A Study of Barcode Usage and Baggage Tracking
...one outweighs all customer complaints combined. A low AQR (Airline Quality Rating) can potentially place a negative impact on an airline, causing significant loses in sales. Barcodes were introduced to the airline industry as a way of tracking luggage. They were initially adopted by the airline industry because of their ability to be tracked by computers easily, therefore creating more efficient means of tracking baggage. Several years later, barcodes have become legacy systems. New systems are being tested but have not been adopted by the airline industry. Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of current airport baggage handling systems. This study specifically observes the effectiveness of the use of barcodes within the baggage handling systems. It also observes alternative options and the possibility of implementing new baggage handling systems. Many variables were identified and examined to determine reasons for fluctuation of mishandled baggage claims. The observations studied include low cost carriers versus conventional carriers, the liability increase per passenger for lost luggage in December of 1999 and the September 11th attacks. After examining the nationwide costs per carrier, we decided to examine small airports, investigating if there was an actual difference between nationwide baggage mishandling claims, and claims of small-scale airports. The airports observed were Valley International Airport, in Harlingen, TX and McAllen Miller Airport, in McAllen, TX. Methodology: The target population is the total enplaned passengers in the U.S. over the last five years (Provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation). To be more specific, we will observe the total number of domestic mishandled baggage reports filed by passengers with the U.S. Department of Transportation. We will observe this population’s performance within the past five years (1999-2003). These reports, as stated by the U.S. Department of Transportation are passenger reports of mishandled baggage, including those that did not subsequently result in claims for compensation. However, since these reports do affect the overall Airline Quality Rating, it was important to observe every mishandled baggage claim possible. The sample size was determined by interviewing the baggage claim departments of the McAllen Miller and Harlingen International Airport. They provided us with the average number of passengers that pass through their airline at that particular airport each day. They also provided us with approximate estimates on how many pieces of luggage or other baggage is reported lost per year, as well as an estimate on how many of those claims actually end up completely lost, therefore resulting in full compensation to the passenger who filed the claim. Given this information, we were able to use the airline’s average percentage of luggage lost to determine an approximate amount of money spent on tracking, research, and replacement of baggage. There were four variables that required attention when determining the cause of the increase or decrease of the average number of baggage claims per year. The first variable is theft. There is always the possibility that before the time of departure all the way past the time of arrival, the airport personnel were flawless in the timely delivery of the passenger’s baggage. However, from the time that the baggage appears on the conveyor belt, to the time the passenger walks out of the airport, his or her luggage is vulnerable to anyone who is willing to attempt to steal the luggage. Most airports follow an “Honor System” in which the passenger is trusted to pick up his or her own luggage and leave the luggage of other passengers to be picked up by the rightful owner. Because most airports don’t have a baggage claim employee checking that the correct luggage is given to the correct person, there is a bigger chance of someone walking in and either grabbing the incorrect bag on accident or someone stealing someone’s luggage altogether. A second variable, which was brought to our attention in an article within the Transportation Science Journal, stated that another major variable was the types of claim devices and baggage delivery systems that are used by the airport. The third variable observed was the possibility of inaccurate reporting by many of the airlines in order to keep a high AQR. The final factor we observed was the effects that September 11th had on the number of passengers as well as the number of mishandled baggage claims made before and after. The barcode systems that are in use by the majority of the airlines are out of date and in need of change. To determine this, we will research the number of baggage claims reported to the U.S. Department of Transportation from January of 1999 to December of 2003. We will observe the numbers to determine whether or not there is a per year improvement, whether there is a difference between low cost carriers (LCCs) and higher priced airlines, and if there is any difference between the number of claims toward large airlines and small airlines. Findings: When observing the amount of baggage claims per year from 1999 to 2003 we found a significant change between 2000 (5.29 mishandled baggage claims per 1000 passengers) and 2002 ( 3.84 mishandled baggage claims per 1000 passengers). We determined that a significant factor for this change could be the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. A detailed observation of the amount of mishandled baggage claims per year was conducted over the course of ten years to determine if the September 11th attacks were a valid variable (Shown on figure 2). Further research found that after the September 11th attacks new transportation security regulations were proposed. In November 2001, President Bush signed Public Law 107-71, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, requiring all domestic airports to implement strict new baggage screening measures no later than December 2002. Considering new baggage handling measures have been adopted since 2002, the number of baggage mishandling claims per year has gone down considerably. The September 11th attack has been the variable that was found to have the most impact on the baggage handling system in the United States. Figure 3 Figure 3 is an observation of the top ten mishandled baggage performers over the past five years. Showing the amount of mishandled baggage claims per airline and total costs these claims incurred upon these specific airlines. After analyzing the information provided by the Department of Transportation we calculated that the cost incurred due to mishandled baggage over 5 years is $2.6 Billion only on these specific airlines. This averages out to approximately $520 million a year. We also observed two local airports which include Valley International Airport and McAllen Miller International Airport, in order to determine if there was a consistency between the mishandled baggage reports of small-scale airports and mishandled baggage claims nationwide. After interviewing the baggage claim departments for Southwest, American Airlines and Continental we found that there is no difference between the claims of these small-scale airports and those reported nationwide. We did however find that out of all of the mishandled baggage claims only 1% is completely lost ...