Global airlines alliance, Star Alliance and ARINC Incorporated? have completed testing on? a new check-in technology that provides a fast common-use bag drop capability. The three-month trial at Tokyo Narita- Airport was supported by Star Alliance member carriers, Air Canada, ANA and Asiana.
Passengers on any of these three airlines could check in on-line, or at a self-service kiosk, and proceed to a convenient common-bag drop counter to have their luggage tagged for the appropriate airline and flight.
Until now, accepting luggage for several airlines at a single counter was possible only if all carriers used the same Departure Control System (DCS) — very often not the case. To address this, ARINC developed a web-based application — ARINC ExpressDrop which allows front line employees to print bag tags for several carriers from a single workstation, without separately accessing each individual carrier’s DCS.
The need for a common-use bag drop has mainly been driven by the increased use of new check-in methods such as mobile cell phones, on-line Internet check-in and self-service kiosks. As a result, many passengers today arrive at airports with their boarding passes in hand, and only need to drop off their bags.
“As part of our ‘Move Under One Roof’ strategy, we would like to offer Star Alliance customers common-bag drop counters.
“Due to differing IT systems, this has up to now proved challenging. By participating in the trial of the ARINC solution, we will gain valuable experience and knowledge, which should allow us to introduce common-bag drop counters and further improve the seamless Alliance travel experience in the foreseeable future,” said Lee Hock Lye, Vice President Products & Services, Star Alliance.
The core of ARINC ExpressDrop is a web-enabled application accessible from existing airport workstations.
It allows airlines to retain their preferred DCS under a single interface, permitting agents to print baggage tags for passengers on multiple airlines at a single baggage counter. The overall approach improves operating efficiency, reduces staff training and reduces the number of service counters required, lowering overall costs.
The trial demonstrated ExpressDrop’s ability to meet the airlines’ operational and performance requirements.
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