches: lost and delayed united with passengers
luggage. Delta carried within 12 hours. The remain-
nearly 120 million checked ing 12,000 were either lost
suitcases last year, collect- or took more than 12 hours
ing $25 in fees, each way, to be delivered. Installing
for most domestic bags. RFID isn’t going to solve all
For that price, fliers expect of Delta’s baggage prob-
their suitcase to be waiting lems. But the airline esti-
on the carousel when they mates a 10-percent reduc-
arrive. tion in delayed bags. That
Delta already has one of means about 25,000 fewer
the airline industry’s best bags the airline has to de-
luggage handling records liver to passengers’ homes,
— just 1 out of every 500 offices or hotel rooms. For
bags failed to arrive on the past five years, Austra-
time — but hopes that by lian airline Qantas has of-
deploying a RFID, or radio- fered a permanent RFID
frequency identification, bag tag that fliers can pur-
tracking system globally it chase for about $23 and
can improve further. use when flying the airline
If the system works, other domestically. Several big
airlines are likely to follow. airports, including those in
Ultimately the bag tag Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Mi-
might be replaced with In this July 12, 2016, photo, bags wait to be checked at a Delta Air Lines counter at Baltimore- lan and Tokyo, use RFID to
permanent RFID readers in Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Md. track bags through parts
our suitcases, reducing the Associated Press of their systems. But Delta,
chances fliers in the future the world’s second largest
will start a vacation missing accounting for 85 percent By the end of this year, fli- portation. carrier by passenger traffic,
their swimsuit. “It’s a very of its passengers — Delta ers will be able to track their Bags often get delayed is providing the most-com-
smart move,” says Henry will have 1,500 special belt bags through the Delta when bad weather forces prehensive tracking the in-
Harteveldt, founder of trav- loaders with RFID readers smartphone app, getting tight connections or pas- dustry has seen to date.
el consultancy Atmosphere built in. Those loaders — like push notifications at each
Research Group. “It’s one the one DaRosa was using step of the journey. If a bag
that will help increase cus- — stop when a bag for a misses its flight, passengers
tomer confidence that their different flight is accidently are also notified instantly.
bags will arrive with them.” placed on the belt. That way passengers
RFID wirelessly identifies “It’s amazing technology,” “aren’t standing at a bag-
tags attached to items. says DaRosa, a ramp super- gage carousel waiting for
The technology is widely visor who has been testing the last piece of luggage
used at warehouses to the technology at Balti- to come off to realize their
track goods but Delta’s roll- more Washington Interna- bag isn’t there,” says Sandy
out is the first global use for tional Airport. “It’s going to Gordon, Delta’s vice presi-
passenger bags. totally eliminate a bunch of dent of airport operations
To better understand careless little errors.” for the eastern U.S.
the technology, think Replacing handheld scan- Most passengers’ bags do
about your local supermar- ners allows ramp workers arrive on time. But there are
ket. If every grocery item to use both hands to lift so hiccups, with 1 out of ev- This July 12, 2016, photo, shows the inside of a sample RFID-en-
had an RFID tag, cashiers bags, reducing injuries and ery 500 bags Delta carried abled Delta Air Lines baggage tag, at top, at Baltimore-Wash-
wouldn’t have to scan speeding up the loading last year failing to do so. It’s ington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Md.
each product at check- and unloading process. a record surpassed by only Associated Press
out. Instead, the groceries RFID also shortens the time Virgin America and JetBlue
would pass by a scanner needed to find and re- Airways, which both have sengers are rerouted onto Airlines have long found
and be instantly registered. move a bag from a plane smaller and simpler route new flights. Of the 245,000 RFID too pricey but the cost
Shoppers could even leave at the last second. All of networks. Twice as many bags Delta mishandled has dropped. q