Delta rolls out wireless baggage transfer system

CINCINNATI -- Delta Air Lines has implemented a wireless baggage transfer system at its Cincinnati hub. Delta said this technology will benefit customers by helping ensure quicker and more accurate baggage handling and transfer. Also it will provide more flexibility for customers when weather or other factors cause delays and cancellations in Cincinnati.

"This is another initiative that shows our commitment to improving our customers' travel experience,” said Rich Cordell, Delta's senior vice president for airport customer service. “Last year, we invested more than $30 million in our airports to give customers more choice and control, while improving service during flight delays and cancellations. This year we'll continue to invest in making our airports better and faster for our customers."

The system uses electronic wireless devices that are similar to handheld computers. These devices are attached to ground support equipment and provide updated, real-time flight information to employees driving ground vehicles. Putting this information at employees’ fingertips benefits customers by creating shorter connection times for baggage, less likelihood of missed bag connections, and more direct-to-aircraft transfers that skip baggage sort systems, Cordell said.

Baggage transfers

In the near future, the system deployed in Cincinnati will provide driver assignments, will facilitate two-way messaging and will help determine the most time-efficient routings for baggage transfers.

Today, Delta uses this technology in Atlanta to dispatch its drivers remotely and in real time, shifting from a system where drivers received gate and flight assignments on paper from a central location. Atlanta-based ground employees rely on this system for quick recovery in irregular operations, where gate assignments and connections often change.

This means that bags are transferred more quickly and accurately, particularly during delays and cancellations. With help from this technology, Atlanta recorded its best year ever in baggage performance in 2003.

The wireless baggage transfer systems deployed in Atlanta and Cincinnati are only the latest in a series of initiatives launched by Delta to improve the travel experience for its customers. To date, Delta has invested in the following:

▪ 846 kiosks in 76 airports.
▪ A complete transformation of airport lobbies, which has dramatically lowered customer check-in times.
▪ More than 550 industry-leading Delta Direct remote phones – including more than 450 in lobbies and more than 120 in concourses. These quickly connect customers to a dedicated, remote reservations agent who handles complex ticketing changes and transactions.
▪ Delta airport agents who greet passengers in the lobby and help them find the best check-in option for their needs.
▪ The industry’s first comprehensive solution to improve service to its customers during irregular operations, such as flight delays and cancellations.
▪ Delta also is testing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as a potential means of future baggage tracking.

Delta is the world’s second largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 497 destinations in 86 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. Texas Instruments

Another company with significant activity in wireless baggage tracking is Texas Instruments, which this announced that two more companies had joined its Team Tag-It Program. The two companies, InfoWave Solutions and Vanguard ID Systems will work with TI and other companies in developing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Airport baggage handling is a key element in the program.

More than 60 RFID hardware and software suppliers, printer, reader and antenna manufacturers and systems integrators have joined the Texas Instruments’ Team Tag-it program since it was established in March 2000. Team Tag-it members participate in marketing, sales, and networking opportunities, and share resources to further strengthen the market for RFID smart labels.

Texas Instruments Radio Frequency Identification (TI-RFid) Systems is generally considered an industry leader in RFID technology and is the world’s largest integrated manufacturer of RFID tags, smart labels and reader systems. With more than 300 million tags manufactured, TI-RFid technology is used in a broad range of applications worldwide including access control, automotive, document tracking, livestock, product authentication, retail, sports timing, supply chain, ticketing and wireless payment.

British Airways tested RFID

Five years ago, British Airways completed live trials of Tag-it smart labels at Heathrow Airport on behalf of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) using existing high volume routes from Manchester and Munich. The trials involved 75,000 smart bag tags on passenger luggage. A number of other companies worked with TI, including Ultra Electronics, IER, Genicom and Sihl.

The trials clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of the technology in identifying and tracking baggage transported through the sortation systems. BA is openly sharing the trial data with other airlines and standards groups worldwide in an effort to accelerate the adoption of this technology.

Following the trials, IATA voted to formally adopt the 13.56 MHz RFID ISO/IEC 15693 standard as a recommended practice for identifying passenger baggage electronically.