Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr Zhiling Guo
Assistant Professor
financial loss experienced at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) in the past
years is due to the inefficiency in baggage handling, routing processes and associated
security costs at DCA. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the impact of
economic analysis of the detailed AA and AE daily baggage traffic flows and
baggage routing process data we collected at DCA, we not only identified several
areas of operational inefficiency in the baggage handling process, but also quantified
provide important insights into major areas of inefficiency and technology investment
AIRLINE SECURITY
By
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a note will indicate the deletion.
UMI 1497447
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Copyright by
Johny Leonard Sozi
2011
Dedication
ii
Acknowledgements
Dr Zhiling Guo for all the guidance and support that she has given me generously
during my study. This Thesis would not have been possible without her. As a tribute
to her, I will give the same help and support to my future students given
committee, Dr Victoria Yoon and Dr Lina Zhou for the comments and suggestions
My special thanks go to Mr. Gino Agostini and Mr Thomas, Lee for the
resourceful information they gave me from the American Airlines Baggage Service
resourceful information: TSA, DHS, RITA, BTS, GAO, and DOT. I wish to thank my
best friends Mr. Michel Tinguiri (PhD Candidate), Mrs. Assetou Barry, Nitin and
Anshuman for their valuable and on-going help they gave me. Their friendship made
Above all, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my late father Josephat Galabuzi
and my mother Eriv Nakasi, for raising me up and my cousin sister Theresa Nassozi
for her care, love and support in my entire life. I would like to thank my wife Rose
and my children Tendo, Franklin, Prim and Ivan for the care, love, sympathy and
patience you have displayed to me during these years. The fun we have been getting
iii
Table of Contents
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
Table of Contents iv
List of Tables vi
List of Figures vii
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION....... 1
Chapter 2: AN OVERVIEW OF AIR TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY..............7
2.1: Airline Operations and Air transportation Competition ................................... 9
2.1.1: Airlines Focus on Baggage Handling Improvements .............................. 12
2.1.2: Equipping Airport with Newer Baggage Handling Facilities .................. 12
2.2: Operational View of Baggage Routing in Transportation ............................. 15
2.2.1: Air Trip Duration Effects on Baggage Handling ..................................... 15
2.3: Economic and Political Implications of Airport Security ............................... 16
2.3.1: Airport Influence on Airlines Business ................................................... 17
2.3.2: The ATSA of 2001 impact on the Airport Security................................. 17
Chapter 3: AA BAGGAGE HANDLING AND SECURITY MEASURES...22
3.1: American Airlines Operations at DCA ........................................................... 22
3.1.1: AA Baggage Physical Flow Chart ........................................................... 23
3.1.2: Physical Baggage Flow at TSA Check-Point .......................................... 23
3.1.3: Physical Flow in the AA and AE Bag-Room Unit .................................. 27
3.1.4: Physical Baggage Flow in AA and AE Baggage Service Office.29
3.2: An Operational ProcessView of Baggage Routing at DCA ........................... 32
3.2.1: The Current Tracking Technology at DCA ............................................. 37
3.2.2: AA and AE Data Flow ............................................................................. 38
3.3: AA Baggage Policies and the Role of Baggage Service Office .................... 47
3.3.1: AA and AE Baggage Policy and Procedures ........................................... 48
3.3.2: Handling Baggage Claims for Passengers ............................................... 49
3.4: Transportation Security Administration Baggage Policies and Procedures ... 50
3.4.1: TSA Security Requirements and Programs ............................................. 51
Chapter 4: DATA AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS....52
4.1: American Airlines Mishandled Baggage ........................................................ 52
4.1.1: Flight Delay Challenges in Baggage Handling........................................ 54
4.1.2: TSA Baggage Mishandling ...................................................................... 55
4.1.3: Effect of Passenger Trip Contribute to Baggage Mishandling.57
4.1.4: Major Areas of Baggage Inefficiency ...................................................... 58
4.2: Technology Investment................................................................................... 69
4.2.1: The Role of Scanners in Baggage Processing ......................................... 70
4.2.2: Bar-Code Baggage Scanning Inefficiencies ............................................ 74
4.2.3: Bar-Code Technology Limitations .......................................................... 74
4.3: Regression Analysis to Quantify the Effect of Major Efficiency Factors ...... 76
4.3.1: Operational Mode of AA and AE in DCA .............................................. 76
4.3.2: Categories of Baggage Flow and their Volumes ..................................... 79
iv
4.3.3: DCA Baggage Flow Mapping with Baggage Mishandling ..................... 82
4.4: Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 84
4.4.1: Effects of AA and AE Baggage Flows on Total Mishandled Bags ......... 84
4.4.2: Effects of Baggage Flows in Different Stations on Mishandling.87
4.4.3: Code 50 - Damaged Bags ........................................................................ 88
4.4.4: Code 93 - Rerouting AA to AA ............................................................... 91
4.4.5: Code 5 - Failed to Load ........................................................................... 93
Chapter 5: DISCUSSION...98
5.1: Information Technology and Operational Efficiency of Baggage Handling .. 98
5.1.1: Baggage Tracking by Scanning98
5.1.2: Human Factors ......................................................................................... 99
5.1.3: Baggage Screening Scanners ................................................................. 100
5.2: Information Technology (IT) and Enhanced Security .................................. 101
5.2.1: Baggage Flow and Security ................................................................... 102
5.3: IT- Enhanced Security Chain Improves Baggage Handling Efficiency ....... 103
5.3.1: RFID Substitute for Bar-Code Improves Baggage Handling ................ 103
5.3.2: Improved Baggage Handling Customer Service Using RFIDs ............. 105
5.3.3: RFID Tags Improve Baggage Handling Efficiency .............................. 106
5.3.4: Data Systems Integration ....................................................................... 107
Chapter 6: CONCLUSION...............109
6.1: Summary of Major Findings ......................................................................... 109
6.1.1: Destabilizing the USA Economy ........................................................... 109
6.1.2: Security Compromise with Cost ............................................................ 110
6.1.3: Baggage Security Threats ...................................................................... 110
6.1.4: Influence of Technology on Airlines Baggage ...................................... 111
6.1.5: Employees Adaptation to New Technology ......................................... 111
6.1.6: Baggage Check-in Restrained by FAA Regulations.............................. 112
6.2: Summary Contributions. ............................................................................... 113
Appendices114
Glossary.123
Bibliography......125
v
List of Tables
vi
List of Figures
Fig 1: Commercial Airport1
Fig 2: Baggage Flow through the Secure and Non-secure Areas23
Fig 3: TSA Check-Point Functions at DCA27
Fig 4: Functions and Physical Flow of Bags in the BRU28
Fig 5: BSO Functions and Physical Flow of Bags...29
Fig 6: Responsibilities for Civil Aviation Security..33
Fig 7: Passenger and Checked-in Baggage Flows at DCA..39
Fig 8: Passengers and Baggage from an Inbound Flight at DCA41
Fig 9: An Illustration of Baggage Data Flow...43
Fig 10: Pie Chart of Baggage Mishandled in Dec-Feb. 2009/10.65
Fig 11: Top Ranked AA/AE Baggage Mishandled Codes in 2009/1066
Fig 12: Pie chart of all the Baggage Mishandled in Dec-Feb. 20010/11.67
Fig 13: Top Ranked AA/AE Baggage Mishandled Codes in 2009/1068
Fig 14: Search Option on BagFinder Home Page72
Fig 15: BagFinder Bag Scan Data Captured by Hand-Held Scanners.72
Fig 16: Illustration of Complete Bag Scan Data..73
Fig 17: DCA Market Operational Areas......78
Fig 18: Streamline of Baggage Handling Process...98
Fig 19: Baggage Flow and Security Screening with Passenger.....102
Fig 20: RFID Visionary Baggage Handling Process and Benefits107
vii
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
The United States accounts for roughly 40% of all commercial aviation
activity and 50% of all general aviation activity in the world [2]. There are 449
commercial airports in the United States. These commercial airports differ in physical
size, layout, and number of passengers and volume of flights they handle. At least
421 airports have passenger volume flow of over 10,000 annually. Transportation and
According to the number of passengers boarding at each airport, TSA classifies five
U.S. Airports in this category have the largest passenger volumes and the most
security enhancement restrictions in the country. These airports usually have one or
1
more checkpoints screening passengers with more than one screening lanes.1 DCA is
The Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA) region has three airports: DCA,
International Airport (BWI). No flights that can connect to each other among these
three airports because they are only 50-70 miles apart. IAD and BWI help in handling
the large volume of outbound and inbound flow of passengers and checked baggage
in the WMA hence relieving DCA from congestion of passengers and checked
baggage. DCA only handles a controlled volume of passenger traffic and checked
baggage.
DCA airport has only three terminals A, B, and C with 15 airline operators and
air carriers. In all these terminals, TSA has established several different screening
checkpoints for passengers and mandates the screening of all checked baggage on
outbound flights of every airline at DCA. TSA has installed and use stand-alone
(ETD) machines to check the safety of checked baggage loaded on planes. Due to
September 11 terrorist attacks, Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) was
enacted in 2001. Before the ATSA, respective airline operators and air carriers used
1
According to TSA, the total number of commercial airports regulated for security in the USA varies
depending on various factors such as the type and level of commercial operations that an airport
operator conducts at that particular airport, the time of year or season where a particular airport is
located, the economic stability of that airport region
2
TSA mandated to screen all checked baggage using explosive detection systems at airports by
Dec.31, 2003. TSA deployed two types of screening equipment Explosives Detection Systems (EDS)
which use computer-aided tomography X-rays to recognize the characteristics of explosives.
3
Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) systems use chemical analysis to detect traces of explosive material
vapors or residues. TSA has optimally deployed use of EDS & ETD machines to maintain the security
of checked baggage.
2
to have total operational responsibility of screening checked baggage for explosives
using private screeners paid by airlines. After the ATSA, TSA was created to handle
all the baggage screening. A lot of different aspects have come up into play
unintended. Since airlines do not have any control over TSA in screening passengers
and checked baggage, the security screening system towards passengers and their
baggage have caused more flight delays and more mishandled baggage at DCA than
before. This situation has made respective airline operators at DCA bear the
cumulative baggage costs from mishandled baggage born by the inefficiency of TSA.
which wasnt made for accommodating the new passenger screening and baggage
checking machines. TSA improvised by installing in the DCA airport lobbies stand-
alone EDS (CT scanner)4 machines which are less efficient compared to the In-line
passengers and loading checked baggage onto aircrafts during peak hours6 because
the airport gets higher screening demand during peak hours and sometimes TSA lacks
the capacity with regard to space available for additional passenger lanes and baggage
4
TSA implemented interim lobby solutions by placing the stand-alone EDS (CT scanner) and ETD
(CT scanner) machines in airport lobbies. For EDS in stand-alone mode (not integrated with airports
or air carriers baggage conveyor system) and ETD, TSA screeners are responsible for obtaining the
passengers checked baggage from either the passenger or air carrier, lift the bags onto and off of EDS
machines or ETD tables, using TSA protocols to appropriately screen the bags, and returning the
cleared bags to the air carriers to be loaded onto departing aircraft.
5
In-line EDS (CT scanner) involve checked baggage undergoing automated screening with EDS
machines while on a conveyor belt that sorts and transports baggage to the proper location for its
ultimate loading onto an aircraft.
6
DCA peak hours on weekdays are between 5.00 am 8.00am and 3.00 pm 7.00 pm and Sundays
between 4.00 9.00 pm.
3
screening areas, to process passengers and baggage quickly enough to have lower
waiting times.7
All different airlines at DCA have separate TSA screening checkpoints for
checked baggage. It solves the delay problem to some extent and gives TSA a good
create many more duplicate Bag-Room Control Unit (BRCU)8 for every different
airline to grade and sort out the already TSA screened checked baggage for different
aircraft routes. This scenario makes multiple routing processes prone to human errors
since ramp agents (ramp baggage handlers) sometimes fail to load the right baggage
on the right cart for the right flight schedule. Miss loading the right baggage on the
right cart creates several baggage mishandling9 problems which continually drives up
the cumulative baggage mishandling costs for the airlines. This study aims to analyze
at DCA is earmarked as the main case study in the analysis of the baggage routing
costs in this thesis. The airline has implemented bar-code scanners to track all
checked baggage loading onto aircrafts for outbound flights at DCA. AA ramp agents
7
TSA standard waiting time is 10 minutes.
8
Bag-Room Control Unit (BRCU) is place where all AA and AE checked baggage, cleared by TSA
get collected for grading and sorting awaiting loading onto aircrafts. BRCU is located in the secure
areas of the airport. TSA cleared checked baggage get dropped onto airlines conveyor belts leading to
BRCU, sometimes BRCU is commonly called Bag-Room Unit (BRU).
9
Baggage mishandling is when airlines delay (put your bag on later flight), damage the bag, items
missing from the baggage, or lost the baggage completely.
10
American Airline (AA) is an American based airline operating as AA and America Eagle (AE)
owned by AMR. Currently AA is the fourth largest airline in the world with over 1000 aircrafts.
4
in charge of loading checked baggage onto aircrafts scan all checked baggage bar-
code tags at the time of loading baggage on the plane. Scanning bar-code tags helps in
the tracking of these scanned checked baggage because the system would be able
determine the last station where and when checked baggage was scanned. It is in the
interest of this research to evaluate the effects of this technology use on baggage
mishandling.
airlines in USA, and baggage complaints ranked number two with 1,521 complaints
For AA and AE baggage handling problems are their number one on the list.
mishandling. Part of the AA financial losses experienced at DCA in the past several
years are from the large number of mishandled bags due the inefficiency in baggage
The main objective of this research was to discover the main causes of baggage
mishandling and suggest ways of improving them. Significant amount of work has
been done in other major areas of airport security and screening methods, but there
hasnt been research in the areas of mishandled baggage. As aviation industry faces
pose new challenges for airline baggage handling. This issue needs urgent attention as
5
The first chapter is an introduction of baggage handling and security
process at DCA by American Airlines & American Eagle (AA & AE) and
Chapter three investigates the AA & AE and airline baggage handling at DCA
and its security measures with an in-depth look at AA baggage operations. In the
fourth chapter, we collect data and conduct an economic analysis. We identify major
problem areas of inefficient baggage handling and examine the effects of technology
concludes with the summary of major findings and contributions. Investigations are
done on the operational baggage routing in air transportation, economic benefits and
6
Chapter 2: An Overview of Air Transportation Industry
American Eagle (AE). AA has been in existence for seventy seven years now since
1934 and has its headquarters at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) in Texas (TX). This airline
is one of the largest in the world contributing approximately US dollar $ 100 billion
to the USA economy, and operates in hub-and-spoke system in five different primary
markets: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago OHare (ORD), New York City (JFK),
St Louis (STL) and Los Angeles (LAX). On average AA flies 270,000 passengers per
day on 3,300 flights with more than 300,000 passenger baggage throughout the
world.
enjoys being the largest regional airline in the world with over 300 aircrafts, 1,700
flights a day in 150 cities throughout USA and Canada. AA and AE are founder
members of global Oneworld Alliance a network which brings together big and best
airlines in the world to share customer services and benefits than any airline can
provide on its own. AA is not without challenges in the airline industry. In 2010, it
lost 4 passenger bags every 1000 passengers on their flights, and the total number of
tracer claims for mishandled baggage was 3,483 in 2010 and 3,825in 2009. On
average airlines spend US $ 100.00 on every bag mishandled, therefore using that
With economic down-turn since 2008, the oil market crisis in the Middle
East and military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, in 2009 caused a shrink in
7
passengers travel but regained in 2010 by 5%. Approximately 478 million
passengers took a flight on one of the 10 largest airlines in USA to fly domestically in
2010 with an increase of 40 million passengers from the previous year 2009 [5].
American Airlines (AA) alone serviced 65 million passengers each year in 2009 and
2010, while American Eagle (AE) serviced 13million in 2009 and 11 million
passengers in 2010. [5] American Eagle (AE) lost 15% of its passengers volume in
2010 compared to 2009. The chances of passenger bags being mishandled on any
USA airlines flight are high. One out of 250 checked bags are reported mishandled
[6] and most airlines locate lost bags within 2 days and hardly few bags are
completely lost.
baggage route. These routes could be the same or sometimes different for some
reasons. Most of airlines in USA introduced charging checked-in baggage for both
domestic and international flights two years ago. American Airlines (AA) started
charging checked bags on flight after a dramatic increase in oil prices in USA and all
over the world because of the American engineered Middle-East war in Afghanistan
and Iraq. Airplane fuel increase forced all airlines to increase airfares and some
The weaknesses in the U.S. Aviation security were exploited by the terrorists
on September 11, 2001 and resulted in an economic disaster which changed the entire
security. Aviation security and terrorism have made USA federal government to
8
rethink their strategies and make them to redesign the aviation security system.
vigilance because a single lapse in aviation security can result in hundreds of deaths,
negative impacts on the economy and the publics confidence in air travel [7].
The way how airlines operate in USA and rest of the world can be visualized
in three airline categories: (1) Major airlines, (2) National Airlines and (3) Regional
Airlines. Major airlines are those airlines that generate more than US $ 1 billion in
annual income and American Airlines (AA) is an example of the major airlines. The
second category is the national airlines with annual operating income between US $
100 million and $ 1 billion. These airlines operate medium and large-sized aircrafts
and some of the examples are Hawaiian and Midwest Express. The last category is
the regional airlines which serve particular regions in USA and capture the niche
market not served by major and national airlines. Regional airlines can be further
grouped into three types according to annual income and passenger capacity. Large
regional carriers usually have annual income range of US $ 20 $ 100 million with
passenger capacity of more than 60 seats per aircraft. An example is American Eagle.
Medium regional carriers operate on small scales with less than US $ 20 million
annual income and use small aircrafts. Small regional airlines are those with no
defined size of annual income and usually small aircrafts with less than 61 seats.
with different air transportation needs. For instance, a passenger travelling between
9
two small cities has more chances of flying a regional airline than a major airline
which needs to have a stopover at its hub. Most major airlines use a hub-and-spoke
network to route their aircraft traffic and they usually have more than one hub used to
allow them to offer more flights and serve more passengers. Locations of hubs and an
airline owning a hub makes a big difference in the airlines air fares they charge.
Airlines charge more money to its passengers going to its hub because they have
more control on that air service location. Therefore, all passengers that really need to
fly to that hub must have to bear the cost and that is how airlines out compete others.
Hubs also serve the purpose of giving passengers better routes to their destinations
and airlines save money under the hub-and-spoke system by avoiding flying planes
with costly empty seats which lowers its break-even price. As the number of
passengers increases the airline needs to handle more checked-in baggage, which
one of the airlines competing areas among other airlines in order for airlines to
The competition in the USA domestic market especially the non-stop routes
are leaders in this market segment. This poses a big challenge for major airlines that
Airlines economic strife have forced major airlines and small carriers into
bankruptcy filing and get to reorganize under the protection of chapter 11 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code (Chapter 11) in recent years. US Airways, Delta, United are some
of the examples that filed for chapter 11; they successfully reorganized themselves
10
with significantly lower operating costs derived from renegotiated supply, financing
and labor contracts. As a result, US Airways and other two managed to undercut air
fares and again significant market share in the industry, a trick disliked by other
airlines like America airlines that are not under the Protection Act.
aircrafts are the most significant threat to air transportation. Airlines in USA are now
focusing on how baggage is handled on planes and how much it costs the airlines to
Gasoline price increases in the last two years have made some airlines start
charging US $ 25.00 on every first bag checked-in and $ 35.00 for the second bag.
Currently airlines are collecting millions of dollars from checked-in baggage. Delta
Air Lines in 2010 collected the highest baggage fees of US $ 733 million (in three
quarters), followed by American Airlines with US $ 432 million in 2009, Delta and
American airlines were still on top of the list. Two years down the road, airlines have
raised fees for checked-in baggage, services have improved and number of
mishandled baggage went down to 38%, according to a wall street journal report [9].
Thanks to the additional revenue from the baggage fees, air carriers have
invested in better baggage handling technology and equipment [9]. According to the
report by Department of Transportation in 2010, American Eagle (AE) had the worst
performance of 7.26 mishandled bags per 1,000 among all airlines in 2010 on
worst performance. AA lost 3.97 bags per 1,000 passengers, AirTran performance
11
was the best with 1.64 mishandled baggage claims submitted per 1,000 passengers
According to DOT report of November 30, 2010, 1.5 million bags were
mishandled in 2010 by all USA airlines, a significant improvement since 2008 when
2.5 million bags were mishandled. The baggage fee charges which was implemented
by airlines in 2008 have helped reduce the number of checked-in bags, which in turn
helps flights run on-time, avoiding late arrivals of bags and missed connections. More
investment has been done in managing baggage efficiently by some airlines. Due to
the huge competition in the airlines industry, most airlines like AA are trying to
automatic ETD and EDS in most of the high passenger traffic flow airports (category
X) in order to increase the speed of baggage screening, tracking and sortation. TSA
11
According to DOT, a mishandled bag includes delayed, claims of lost, pilfered baggage and
damaged. Data is presented as rate of mishandle bags per 1,000 passengers. The AQR ratio is based on
total number of reports each airline gets from passengers that lost, delayed, pilfered and damaged
baggage per 1,000 passengers.
12
Criteria include mishandled baggage, on-time, denied boarding and passenger complaints which
covers over sales, fares, refunds, customer service, reservations, baggage, disability, advertising,
discrimination, animals and flight problems. The data for all criteria can be accessed from the U.S.
Department of Transportation every month- in Air travel consumer Report.(http://dpt.gov/airconsumer)
12
officers now do not need to manually open bags and inspect them since baggage
security screening is more sophisticated, easier to operate and the whole system is
automated. Therefore, fewer officers are used on shift and fewer errors are made.
by major airlines. These airlines have moved away from handing papers to baggage
handlers and telling them where bags have to go. Most airlines have invested in new
technology and equipment such as the hand-held scanners that alert the baggage
handler when a wrong bag is loaded onto the flight [9]. The wireless devices and
scanners get updated frequently whenever gates for flight departures and times
change.
tremendous savings. For instance, Delta Air Lines invested US $ 100 million to
improve its hub baggage operations in Atlanta, Georgia. From 2007 to 2009, Delta air
Lines performed badly in baggage handling, however, after improving its baggage
handling operations in 2010, its rate of mishandled bags was reduced to 3.52 per
1,000 passengers, which is better than AA at 3.97 and AE at 7.26 lost bags for every
1,000 passengers on domestic flights [5]. Delta air Lines used to have a conveyer belt
system running only in its check-in terminal, where bags were sorted, then carted to
five other terminals, a process that played a big contribution in missed connections.
Since their use of the automated baggage system with optical scanners, bar-code tag
readers and 14 miles conveyor belts with links to all terminal, baggage services
improved significantly. The new system only takes 10 minutes to connect bags while
13
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), mishandled
baggage costs an airline $ 100.00 on average and the total cost of mishandled
baggage worldwide is about $ 2.5 billion a year. Therefore, baggage handling is not
only the AA and AE challenge, but a universal growing issue that needs urgent
like the one in Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) [10]. As a result of several
baggage improvements, they saved $25 million a year and the number of upset
passengers has gone down. US Airways spent a total of $ 16 million in two years on
3.01, which significantly improved to 2.58 in 2010 and ranked 5th out of 18 airlines,
Hester, US Airways operations planning and support, the airline scans and track 90%
of its bags and that they developed their own software to compare what bags are
supposed to be loaded onto an aircraft, verify it and then alert ramp handlers for any
show that in 2009, the rate of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers was 7.89 and had
a small improvement of 6.3% in 2010 [11]. AE is the worst airlines in the baggage
handling with a rank position of 18th out of 18 in 2010. This observation has
motivated me to carry out a study about these two big sister airlines (AA and AE),
and get to understand why they perform poorly in baggage handling at certain
stations.
14
2.2: Operational View of Baggage Routing in Transportation
In November 2001, ATSA Act was signed into law, and formed TSA to
officers, through use of canine dogs or EDS-CT scanners, or use of positive passenger
passengers on board.
Business Non-Business
bags he or she has is influenced by the duration of his or her trip; and the duration of
the trip is influenced by the trip purpose greatly [12]. As shown in Table 1, 46% of all
air passenger trips are less than 4 days (<4). Passenger trips who are between 4 to 6
days are 34% and passenger trips with longer than 6 days (>6) are just 20% [12].
Data from American Travel Survey shows that, 62% business and 35% non-
business passenger air trips take 3 nights or less. 27% business and 39% non-business
passengers take 4 or more nights. For passengers with air trips more than 8 nights,
11% are business while 26% are non-business. The duration of the trip is greatly
15
influenced by the purpose of the trip because leisure trips tend to be longer than work
trips. Passengers with trips of longer duration are likely to have large amounts of
baggage to check-in at the airport or pick up; this scenario influences the quantity of
baggage expected by the airlines to service and can help to lead to appropriate
baggage handling plan. Business or work trip passengers are not likely to check-in
several bags and their trips are associated with fewer days. Airlines can plan for the
expected volume of baggage if they know the total number expected on a flight and
the social class of their passengers. It can also enable TSA to make favorable work
schedules for their TSA officers who perform the screening job of the baggage that
passengers have caused a major challenge to the baggage handling. The more
with non-expanding facilities for both TSA and Airlines who take responsibility.
Higher Security concerns due to event of September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in
USA, affected USA national policies on how to deal with baggage handling
challenges today. To date, airport security has become a huge factor in influencing
the economic and political climate, as it is known that the aviation industry contribute
14% in the economy. In order to ensure the security of the nation and its citizens,
Congress passed ATSA laws and provided funding to airports to enhance their
security. However, checked-in baggage is still a big challenge to airlines and TSA
16
2.3.1: Airport Influence on Airlines Business
When USA airlines developed the hub and spoke system which made
possible passengers from other connecting flights to make connection at the hub to
their final destinations, it led to the interdependencies and gave rise to several
possible externalities like flight delays which cause chain delay of other flights, hence
causing a delay in one city due the security breaches leads to further delays in other
cities or stations [7]. For example Atlantas Hartsfield International Airport canceled
and delayed hundreds of flights and diverted all planes heading to Atlanta to other
airports.
GAO 1998 reported three major problems in the aviation industry in USA:
weak security of air traffic control systems facilities, access to aircrafts, airfields and
dangerous detection of objects [7]. FAA was not conducting background checks for
airport and airlines contractor employees who were working on the computer systems
and software repairs that could be prime target of computer hackers. There was fear
that if hackers gain access to the air traffic control systems, they could use the
proved by the rampant increase in the plane hijackings which happen before in
metallic weapons used by hijackers on planes. Literatures states that screeners were
not detecting these dangerous objects and there performances were very low a reason
17
which was tied on the low pay, job stress, low benefits, inattention to trainings and
high turnover.
and range of metal and alloys was suggested by experts. More emphasis on biometric
with their baggage, in case of no-show passenger, baggage could easily be removed
off the aircraft. However, passengers developed inaccurate perception about health
issues that might crop up due to use of this new technology embedded in machines
that could be very dangerous if it emits harmful radiation to some individuals [7].
Airlines are nave about the negative effect that could develop from the passengers
and the economic impact on airlines. These biometric technologies and body image
scans sometimes create privacy concerns for passengers and require legal and privacy
Using the economic theory, several scenarios were discussed and certain
developments cropped up that; if the federal government takes over the aviation
security, it would be possible to account for the spillover benefits and provide higher
security level at the airport. However, costs could be very high. There were
public agencies might under estimate waiting costs incurred by passengers in security
18
was made and more support for government to manage aviation security because it
has less incentives reducing aviation security quality by cutting costs compared to
private sector managers if they provide security. Private providers scored very low in
this area because they had a history of hiring unqualified security screeners who were
protocols which tremendously changed any security breach or violations that could
place at all major commercial airports and a machine cost at most US $ 2 million for
purchase, operation and maintenance. However, they were very slow with false
alarms of approximately 22 of every 100 bags and forcing TSA screening officers to
perform bag searches which wasted more time and resources sometimes may lead to
flight delays and cause airlines to bear some baggage mishandling costs due to TSA
inefficiency.
implementation. The labor inputs such as baggage TSA screeners, law enforcement
officers in the airport, passengers, managers and researchers; capital inputs are
baggage screening machines like EDS, and ETD, access control systems for secured
areas and reinforced aircrafts cockpit doors. The amount of output in combination of
labor and capital inputs is the level of technology. The technological knowledge
19
development efforts by researchers. The new knowledge is embodied in machines and
productive resources [7]. The ATSA Act increased the labor and capital investment
inputs devoted to aviation security and assigned federal government these inputs.
Since federal government took responsibilities of production inputs, labor costs were
[7]. Other costs were associated with testing, auditing screeners, conducting
The 2,800 Air Marshals were authorized by the legislation on scheduled flights
to cover twenty percent of all flights and estimated to cover cost of US $ 1 billion
$ 1.5 billion to increase security by deploying federal law enforcement officers in all
in the fiscal year 2002 for increased security costs were authorized by the legislation
and this legislation still required FAA to develop a program for General Aviation
Aircraft13 Security, airplane crews and any passenger on board prior to take-off.
Enhancing this security was estimated at US $ 109 million in 2002 to 2004 period.
areas of biological warfare, chemical and develop technologies which could avoid
successful weapons in airport and planes [7]. More research support were put in all
20
biometric and information sharing in federal agencies with an attachment cost of US
$ 300 million.
The legislation of ATSA of 2001 impacted the private sector like air carriers,
remitted on baggage screening and passenger. The aviation industry trainers are
and aliens undergo a thorough background check from the Attorney General prior to
training.
21
Chapter 3: AA BAGGAGE HANDLING AND SECURITY
MEASURES
AA and AE are some of the largest airlines in USA, with an average 270,000
calls, handles more than 300,000 pieces of luggage and flies about 3,300 flights a day
receives about 3,118 passengers per day, handles approximately 6,326 bags and fly
market data [10]. AA and AE operate flight services to seven different cities in and
out of DCA every day. The following are the cities in which AA and AE operate from
DCA; Reign Durham (RDU) in North Carolina (NC), Nashville (BNA) in TN, Ohio
Chicago (ORD) in Illinois (IL), John F. Kennedy (JFK) in New York (NY), Miami
(MIA) in Florida (FL), ST. Louis (STL) in Missouri (MO) , and Dallas Fort Worth
(DFW) in Texas (TX). DCA airport has three terminals, A, B, and C, with 15 air
carriers as whole. AA and AE are located at terminal B concourse with three main
gates for AA and three other gates for AE. AA and AE have one TSA check point in
the terminal B lobby where a stand-alone EDS and ETD is installed for screening all
22
3.1.1: AA Baggage Physical Flow Chart
the figure 2 above, baggage flowing into DCA is deplaned from the inbound planes
and ramp handlers off loads the baggage from the plane for reclaim carousal if they
are local bags, otherwise they are sent to BRU if they are transfer bags,
connecting bags, or misconnection bags. When ramp handlers cart local bags,
they group them into three parts: Priority bags (PB) for status passengers, priority
23
parcel Service (PPS) packets, and non-status passenger bags. PPS packets14 are
considered baggage that needs special handling and ramp baggage handlers send
them to BSO. PB and others for non-status passengers are dropped directly to the
baggage reclaim belt (carousal) with PBs first followed by the non-status bags. Ramp
baggage handlers have to perform this process in the first 12 minutes of flight arrival
(DCA station standard) and must finish baggage drop-off within 20 minutes (DCA
station standard).
The second baggage flow in the figure 2 is the outbound baggage from DCA.
Passenger drop-off bags at the curbside or ticket counter for check-in. Agent generate
bag tags and place them on bags, then drop them at TSA EDS machine for security
screening. If there is no security concern, then bags proceed to BRU for sortation and
after grading bags, ramp baggage handlers cart them and wait for baggage loading on
outbound flight. Before loading bags into Unit Load Devices (ULDs) on the plane,
ramp baggage handlers make a cross check for which flight to begin loading. If flight
is delayed, or cancelled or seriously damaged, then bags are sent to BSO for baggage
routing and retagging. If no flight delay or cancellations, then bags are loaded onto
the plane for outbound trip. BSO reprocess bags from the cancelled flight and send
them to TSA again for security screening and thereafter bags proceed to BRU for
when it fails the test. Then TSA holds bag for secondary screening by using another
method of screening. Usually TSA officers perform physical inspection through the
14
PPS packets that need special handling are live animal, guns, ordinary packets and have to be signed
for them when they are being picked up by their owners.
24
bag and develop a judgment: Cleared or Not Cleared, if cleared, then bag is sent
to BSO for rerouting, and if not cleared, then bag is sent for advanced security
screening laboratory for further tests meanwhile passenger is denied boarding. TSA
Secondary screening takes a lot of time. Considering the limited TSA human
resources at DCA, passenger bags which are placed on secondary screening usually
cant make scheduled flight due to the time taken in this process. This is the reason
why bag has to move through BSO for rerouting and secure a new tag for another
flight.
counter or curbside area and forgets to present them to an agent for tagging. Then
these untagged bags are sent to BSO for tracking the passenger itinerary. If the
passenger is already on board then bag is rerouted and forwarded to his final
destination.
Finally, the scrolling line in Figure 2 represents the cut line separating the secure
(most restricted)15 and non-secure areas. All areas above the line are secure parts and
At DCA, AA and AE has one TSA check-point in Figure 3 illustrating the TSA
functions at this airport. TSA only screen baggage flowing out of DCA. It does not
screen baggage from inbound flights to DCA. The baggage flow chart starts with
TSA x-ray screening all bags checked-in by passengers flying on AA and AE airlines.
TSA use EDS and ETD CT scanner as their primary screening method and they use
15
Secure or most restricted areas at the airport are those parts that cant be accessed by the general
public without escort. Airport employees can access these areas with use of monitoring codes.
25
alternative methods if there is power outrage (blackout), or when they have excessive
number of baggage at peak time, or more importantly when a bag is placed on hold
for secondary screening16 in Figure 3. If the passenger bag passes the test on the
second time of screening (secondary screening), then TSA officers send bag to AA
and AE BSO for rerouting and get it expedited to its final destination since it is
cleared for security concerns. If this bag is not cleared, (see Figure 3, suspicious
items in the bag), then another method of security screening is applied on that bag
on the bag content. The inspector uses the TSA security procedures to determine
acceptable and non-acceptable items for transportation on planes. If the bag gets
cleared by the TSA officer, then it is sent to BSO for rerouting and forwarded to
passenger destination. If the TSA officer decides not to clear that bag for air
transportation, then the bag is sent to Testing laboratory facility for further
investigations. After the laboratory tests are finished, if bag is cleared then it is sent
to BSO for rerouting to final destination. If bag is not cleared at this stage, TSA
Meanwhile the passengers bag gets isolated and TSA generates incident report to
authorities and finally TSA with help of DCA police / (MWAA) detains passenger for
questioning.
16
TSA Secondary screening is one of the functions performed by TSA officers when a bag is red
flagged by an EDS machine for the first screening and it doesnt get cleared by the officer, then it can
be placed on the second round of security check using alternative methods.
26
Figure 3: TSA Check-Point Functions at DCA
In figure 4, BRU receives baggage from two different sources: TSA cleared
because it performs the baggage sortation after determining which bags are
transferred to other airlines, ramp baggage handlers cart and send them to OA
baggage collection places. If some of the bags are DCA Connecting Transfer
(DCT) bags on AA and AE flights, then bag room unit supervisor requests and
generates DRH lists for various flights ready for carting and send to plane for
27
outbound flights. If some bags are not carted yet, it means that they are waiting for
their flight schedules. Sometimes flights get cancelled, or indefinitely delay due to
either bad weather or mechanical condition of the plane, then bags get sent to BSO if
bags wont make flight; otherwise, if flight- is rescheduled then bag room handles the
28
3.1.4: Physical Baggage Flow in AA and AE Baggage Service Office
department and it is responsible for tracking and tracing, forwarding, and storage of
baggage at DCA. BSO is also responsible for all AA and AE passengers baggage
requirements. They open claims for lost baggage damaged pilferage or delayed to
passengers. A set of BSO responsibilities leads to the physical baggage flow in the
Figure 5.
the seven stations that have direct AA and AE flights with DCA is channeled to BSO
from TSA for outbound flights, if they missed their flights for security reasons. Once
all bags get to BSO, employees process them through system tracing and tracking;
29
Baggage management systems (BMS) which allows credible and precise information
agents in BSO physically place expedite tags onto the bags and then send them to
TSA for explosive screening in order for these bags to gain access to the BRU. In
opening baggage claims depending on the issues arising from each passenger.
missing from the reclaim carousal or lost, then agents perform the tracing in the
system. AA and AE use BagFinder17 interface and Sabre system to access and
respond to generated baggage signals from other stations. When bag is located in the
system, then passenger is notified and promise to deliver the bag to his or her address
without any charge. When this bag happens to show up from any inbound flight to
DCA, then the BSO agent finalizes the passenger claim by generating the baggage
flight arrival information and a delivery note know as Baggage Delivery Order
(BDO) is activated which triggers a BDO hard copy print out for the authorized AA
and AE delivery company to pick up the bag and send it to the passenger address.
If a BSO agent cant locate bag immediately, then the agent sends baggage
search signals18 in the BMS to track and trace the lost bag. At this stage passenger
claim is kept pending finalizing because DCA hasnt received that specified bag.
17
BagFinder is a web interface system developed and used by AA and AE employees and
contractors to input, access, and generate baggage information.
18
Baggage Search Signal refers to information input in the system through using BagFinder interface
to inform other stations that another station is looking for this bag. It should be forwarded to that
location.
30
Another scenario is that, if a passenger did not authorize AA agent to deliver
the bag to their home or hotel address, then BSO keeps the bag in its storage room
known as On-Hand Room (OHR) for maximum of five days as per AA and AE
procedure. If a passenger does not pick up bag then, it is sent to Central Baggage
Service (CBS) for recycle and passenger cant claim this bag any further because the
airlines consider bags stored for more than 5 days as abandoned baggage and has
The last scenario is that if passenger says that no bag is missing or lost, but
damaged bag exist, then the BSO agent opens a damage baggage claim19 to only
passenger who falls into the AA and AE baggage liabilities guidelines and
procedures. This claim may be denied if the nature of damage falls outside the AA
covered baggage parts. Otherwise, BSO takes damaged baggage claim and generates
from the AA and AE baggage repair facility known as Rynns Repair. After the
system is updated by the BSO agent, then the bag is physically forwarded to the
repair facility with specified Blue tags. Once rerouting is finished, then damaged bag
is sent to TSA for screening and thereafter to bag room unit for sortation.
19
Damaged Baggage Claim are those claim specifically opened for triggering a baggage repair
process to start.
20
Claim Reimbursement refers to a form of compensation given to a passenger towards his or her
damaged or lost items from the bag.
31
3.2: An Operational Process View of Baggage Routing at DCA
activities of ground handlers at DCA airport. The BMS holds information about all
arriving baggage, and their baggage routings on specific flights [14]. Data with BMS
is kept in a form of aggregate numbers like total bags misconnected, number of bags,
bags misconnected with Minimum Connecting Time (MCT) for every flight. The
information held in BMS is used to determine which bags are loaded on a plane,
which are dispatched to the arrival hall and which are transferred at other cities or
hubs [14]. BMS also does another function of holding number of times transferring
bags connects. However, for some reasons probably legacy issues and their system
designs, mostly they do not maintain the information on each bags specific location
in the plane belly [14]. BMS is basically a useful system because it provides some of
the reporting functionality, wherein they report useful statistics like misconnected
misconnected with connecting times in excess of MCT [14]. The practical experience
of Baggage Service Office (BSO) at DCA in using the BMS is that sometimes the
system cant track or give any update information on the status of the bags, other than
showing bags being checked-in by passengers. It becomes too hard to identify the
whereabouts of bags until those bags are located at any other city and get documented
in the system manually. That is only when all the BMS users can access the new
updates; however, this could have taken hours or days. This scenario hampers
customer service baggage office (BSO) the chance to offer the right information
32
about baggage traces and leads to poor baggage delivery promise to the passengers
forces BSO agents to issue compensations to passengers with lost bags starting from
lot of money, lowers its profits and damage its brand name by dissatisfied customers
the aviation industry. The program is a system of shared responsibilities and airlines,
passengers and air cargo users benefit in the program and as return they pay for it
[15]. TSA charges US $ 2.50 per passenger to screen all the airlines passengers and
their baggage, while passengers pay their premium in the airlines ticket price and
cargo shipments. See the roles and responsibilities of all parties in Figure 6.
33
Some passengers misuse of their checked baggage as explosive weapons, have
engineered the role of security enhancement being more important in the aviation
sector currently. Passengers are uneasy with rigorous security activities at DCA and
in all other airports, but they feel more secure on board than before the security was
The enhanced security has raised the cost of air travel and airlines are
and quality travels. Baggage handling is one of the major challenges of the current
security measures. The goal is to improve quality baggage management, speed and
efficiency of baggage transfer across a hub, while minimizing cost associated with
traffic increase. [16] AA and AE have increasing challenges at their DFW, ORD and
MIA hubs which are directly connected to DCA, making efficient handling of
baggage transfers and increasing MCTs. If we take into account the prior security
status of every bag at the point of origin, then connecting these bags should be moved
through the transfer processes quicker since they were already pre-screened at their
originating station. However, FAA doesnt allow this compromise to take place due
the 100 percent mandate of baggage screening for both domestic and international
connecting flights.
no choice for air carriers and airport planners but to simply comply with any change
mandates. Changes have not only affected security processing requirements, but also
the aspects of rapid increase in baggage handling. Airport security has a direct effect
on the cost of the airline fare and checked-in baggage. AA and AE airlines fares are
34
slightly higher than its associate seven airports because of the tight security and a
high MTC at DCA. The fact that regional airlines like AE have short-haul routes, they
check-in fewer baggage than major airlines like AA therefore they perform better in
managing their baggage [17]. However, most of the regional airlines end up with a
very poor performance in baggage handling because their schedules are dictated by
The need for safety has led to an increase in the cost of security because new
equipment and new procedures at all airports. The cost of passenger and baggage
Passengers and baggage security processing takes longer time and sometimes delay
flight departures at DCA usually at peak time. This scenario causes misconnections
at other cities for transfer baggage which eventually costs the airline more money and
frustrated passengers whose bags are lost at their final destination. On average the top
10 airlines in USA handle about 500,000 passengers every day, with an average of 4
bags lost out of 1000 passengers [19] and average of US $ 100.00 cost per
35
The bottlenecks of security are born expensively by airlines through baggage
overheads and requires safety because historically the 1988 Pan Am 103 Lockerbie,
Scotland tragedy killed all people on board without the perpetrators as they boarded
in Frankfurt and deplaned in London, but their baggage stayed on plane which
exploded later [19]. In USA, if you purchase an air ticket using cash and / or within
less than 24 hours, then airlines and TSA place you on the Positive Passenger Bag
Matching (PPBM) as selectee passenger on all your travel routes. For this matter use
of good technology like scanners could enable increased visibility of bags and for any
reason the bags can easily be retagged and map data with passenger list or could
easily be located and removed off the plane if passenger is not continuing on
connecting flights [19]. The fast location and removal of bags from the aircrafts
maintain good flight schedules and saves a lot of money that would have been spent
on airport gate delayed flights. Airlines pay more than US $ 10,000 for every five
minutes a plane delay at the gate [19]. Flights delay cause planes being rerouted to
other gates and backup builds on runway which leads some times to delayed landing
21
Baggage Reconciliation is a security performance called Positive Passenger Bag Matching
(PPBM) done by TSA during the passenger and baggage check-in at the TSA checkpoint at the airport.
It could be performed again for connecting passengers and transfer bags at connecting cities. Passenger
must be on the same flight with his or her baggage.
36
3.2.1: The Current Tracking Technology at DCA
DCA is marked by TSA as the most sensitive airport in USA that needed the
most security enhancement measures in order to safe guard the interests of the
country. This airport is in the heart of the WMA where most of the most important
federal properties are located and since September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in
Washington DC, New York and Pennsylvania (PA), FAA the mandated overseer of
TSA instructed TSA to enhance the security of DCA airport. From 2001 to date,
security operations were beefed up at this airport and passengers and their checked-in
baggage must be one hundred percent screened. To do so, TSA used the easiest and
the quickest way to implement the measure within the prescribed time in the mandate
in all airports lobbies in order to take care of the security issue. Stand-alone system
is where TSA installs EDS and ETD-CT scanners in the lobbies of the airport to
screen the baggage and thereafter turn the baggage to the airlines to be processed
manually.
After TSA screening, TSA officers pick up bags and drop them onto the
airlines conveyor belts for further airlines processing until baggage get to the aircraft
for an outbound flight. The process from TSA to the time baggage get to the plane is
very slow especially during peak hours of the airport operations because of the
congestion at the TSA security screening points of which the throughput of these
EDS-CT scanner machine with three ETD machines has a baggage throughput of 376
bags per hour with a staffing equipment of 19 screeners [20, 21]. Meanwhile TSA
37
estimated that approximately 425 bags per hour could be screened using the in-line
EDS machines with only four screeners (staff requirement) [20, 21]. So in-line uses
less manpower, and more throughputs which could be better operational efficiency
compared to stand-alone EDS machines which uses about five times more screeners.
In almost all airports in USA including DCA use the computerized tomography
(CT) scanning system to screen checked baggage for all airlines outbound flights in
order to reduce the terrorist threat to the civil aviation industry in USA airports. The
handling, a system which is cost effective to both airlines. So the baggage data input
for AA and AE is separate in system but operating on the same network. These two
airlines feed each other with passengers and baggage in order to satisfy transport
needs. AE is regional airline flying short distances where AA did not fulfill; AE feed
the hub with passengers and baggage while AA flies longer distances from the main
hubs. AA has two main hubs in USA namely Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Ohio
Chicago (ORD) where most passenger and baggage flights make their connections to
final destinations. Figure 7 below illustrates the activities that passengers and
outbound flight from DCA. Figure 8 illustrates similar activities when passengers
deplane from flight (inbound) and go all way through to the carousal to reclaim
baggage and if mishandled proceed to BSO to open claim depending on the type of
38
mishandling. In all the stages illustrated in the two figures below, there is data
captured at some points, which is used in the monitoring and tracking the baggage in
Figure 7 demonstrates the flow of both the passenger and his or her checked-in
baggage from the airline ticket counter at DCA until when an outbound flight will be
boarded. The arrows in Figure 7 running from left to right, showing the passenger
movements and their baggage from the curbside or ticket counter all way through to
the Aircraft Operating Areas (AOA). The boxes indicate different activities at
different baggage flow stages. The passenger is issued boarding pass, bag tags and
checks-in, his or her bags also get dropped to TSA for screening. The passenger
leaves for sterile areas22 to the departure gate and wait for boarding time. Meanwhile,
22
Sterile areas are located on the airport concourse where passengers gain access to boarding aircrafts.
TSA controls the sterile areas at the three terminals at DCA with checkpoints where physical screening
is conducted on every individual and their accessible items for explosives and prohibited items. TSA
officers can deny any passenger beyond the screening location leading to the sterile areas if screening
is not performed or inspected in accordance with law, regulation and screening standard operating
procedures.
39
his or her bags are also moving through different processes without the passenger to
catch the same flight. Before the passenger boards and gets seated on the outbound
flight, his or her bags must have already gone on the plane belly 15 to 30 minutes
before departure time. By the time passenger checks-in, TSA screens their bags and
performs a passenger bag match to meet the FAA rule of passengers should be with
the checked-in bags on same flight. If the bags are cleared by TSA screening officer,
they are placed on AA and AE conveyor belt to descend to the bag room unit (BRU)
for sortation. AA and AE agents manually select bags for due scheduled flight and
cart them for enplanement. Ramp handlers get the loaded carts from BRU to Aircraft
Operating Areas (AOA) where baggage is scanned by loading team into Unit Load
Devices (ULDs) on the plane. Local bags23 are packed in different ULDs from
transfer bags24 and priority bags25 for easy and quicker identifications at the final
destination of the flight. If there is no delay scenario on passenger bags either at TSA
screening point, or bag room unit (BRU), then the bags catch the same flight as the
passenger. However, some times TSA holds bags for secondary screening at DCA
and they fail to catch the flight. This security related baggage problem is not
data in table 2.
23
Local bags are bags with no connecting flight segments.
24
Transfer bags are those bags with connecting routes to other cities. All information is placed on the
tag for both machine reading and visual identification by manual sortation.
25
Priority bags are bags with an orange label placed on the bag tag for identifying AA and AE status
passengers. These bags are given priority treatment to get on an outbound flight and also get to be
dropped at reclaim carousal first for inbound flight.
40
Figure 8: Passengers and Baggage Flows from an Inbound Flight at DCA
transcends from the plane with his or her bags to the carousal until leaving the airport.
The arrows in the figure show the different movements of both passengers and their
checked-in baggage deplaning from the inbound aircraft. The boxes represent
different activities which take place right from the AOA26 to BSO27. When flight
deplane at DCA, all passengers walk through a jet bridge to sterile areas (concourse)
and descend towards the baggage reclaim areas (carousal) following signs to the
lower level of the terminal B for AA and AE inbound baggage drop off. Passengers
go through TSA security spot but need not be screened again since they were already
screened at the point of origin. Baggage also descends from the same aircraft of
26
AOA is Aircraft Operating Areas and are located in the most secure areas of the airport.
27
BSO is Baggage Service Office where all passengers on an inbound flight could make their baggage
claims in case of any mishandling. This is the last AA and AE physical area where the passengers
could be assisted for their baggage concerns while still at the airport.
41
passengers and ramp baggage handlers secure all local bags from the plane to carts
and run them to the reclaim baggage carousals, all transfer bags to Other Airlines
(OA) get dropped to the respective airlines bag rooms and for those transfer bags
another connecting flight. If these bags misconnected and there are no available flight
in the day, then they get transferred to BSO for rerouting in the BMS system and wait
for another flight in the next day. According to the AA and AE statistics at DCA, the
monitor and use the baggage information to process baggage requirements at DCA
airport. The Figure 9 below shows different stages where data is captured, monitored
and used in the baggage routing processes. Different technologies such as hand-held
scanners, EDS and ETD - CT scanners are used by TSA, AA and AE to have the
baggage information flow in the BMS network. Data capturing is trigged when
passenger checks-in at the airport check-in ticket counter or curbside area. Also data
is captured when known shippers28 tender in their Priority Parcel Service (PPS)
packages for shipping on AA or AE flights in the BSO. AA and AE do not have cargo
department at DCA, so the shipments of PPSs are handled in the BSO for routing.
PPS transactions have specified strict procedures regulated by FAA and implemented
by TSA. Most data is captured in the BSO because that is where most baggage
28
A known Shipper is a TSA authorized shipper or courier who makes shipments on airlines flights.
42
concerning baggage, the easier it becomes in tracking the lost or delayed baggage in
Note: PPS- Priority Parcel Service29 is located in BSO, ULD- Unit load Device30 is
The flow chart above shows the most areas where baggage information flow is
captured at different stages. The bag check-in areas are the curbside and ticket
counter for the airlines, where passenger baggage information is updated. TSA may
capture more data if bags are placed on secondary and advanced screening and after
TSA, bags go to BRU where data continue to be captured when sortation is taking
place. From the BRU when a bag is confirmed on flight, ramp baggage handler scans
the bag before placing it in ULD for outbound flight. Data is captured at this stage
and it helps other stations in the baggage management. If the flight is outbound, ramp
29
PPS- is priority parcel service, an AA department which allows shipments of small packages and
small animals on AA and AE flights within USA and international. The department is serviced by BSO
at DCA. There is no cargo department for AA and AE at DCA.
30
ULD- is unit load device, containers which ramp handlers use to load bags into and get loaded onto
the plane belly with tracking numbers and type of baggage inside the bins.
43
baggage handlers retrieve all local bags and send them to the carousal for reclaiming.
More data is captured at the reclaim belt when BSO monitor and record information
when the first bag was dropped at the carousal since flight arrival and also record
when the last bag was dropped on belt. BSO performs the last segment of data
capturing when a passenger makes any kind of claim at BSO or when known or
the level and rate of baggage mishandling by having efficient and effective track and
trace system management. AA track and trace baggage in DCA through data input
feeds from different baggage information flow (see Figure 9 above) levels right from
the baggage check-in through TSA check points, BRU, ramp handlers and pilot
sizeable number of passengers every day who check-in late for their flights and
automatically lead to late baggage check-in. This scenario begins the process of
checked-in baggage having high chances of not getting on the flight because the
baggage has to go through a slow TSA security screening for hazardous material a
process called Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) [14], then to baggage sortation32 in
Baggage sortation system in DCA is not automated; bags are manually handled
31
Unknown shipper is any person without any TSA documentation authorization to make shipments
on planes. Individuals are allowed to make shipments if a packet is less than one pound or shipping a
live small animal (pet).
32
Baggage sortation is when bags and parcels get collected in Bag-Room Unit (BRU) and baggage
handlers manually select, grade and match them according to their tags information routes.
44
during peak hours, then it takes long time to get identified in order for this baggage to
make a flight. Loading baggage on the flight is done 15 to 30 minutes before flight
departure [14] and this gives no room for late passengers checked-in baggage to
catch flight. Therefore, these bags are susceptible to get left for another available
flight if the chances are still there in a day and at this point, the passengers get
separated from their bags at the point of destination. This is one of the reasons for
baggage mishandling at check-in level. The data generated in the system begins to be
DCA, BSO takes responsibility in updating BMS system with all baggage that missed
connection, missed flight due late to check-in or TSA security check delay with new
routing information for tracing and tracking mishandled bags in custody of AA and
AE. Therefore, available, and timely updated baggage information can speeds up
quick recovery of mishandled baggage and lowers AA cost spent on baggage tracing
which also reduces the level of stress impact on the passengers who lost the baggage
After generation of data for the baggage and PPS at the check-in point and
BSO, the baggage and PPSs descends to TSA check-point for explosive and other
prohibited item screening. Data is generated when the bags dont pass first test, and
then a secondary screening is performed. If it passes then those bags get cleared for
bag room sortation managed by the AA and AE. If the passenger bags dont pass the
secondary TSA screening, then passenger bags match is performed and the passenger
is notified and isolated while the bags descend to advanced screening (laboratory
test). More data is generated at this stage and passenger may be stopped from taking
45
the flight or even get arrested by authorities. The data captured at the TSA level is
In the bag room unit of AA and AE, PPSs receipt is acknowledge and data is
generated in the BMS network by the crew chief. Also a DRH list33 is generated in
the BMS when a scheduled outbound flight is 30 minutes due to aircraft take-off.
This generated data in the bag room unit helps the ramp baggage handlers to know
how many and how much space that they need to load onto the plane ULDs and plan
the weight and balance issue which is usually a challenge on loading planes.
The DRH list is accessed through the hand-held scanners used by the ramp
baggage handlers. Data is again captured at the aircraft loading time with help of the
DRH list which is generated before to confirm the plane load requirements. Hand-
held scanners at this stage are very useful in data collection. They reduce
tremendously the amount of mixed bag errors. The hand-held scanners used by AA at
the Aircraft Operating Areas (AOA) during the plane baggage loading records
number of baggage loaded where they are destined and their corresponding names on
the aircraft. The use of scanners can notify the loader a wrong bag if it is loaded on
the aircraft. All this data captured is sent to the BMS network for trace and tracking
The last stage before outbound flight takes-off is the pilot getting the passenger
manifest list, amount of fuel loaded, number and types of PPSs34, and the baggage
33
DRH List is list of bags and PPSs showing the total number and estimated amount of weight
expected to be loaded on the plane. The list also takes into consideration the amount and weight of fuel
on the plane (Loading Sheet).
34
Types of PPSs refer to the different kinds of priority parcel service like biological organs, live
animals, documents and diplomatic packages.
46
inventory document in the plane system tracking device. Final data captured by the
Historically, the first ever design of a bag tag was known be as separable
coupon ticket which was patented in June 1882 by John M. Lyons of Moncton in
New Brunswick [24] and by 1990 a bag tag included basic information as name of the
airline or carrier, flight number, six digit code and airport of arrival name. To-date a
bag tag is more secure with a barcode printed on an adhesive sticker which is not
easily duplicated.
1955 and by protocol number 4 of Montreal, 1975, [26] checked baggage will be sent
to owner, but in case of damage a complaint must be made within seven days of
receipt; for delay , complaint must be in twenty one days from the delivery date for
stipulate all the required standard bag tag used by all airlines and state the liability
limits of the airlines to passengers as not less than US $ 75,000 in legal fees and
approximately US $ 9.07 per pound or US $ 20.00 per Kilo for checked baggage and
USA domestic flights, Federal rules require any limit on an airlines baggage liability
47
254.5 [27]. Most airlines including AA and AE assume no liability for passengers
The early arrival policy allows passengers with checked baggage to travel on a
flight that departs earlier than the baggage checked-in flight when travelling in USA.
This policy dont apply when there is over sales, misconnects, canceled or delayed
flights, any type of baggage rerouting, change of final destination or connecting city
For situations where early arrival policy doesnt apply, a normal Baggage
Change Order (BCO) procedure will apply and passengers will be allowed to open
baggage claim for bag delivery without a Cash On Delivery (C.O.D) at the final
destination, or passengers may wait for his or her bag on the earlier scheduled
baggage flight. If bag doesnt show up on the scheduled flight, the BSO agent opens
bag claim tracer. If this baggage claim tracer is created before the arrival of the flight
on the bag tag, the mishandling will be charged to the city that created the tracer [28].
When a passenger checks-in a bag after cut-off time (usually 40 minutes before
flight departure time) because the passenger did not arrive at the airport in time or
their baggage was refused at the TSA security checkpoint, then Ticket counter agent
or BSO agent advises the passenger that bag will be arriving on the flight indicated on
the bag tag or passenger can wait for the bag or open a baggage claim and will have
the bag delivered to passenger address without a C.O.D. In case the bag arrives with
48
3.3.2: Handling Baggage Claims for Passengers
(46 pounds) maximum weight and 45 inches of maximum size. For international
flights the policy includes two pieces of 23 kg (46 pounds) of maximum weight and
62 inches of maximum size. AA charges US $ 15.00 for every first checked-in bag
each way and US $ 25.00 for the second bag each way. AA does not charge any bag
service fee on full-fare tickets in Economy Class, Business or First Class; passengers
Excess baggage rules for AA and AE indicate that if a passenger exceeds the
free baggage permissible limit allowed, then charges may apply on any excess weight
and size. If a bag weighs more than 51-70 pounds, then additional charges will range
between US $ 25.00 to 95.00; for bags between 71 to 100 pounds, it costs US $ 60.00
to 90.00; and a fee of US $ 80.00 for any bag with linier inches 63 to 115. Any bag
weighing over 100 pounds and 115 linear inches are not accepted [29]. When
passengers are unable to locate their bags upon arrival, then they have to open
49
3.4: Transportation Security Administration Baggage Policies and Procedures
all the civil aviation security at all airports in USA under the Aviation and
Transportation security Act of 2001 (ATSA) (Public Law 107-71). TSA is mandated
safety of all baggage and passengers intending to fly on all planes from that airport.
screening systems at USA airports, for improving the security and reducing the life-
cycle costs [30]. The current technology deployed at DCA rely on stand-alone EDS
and Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) equipment for the primary screening of
costs and increased processing times [30]. TSA has not found it easy to match up
traffic growth with equipment processing capacity and 100% electronic compliance
which require more adequate capital investment and increase in TSA screening
officers staff levels. According to TSA, without expediting capital investment, the
life-cycle replacement demands for the initially deployed screening systems will stop
50
3.4.1: TSA Security Requirements and Programs
Commercial aviation, 49 CFR 1544 describes all required security measures for
six programs which are not seen by public, aircraft operators and others [31]. The
most relevant security program for baggage screening in this research is EBSP. The
fact that baggage screening is a federal responsibility, the Aviation Security Advisory
Committee (ASAC) suggested that federal government should fund all the replacing
and upgrading of the many current suboptimal initially deployed systems [30]. In the
suggestions the following legislative actions were recommended for the investment
strategy: Creation of a Tax Credit Bond (TCB) program for airports to issue TCBs in
helping fund the infrastructure which will accommodate the optimal EDS baggage
screening systems. In this program, airports and airlines had an effective 25% share
of facility modification costs borne [30]. Federal appropriations for purchasing and
installing EDS amounted to at least US $ 435 million per annual. The recommended
20 year present value cost (PVC) of EBSP (2006 2025) was US $ 23.3 billion,
where the aviation sector projected costs would be US $ 3.6 billion and federal
government was projected to cover US $ 19.7 billion [30]. It was projected that, there
is need to bear the new and substantial costs of installing, operating and maintaining
complex baggage handling systems which can support optimal baggage screening so
that a total net effect of increased investment in optimal EDS baggage screening will
reduce the whole life-cycle costs by US $ 1.2 billion. The cost saving is relative to
the current rate of investment like TSA screening staff and will prevent increase of
51
Chapter 4: DATA AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
have identified several major areas of inefficiency in the baggage handling. When a
passenger drives to the airport to catch an outbound flight, he or she either checks-in
at the curbside or ticket counter. At DCA first time flyers are confused about the TSA
screening drop off at either curbside or ticket counter and ended up their bags not
being tagged for route. It might happen that a passenger, who dropped the bags at
TSA, simply proceeded to the self-check-in kiosk thinking that everything is well
done. One hour later, the passengers bags ended up in BSO to figure out who owns
the tag-less bags. AA or TSA cant screen and place on plane any passenger bag
without identifications (name tag) placed on the bag. This bag has a great chance of
missing the flight, on which the passenger went on, then automatically it is counted
lost and the reason will be bag has no tag. This is a mishandling issue due to the
passenger ignorance.
AA statistical also shows that its agents tagging wrong bags at the time of the
passenger trying to check-in at the ticket counter. Rushing to clear the number of
passengers in line has caused grave mistakes by AA agents and stressed a chain of
passengers having wrong tags on their bags going in different directions than the
passengers. The mishandled bags and will have to cost AA to trace and track them
52
until they get reunited with the passenger, which could be number of days. On
AA and AE agents make more mistakes when they dont pay close attention to
passengers information. Many times passengers with similar last name get mistaken
by these AA agents and wrong bag tags were issued to passengers. Their bags get
misrouted to unintended destinations. This type of lost bags is due to Agent error.
As a result the airline pays a high price of having an upset passenger and incurs a
large tracing cost of reuniting the bag with its owner. This passenger may not even
like to fly AA or AE any more with pretax that their employees are not dedicated to
their job.
When passengers check-in late towards their flight closing time, usually 40
minutes before departure, passengers risk the chance of their bags not getting on the
flight from DCA to their destination on the same flight with them. The issue is that
bags from the bag room unit (BRU) to the aircraft loading takes place between 15 to
30 minutes before take-off, but the checked bags for the late passenger hasnt even
reached bag room unit (BRU) yet, still need to be sorted out for the scheduled flight.
This is a clear way of how a non-automated system leads to a mishandling. The bag
doesnt make it on the flight and passenger will be at the final destination without
their baggage. If this passenger is on a visit or business trip, staying in hotel then the
AA and AE airlines spend much more on his or her compensation, offer sometimes
more than the cost of airfare ticket which the passenger paid. Among the passenger
offer is a travel kit of tooth brash and other toiletry items costing about US $10.00
voucher to buy clothing (maximum $ 1,000.00). The lost bag still need to be
53
delivered to the passenger local address regardless of distance and the AA and AE
airlines spend between $ 10.00 to $ 80.00 per Baggage Delivery Order (BDO)35 to
sometimes cost the airlines much more than the ordinary passengers. On average the
airlines spend approximately US $ 1,507.00 on each status passenger when they lose
As always flight delays are never desired by passengers at all costs, but they are
incremental weather, mechanical issues on aircrafts, late crew, flight diversions, and
security alerts and warnings. Flight delays undermine a lot of airlines operations and
leads to financial loss. In the airlines business, time is counted as money, because a
slight change in the operational schedule of flights leads to significant costs as a result
of delay. Flight delays leads to missing connections and failure to transfer bags, and
airport slot charges on top of normal landing fees charges. It is clear that flight delays
and incorrect routing of bags during the baggage handling process lead to enormous
35
A Baggage Delivery Order (BDO) is generated from the delayed baggage claim reported by
passenger in the AA and AE BSO. When a lost bag is located and arrives at the station where it is
required, BSO process the bags arrival information which includes the airline it came on, the flight
number, date, time, reason and any comment remark. Then delivery note automatically pops up to
generate the BDO receipt which has information about the delivery company name, passenger name
and address, file number, fare charge amount, pick up time and who picked bag for delivery to
passengers address. AA and AE pay per BDO, not per bag recovered. They have a policy of one BDO
to hold from one bag to maximum of five, all belonging to one passenger or passenger family on the
same address.
36
AA and AE status passengers are passengers who fly AA or AE frequently and accumulated flight
mileage which earn them status positions in the airlines cliental. Status positions are Gold, Platinum,
and Executive members. These are considered loyal passengers to these airlines and are treated
differently when they have any claim with the airlines.
54
problematic issues in airlines like AA and AE, when their passengers dont get their
check-in baggage at their final point of destination. Human errors are one of the main
at DCA with on average baggage mishandling of 13.25 bags per month (159 bags
incorrectly routed for 2010 over 12 months due to agent error). December 2010 was
the worsted month with 30 bags incorrectly tagged from DCA due to agent errors.
loss in that year. This is one of the major areas that need improvements at DCA
operations.
on airport security matters and formed TSA under the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) to implement the airport security operations by 2001 after a terrorist
attack in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC. TSAs enhancement of the
security measures in airports has reduced the rate of passengers clearance to the
boarding areas (sterile) and their bags, hence causing delays or sometimes missed
flight. The type of technology used at DCA to go through the TSA clearance is one of
the factors causing the delays or the missing connections or late transfers for
international flights.
DCA has additional security restrictions compared to other airports in USA just
for the fact that its within the nations capital with so many federal government
property around it. Washington DC has a 14- mile restriction of no-fly zone, a
justification for safe guarding the federal property. DCA airport is also very close to
55
the white house (the nations presidential home), another valuable federal government
asset which cant be overlooked. The fact that TSA has to screen all the bags one
hundred percent, both the carry-on and checked-in baggage, and then perform a
passenger bag match in some cases, leads to very slow process at DCA in clearing
both the passengers and the bags to boarding areas and baggage sortation for aircraft
before flight take-off the gate. According to AA baggage mishandled records, TSA
delayed on average 3.91 bags per month (47 bags mishandled by TSA in 2010 over
12 months) due to security concerns and this resulted in a shifted financial loss on the
AA airlines not TSA. October in 2010 was the worsted month, when TSA mishandled
11 bags.
Passengers usually safe guard their luggage by locking them with suit case
security code or locker before they check them in with airlines. Problems crow up
when TSA CT scan the baggage and it red flags for secondary and advanced
screenings37. When TSA has to run advanced screening, then it has to break locked
suit cases for TSA officers to physically check through these bags. If the bags are
cleared, then they are forwarded to BSO for rerouting to the passengers destinations.
Most of the times bags lose original flight when they are placed on secondary
screening and need get rerouted. At this point, these bags are mishandled because
they are not with the passenger at the time of destination. Secondly, the broken suit
37
A red flag for secondary and advanced screening is a situation when TSA places the bag in the CT
scanning machine for explosive screening detection. When the machine signals chances of explosives
or any other prohibited materials inside the bag, then it is rescreened again with another method which
is referred to as secondary screening, if suspicious materials available in the bag, then they are taken
into the lab for further screening and tests for compound identifications.
56
cases make passengers upset and at times they make claims that their bags were
getting compensated with all their claims. This financial loss to the airlines may be
avoided if they educate the passengers about not locking their bags when travelling.
TSA secondary screening happens when TSA CT machines flagged for chances
of availability of prohibited contents like explosives being present in the bag, but
any available flight. Usually TSA secondary screening doesnt take long and
therefore has less effect on the baggage missing the flight. However, sometimes for
late check-in passengers, it might be a big issue because passengers bags wont be
able to make it on the flight. The airline has to bear the financial cost in this regard
When a passenger checks-in for the flight from DCA, American Airlines (AA),
American Eagle (AE) or even any other airlines take responsibility of transporting the
passenger and their checked-in baggage from DCA to their final destination.
However, unlike the case for the passenger, baggage is handled by several groups of
people from the time the passenger checks-in the bag to end of the trip. In DCA, TSA
companies like G2 Secure Staff (AA contractor) operate the baggage service for AA
and Action Courier (AC), (AA contractor) offer services of delivering delayed
baggage that are located to respective passenger addresses. Therefore, the presence of
the airlines stakeholders in the passengers trip consequently leads to a large number
57
of handover and limited visibility and information sharing in the baggage handling
chain. For that matter, it results in a large number of handovers involved in the check-
in location to AOA. Inefficiency or errors in any single handover can result in the
We will use these codes in the table below with their brief statement. According to
the frequency of occurrence, the top ten codes are explained below for better
indicate the number of frequencies that code happened in that time. Corresponding
percentages were determined as well, as shown in the pie charts and tables below.
Baggage). A passenger is reimbursed back when AA and AE damage their bags while
in transit. Damages like broken zipper, wheels and handles are not covered in the
airlines liability policy on domestic flights. Damaged bags took a biggest portion of
30 percent in 2010/11. The numbers increased by 50 percent from the previous period
of 2009/10. Most of the of these damages are likely to happen during the baggage
drop-off when they are extremely heavy, TSA screening officers may break the bag
for secondary inspection, poorly packed baggage break up during BRU sortation and
loading into ULD in the plane belly. Off-loading inbound bags requires ramp baggage
handling skills to avoid damages but at times it is inevitable. The last areas where the
58
baggage damages happen is when the ramp baggage handler drop-off baggage to
mishandling that occurs when a passenger is rerouted on AA, but the checked bag is
not or cant be retagged with passengers new flights. Expedite tag or marked over on
the original tag are not considered retagging. Therefore, new tag must be placed on
the bag. How and where code 93 happens, is when a passenger uses ground
transportation to the final destination if flight delays or cancels on the final leg of the
boarding when his or her bag is already on board and bag doesnt get pulled off the
for the correct routing. This code 93 took the top (first) rank position in 2009/10 with
27 percent of all mishandled codes with December 2009 being the worst month in
both periods. This code 93 went down to its lowest in February 2011. Code 93 still
remained the biggest problem and was ranked second in 2010/11 with 19 percent.
AA code 5 is denoted with Failed to Load which means that baggage not
loaded by line cargo or failed to load locally checked baggage on an outbound flight.
Usually this problem is experienced in the BRU, outbound baggage loading, inbound
baggage off-loading and slightly during connecting baggage transfers. Failure to load
baggage on scheduled flights leads to baggage miss flights which was checked for
and may cause more flight delays to other cities. Code 5 was ranked second in
baggage mishandling for 2009/10 with 23 percent and ranked third with 14 percent in
59
2010/11. There was a considerable improvement of approximately 50 percent in
2010/11, although 2009/10 had both the highest number in December 2009 and the
refers to the mishandlings caused by another airlines error upline or in the city where
the passenger entered the AA and AE system. The OA error caused the bag not to be
available for transfer from the OA to AA and AE. This does not include bags that
were classified as late transfer OA to AA. Specific examples which causes code 94
are fail to load at an upline station by the OA; mis-load by the OA; mis-check by the
upline OA station; short-check by the upline OA station; off-load error by the OA;
and un-tag, and bag on-hand in an OA baggage service. Code 94 was ranked fourth
in both periods 2009/10 and 2010/11, However, 2010/11 did worse compared to
percent in 2009/10. The lowest number of mishandled baggage was in the month of
February 2010; only seven bags were mishandled compared to twenty eight in 2011
skycap at the curbside area. Scenarios that lead to this type of mishandlings are an
incorrect flight number on the bag tag; an incorrect destination on the bag tag;
embargo violations or incomplete information on the bag tag; failure to remove old
bag tag; baggage that is checked at the ticket counter after local cut-off time;
rerouting of a passenger and bags on a connection with less than the published
60
connect time. All these errors made by the agent mounted up high in 2010/11 with
fifth rank while in 2009/10 agent mishandlings were in more than tenth position. The
agent mishandling jumped from two percent to six percent signifying an increase of
four percent and rank position moved down. The best month was January 2010 while
the worst month was December 2010. Generally the number of baggage mishandling
and AE to AE; Code 3 does not apply to baggage transferred AA to AE. Most areas
where this problem may happen are in the BRU during baggage sortation, outbound
and inbound baggage loading at AOA. Code 3 was ranked sixth in 2010/11 with more
failures in baggage transfers by two percent from three percent in 2009/10; however
there has been a progressive improvement of twenty percent every month from
AA flights. This code is used on AA flights only and usually the BRU may receive
the bag later when a connecting flight is boarding and baggage loading is finalized.
flight with a very tight connecting time. In 2009/10, the code 13 was ranked fifth
while 2010/11 it was ranked sixth which depict an improvement in the services by
three percent from six percent 2009/10. The months of period 2009/10, portray a
61
2009 to February 2010, but a considerable improvement of fifty percent was in the
and February 2011. The worst monthly performance in the two periods was
December 2009 followed by December 2010. Use of scanner technology might have
contributed in the improvement since there is better tracking information. BRU agents
are able to communicate better with ticket counter, BSO, AOA ramp baggage
handlers and knowledge of transfer baggage from OA. The total number of baggage
claim tracers dropped by approximately two hundred and rate of mishandled baggage
follow procedures when creating passenger tracer claims in BSO. Code is charged in
monetary value of thirty- five dollars per tracer claim opened by BSO with errors.
Failure to follow the following procedure lead to code 39: Tracer created in wrong
passenger name locator file, wrong city, or when it should not have been created.
Opening tracers with wrong airline bag tag and wrong passenger itinerary segments
also leads to code 39 charges. This code took a better eighth rank position in the
period of 2010/11 from the sixth rank in 2009/10 with great improvements of three
percent from five percent. BSO numbers of mishandled tracers have dropped
significantly from the twelve to three tracers in two months of January and February
2011.BSO services improved by fifty percent from the period of 2009/10 and
2010/11. The improvement in the services could have been caused from the better
62
communications with ramp handlers, BRU agents and ticket counter agents as well as
The other last ten AA codes in the table are 41, 1, 51, 61, 8, 6, 40, 88, 80, and
thirteen percent between the two periods. Overall passenger image towards AA/AE
have improved because of improved services like few lose their bags, baggage show
up on the carousal within expected standard time (less than twelve minutes after flight
arrival). However DCA station is still performing very poorly in code 50 (damage
63
AA Mishandling Code Time Period Before Use of Scanner 2009/10 Time Period After Use of Scanner 2010/11
40 Security Mishandling 5 3 2 10 1% 4 0 2 6 1%
88 Baggage System Problems 0 13 0 13 1% 0 4 0 4 0%
80 Tag Off 1 0 1 2 0% 1 0 0 1 0%
TOTAL CLAIM 588 259 259 1004 384 239 226 845
BAGS MISHANDLED PER 1000 PASSENGERS 6.4 3.4 2.5 3.8 2.95 2.77
64
Subsection
Subsection 2
2009/2010
MISHANDLING TYPE CODE RANK DROP TICKET TSA TSA ADVANCED BAG-ROOM OUTBOUND BSO-BAG BSO-D/D INBOUND CONNECT INBOUND
OFF COUNTER SCREENING SCREENING SORTATION BAG LOADING ROUTING CLAIM BAG OFF LOAD BAGGAGE BAG CLAIM
Reroute AA to AA 93 1 x x x x x x
Failed to Load 5 2 x x x x
Damaged Baggage 50 3 x x x x x x x x
OA Upline Mishandled 94 4 x x x x x
Bag not transferred AE-AA 13 5 x x x x
Time Unavailable
BSO Mishandling 39 6 x x
Others 7 x x x x x x x x x x x
65
Table 4 and Figure 11, show the top ranked baggage mishandled codes in percentages
66
2010/2011
MISHANDLING TYPE CODE RANK DROP TICKET TSA TSA ADVANCED BAG-ROOM OUTBOUND BSO-BAG BSO-D/D INBOUND CONNECT INBOUND
OFF COUNTER SCREENING SCREENING SORTATION BAG LOADING ROUTING CLAIM BAG OFF LOAD BAGGAGE BAG CLAIM
Damaged Baggage 50 1 x x x x x x x x
Reroute AA to AA 93 2 x x x x x x
Failed to Load 5 3 x x x x
OA Upline Mishandled 94 4 x x x x
Agent Mishandling 35 5 x x
Bag not transferred AA-AA 3 6 x x x x
Time Available
Bag not transferred AE-AA 13 7 x x x x
Time Unavailable
BSO Mishandling 39 8 x x
Others 10 x x x x x x x x x x x
Figure 12: Pie chart of all the Baggage Mishandled in Dec-Feb. 20010/11
67
Table 6: Most AA/AE Baggage Mishandled Codes in 2010/11
68
4.2: Technology Investment
different kinds of technologies in place. The EDS and ETD machines used in
managing baggage security help with safety travel of baggage from place of origin to
checkpoint, EDS and ETD-CT scanners are used to perform screening of the baggage.
After the scans, baggage is dropped again onto AA and AE conveyor belts which
send the baggage to the BRU sortation area commonly known as make-up area where
baggage is graded and placed on carts for aircraft loading in the AOA. Before
baggage is loaded onto the aircraft, scanner machines are used for tracking baggage in
transit and help AA and AE to have accountability and precise track records for the
BagLink to scan baggage to capture data and send it to the BMS network for further
purposes. BSO uses the BagFinder system to capture and also display data for the
scanned bag tag information on the flight. The use of hand-held scanner machines has
an effect on the cost in the baggage handling and also the mishandling of baggage.
AA and AE in DCA have just started using the baggage scanning technology in
December 1, 2010, and we are going analyze from the available three months data of
December 2010, January and February 2011 for any useful impacts. Before the use of
scanners at DCA, they have been a problem of delayed bags, baggage miss-load,
misconnections or even transfer bags not getting on the scheduled flight. Generally
69
bags, or unload through bags38 by mistake and mix them with local arriving bags
are common errors encountered before AA and AE use the baggage scanning
technology. All these mistakes in baggage handling lead to financial costs incurred
Handheld scanners reduce the number of human errors from mixing transfer
bags into local bags or loading them onto wrong flights by recording the entire
loading process. After the baggage scanning system has performed the recording of
all baggage loaded on the aircraft, it notifies the loader if there is miss-loaded
baggage on the aircraft before the flight takes-off. This kind of tracking systems
every 1000 passengers who flew on AA for the year 2010 and approximately 6 bags
were lost every 1000 passengers in 2009. There were significant improvements in the
services by 20% probably due to better communications between the ticket counter
agents, BSO, ramp baggage handlers and bag room unit agents during baggage
operations. However, AA opened 348,300 baggage tracers for lost passenger baggage
in 2010, and 382,500 baggage tracers in 2009. It is estimated that airlines loses US
$100.00 on every baggage tracer opened, so if we use this figure as our estimated cost
value per tracer, then AA spent US $ 34,830,000.00 baggage mishandled in 2010 and
2009 to 2010 alone due to the improved services in baggage handling. AA had an
38
A through bag is a bag which is supposed to stay on the aircraft hold and only be unloaded at the
next destination.
70
intangible benefit of happier passengers since fewer passengers lost their bags and
could have led to an increase of 22,500 passengers that flew AA in 2010 from DCA.
= 22,500 passengers}
Another intangible benefit could have been the less stress for BSO employees who
face and directly encounter with the upset passengers who lost baggage. The fact that
less baggage tracer claims were opened means that less passengers came to BSO for
claim opening. This enables BSO agents to focus on other baggage handling
procedures for better services than spending lots of time settling passenger claims.
With the use of scanners, it is now possible for BSO to use BagFinder home
page interface to search in the system and be able to track and know where the
15 illustrate BagFinder interface with a red arrow showing the new functionality to
display all scanned data. It is quicker for BSO agents to locate baggage when it is lost
and applies accountability to who handled the baggage last before getting lost or
71
Source: American Airlines
Figure 14: Screen Shot Displaying a Search Option on BagFinder Home Page
72
In the above screen shot, BSO agent is able to know how many bags a passenger
checked-in, on what flight, stations where bag was scanned, bag status (scanned or
not scanned), time and date when it was scanned, final destination of bag, and where
In Figure 16, the detailed bag scan data gives BSO agents and Ramp Baggage
Handlers better visibility of any bag loaded on the plane. The set of information we
can access in BagFinder from the bag check-in, bag routing, bag scan data, to
passenger and bag itinerary allows us perform a complete a trace and tracking of any
bag if it is lost.
73
4.2.2: Bar-Code Baggage Scanning Inefficiencies
generated from airlines printers or expedited tags. It becomes impossible for the
scanning machine to capture data through the bar-code if the tag bar-code areas are
damaged, baggage missed connection, or even when flight cancelled. Therefore, this
service agent in BSO and new expedite tag is placed onto the baggage. This is the
only portion where handheld scanners cant function on its own and manual updates
getting lost or delayed in reaching the destination due to inability for the scanner to
bags belonging to no-show39 passengers and also this technology cant even
identify bags that need a very quick transfer to a connecting flight. The reason for the
inefficiency is that bar-code technology does not provide any information on the
location of each bag in an arriving aircraft or even its current available connecting
time. [14] For this matter, there are several chances that bags can miss connect due to
human errors or bags getting miss-loaded. When baggage misconnect or get miss-
loaded, it leads to more airlines spend more in tracing the baggage and still have to
39
No-Show passenger is the one who already booked paid ticket and check-in but does not show up
at the gate during the boarding time of the flight on schedule.
74
deliver it to passenger home address, not mentioning the compensation that might be
offered to the passenger with the lost baggage. Usually lost bags take few hours to 2
days getting located and sent to the owner. AA and AE spends minimum of US
$15.00 and maximum of US $ 3000.00 per tracer opened which could include one or
baggage files in DCA and 530 damaged baggage files in 2009, the figures show a
very poor job in terms of minimizing damages of passenger baggage. The number of
As shown in appendix II, in terms of pilferages, DCA created 107 files in 2010
while in 2009 there were only 63 files created. Again AA performance is very bad in
taking care of passengers items or contents inside the baggage. AA filed 44 more
cases from passengers with lost contents from their baggage compared to 2009 which
The severe snow storm in 2010 which caused cancellation of many flights in
January to March, led to many baggage misconnection and over flow of baggage at
other AA stations. Passenger bags were destroyed, and some lost tags. The pattern
conditions seemed to be different from 2009 and 2010. However, in 2010, AA spent
more in settling the damage claims in the summer season more than any other
mishandling type with June and August taking the highest toll of 105 and 102
75
respectively. The figures were very low in 2009 for the June and August month with
35 and 48 files. This means that AA has to really try to improve conditions in how to
handle passengers baggage and also probably need to retain ramp handlers in
technique of minimizing damaged baggage. Probably the I dont care stand may
clear off the agents minds and offer good services (treat passenger bags with
different airlines use different mode of operation and the operational mode contribute
to the extent of how baggage is handled. For example baggage managed by MAN
challenges like managing Connecting Bags (CB), Misconnected Bags (MCB) and
Transfer Bags (TB) bags compared to Regional41 and Point-to-Point system42. Table 7
group, airline name, the operational market areas, routing types, passenger classes on
40
Hub-and-Spoke system is used by MAN where all connections are channeled through their hub.
41
Regional system is where a regional airline is serving specified regional are usually short routes.
42
Point-to-Point system is a national airlines type of system usually known as Low-Cost Airlines
(LCA) mainly with no hub system for both long and short routes example is Southwest airlines.
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the routes and airlines hub. X in the table shows presence of those classes on the
flights because they have to transfer to a connecting flight from the hub which is
usually different from the previous flight. Under this system baggage handling
management have to be efficient, otherwise transfer bags may fail to connect on the
same flight with the passenger. If it fails, then a baggage mishandling start to exist, so
the efficiency at the hub (example AA in DFW & ORD) is very important and helps
in reducing the baggage mishandling claims they would open every day.
AA and AE in DCA operate in seven Cities (Stations) every day, and these
stations are DFW, ORD, MIA, STL, JFK, BNA and RDU. The illustration in Figure
17 is a pictorial design demonstrating the air routes connections between DCA and
those cities. The small circles represent the cities or stations, and the two-way arrows
represent the air plane routes direction. The difference in the circle shades emphasizes
if a city is Hub or not Hub, while the two-way arrows indicates directions of baggage
volume flows (Direct, connecting and connecting transfer bags) to DCA. The dash-
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dotted lines in red color show the flight segments and routes between cities. See
Then, it implies that LAX ORD DCA is connecting flight baggage (CF) through
ORD to DCA or connecting from any of the seven cities to DCA. From ORD DCA
is a direct flight baggage (DF) from ORD to DCA. LAX ORD DCA STL or
ORD DCA STL are direct connecting transfer baggage (DCT) making connection
In this analysis we consider both inbound and outbound bags flowing into and
out of DCA from other stations. All these seven stations use hand-held scanners at
their stations and perform scans on all the baggage that is transported from their
station to DCA. We are trying to carry out a test, on the use of baggage scanners at all
the seven stations feeding DCA with baggage from their cities to discover if there are
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4.3.2: Categories of Baggage Flow and their Volumes
Data is collected for all seven stations, and bags are classified into three
different categories: Direct Flight (DF) Bags43, Connecting Flight (CF) Bags44, and
Direct Connecting Transfer (DCT) Bags45. Incoming baggage volume (IBV) include
all bags flowing to DCA as their final destination from a direct flight (DF); and those
from the connecting flights (CF) to DCA; plus all bags flowing to DCA as transfer
Equation generated for the total volume of incoming Baggage from all stations
to DCA. This computation will lead us to knowing all DF, CF, and DCT bags from
all station separately as well as a total baggage from each station. See data from table
in appendix IV and V for stations before scanning baggage and after scanning
baggage.
43
Direct Flight (DF) Bags are considered the direct flight baggage from any of the seven stations
(DFW, ORD, MIA, JFK, BNA, RDU and STL) as their originating city to DCA.
44
Connecting Flight (CF) Bags are connecting flight baggage which originated from another city and
made a connection through any seven AA and AE direct stations.
45
Direct Connecting Transfer (DCT) Bags are considered the baggage from any station connecting
through DCA to another station.
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Classification Original Transfer Destination Illustrating
Of Route City City City Example
and directly going to DCA as its end point (final destination). The passenger did not
have any connection before or even after DCA. Therefore, the perfect service of ORD
station by scanning and loading the bags on the right flight with the passenger will
affect DCA station indirectly. Their (ORD) efficiency improves the quality of
services in DCA when passenger receives the bag on the same flight he or she flew on
and employee in baggage get to save time for other valuable services to customers.
The use of baggage scanners at ORD become another area of vital importance to both
ORD and mostly DCA because the services in baggage handling management are
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If a bag originated from LAX, made connection through AA hub in ORD on
an American flight to its final destination in DCA, then this bag is considered a
connecting flight bag and it is known to be local bag, because this is its end point
on flight travel. Therefore, baggage handling services at ORD station affects DCA
station indirectly because their efficiency in transferring this bag on the right flight at
right time improves the quality of service and passenger get bag right on the same
flight he or she used to the final destination. If ORD doesnt perform a good service
in transferring this bag on a right flight tagged for to DCA, then passenger at DCA
wont have any bag and DCA will have to open a tracer (baggage claim) for this lost
bag. This is where technology has improved the services through using handheld
baggage scanners on all bags loaded on the planes to give the visibility of the baggage
If a bag originated from ORD is making its connection through DCA to STL, it
is considered DCA transfer bag, therefore it doesnt affect DCA station directly since
the passenger does not end his or her trip in DCA, but continues to STL as the final
destination. The use of baggage scanner technology at ORD does not directly affect
DCA station because this bag is still in transit to STL. However, STL will be affected
by the ORD inconsistence. Our concern in this research is to realize DCAs changes
in the baggage handling results after using the scanners. According to available data
before and after using the scanner technology, the significance levels are explained in
the regression results below. The analysis was carried out using SAS software.
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4.3.3: Baggage Flow Mapping with Baggage Mishandling
Considering the period between December 2010, and March 2011, Damaged
the most significant mishandled baggage issues with 28%, 20% and 15%
respectively. We mapped the major baggage problems with traffic flow data in Table
9 below. We used the data in the traffic summary table presented in appendix IV,
which was obtained from AA to come up with the hypothesis and determine the
regression analysis results using SAS software. The results from the data are
explained in the specified model below. We considered three main models: Code 50
flows from all the seven cities or station are not differentiated. The same system
inbound baggage from one city to DCA as its final destination without any
meaning all inbound baggage which had a connection from their previous cities
before coming to DCA as their final destination. DCT refers to Direct Connecting
Transfers meaning that all inbound baggage connecting through DCA. TOT refers to
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Total Outbound Transfer meaning all baggage that is checked-in DCA for
refers to unexpected performance meaning all unexpected events that happen during
the flight operations between cities or stations leading to flight cancellations after
long tarmac delays due to bad weather in DCA or any other DCA gateway cities.
between AA planes, only DCT traffic flow matters. Both DF and CF have final
destination at DCA. They dont have any effect on the failure to transfer baggage at
DCA. The total outbound traffic originates from DCA. So TOT does not affect the
failure to transfer baggage at DCA. In terms of failure to load, both DCT and TOT
traffic would have an effect. This is because these two types of baggage need to be
We considered DFW, ORD and MIA as hub airports and treated others as
Non-hubs. Non-hubs are referred to as JFK, STL, BNA, RDU airports and these
stations were categorized as non-hubs because of their low volume baggage traffic
flowing to DCA. Mark X in Table 9 means NO EFFECT and check mark means
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4.4: Data Analysis
We first look at AA and AE baggage flow data and identify its effect on the
AE_TOT
Error
Table 10: Mishandled baggage parameters in the regression model (per 1,000 bags)
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The R-square is 0.64 implying 64% of the data variation is explained by the
model. The mean value of mishandled baggage is 11.4 which imply that the airline at
weekends. On average, there is an increase of 0.4 mishandled bags per 1000 baggage.
The coefficient for variable Scanner is -1.297, but the p-value 0.42 is
insignificant at 0.05 level. It shows that the use of scanner technology has the
potential to reduce the likelihood of baggage being mishandled. But the effect is not
significant.
Therefore, the effect of unusual events such as flight delay and cancellation on the
Comparing coefficients for AA_DF and AE_DF imply that an increase of 1000
AA_DF bags will lead to an increase of 2 bags being mishandled. In contrast, if the
1000 DF bags come from AE, the total number of mishandled bags can be reduced by
5.
Comparing coefficients for AA_CF and AE_CF imply that an increase of 1000
increase of 1000 of AE_CF bags will lead to an increase of 3 bags being mishandled.
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Comparing coefficients for AA_DCT and AE_DCT we see that, an increase of
1000 AA_DCT bags will lead to an increase of 9 bags being mishandled. In contrast,
if the 1000 DCT bags come from AE, the total number of mishandled bags can be
reduced by 16.
Coefficients for AA_TOT and AE_TOT show that both AA and AE baggage
flowing out of DCA contribute significantly to the total number of mishandled bags.
BRU, and AOA at the DCA airport might make results more favorable due to
being mishandled daily. The total cost come to US $ 3,400.00 daily. This
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x Observation 4: AA direct flight bags seem not to be performing well.
ORD, DFW, MIA) which are hubs or big cities where transferring baggage is
a challenge due to high baggage traffic. AE is also not performing well with
JFK and ORD. The reason could be that AE being a RA, most of its flights are
flights or delays flights while waiting for late passengers who might be
In this section, we take a further look at the detailed baggage flow data in the
seven stations. We focus on the top three reasons for baggage mishandling. The
General Linear Model (GLM) developed explains the output from the collected
baggage flow data for 62 days. The dependent variables in our GLM models are the
number of mishandled bags due to mishandling Code50, Code93 and Code5. Since
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the volume of baggage flows in weekdays differ from that at weekends, we use
distinguish the data we collected before and after scanner technology were
implemented.
Since heavy traffic would likely increase the number of damaged bags, we
separate the high volume, hub airports from the small traffic, non-hub airports. Since
scanner use does not seem to affect the damage, we do not incorporate the Scanner
dummy variable in the model. Direct flight baggage (DF) from big cities like MIA,
DFW and ORD (usually Hub cities) contribute to the problem of damaged bags,
although all non-hub cities have low baggage volume but they contribute to the
problem and it was considered in this regression, Connecting flight baggage (CF)from
big cities or hubs and non-hubs contribute heavily to this problem because bags have
several change of hands which subject these bags to a higher damage risk, and
unusual events which could lead to flight cancellation and baggage rerouting through
other cities were considered and included in this model. Direct connecting transfer
baggage (DCT) wasnt included in this model because transfer bags do not affect
DCA station, these bags are still in transit, Total Outbound Transfer baggage (TOT)
does not affect DCA as well because this is their original city and if any damage
happens it will charged to its final city therefore TOT was not included in this data
set.
88
The regression model is:
Unusual;
Error
The R-square is 0.50 implying 50% of the data variation is explained by the model.
The mean number of daily damaged bags is 2.94. The AA has to pay back or repair
89
owners (passengers). The average standard cost of the mishandled baggage is US $
100.00, therefore 3bags times $ 100.00 will give a daily cost of US $ 300.00.
damage at the 0.05 level. It seems that ORD has huge baggage traffic flowing
to DCA and mostly direct flight baggage from ORD to DCA affect DCA
station cost wise when ORD has a poor performance as a hub compared to
baggage.
at the 0.05 level. It is clear that connecting baggage in MIA from other
being a hub airport, the problem of baggage changing several airlines and
chances of transit damage is very high. According the results, DFW and ORD
and the non-hub stations (RDU, STL, BNA, JFK) performs better than MIA.
extended tarmac flight delays at these seven airports due to bad weather, snow
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is an increase of 8.6 damaged bags if such event occurs. This contributes
mishandled bags due to damage. Pre-testing of the data indicates that traffic
The volumes of traffic of all bags flowing through all eight airports contribute
to the problem of baggage transfer failure through different cities. For this reason,
baggage on direct flights to DCA as final destination has no effect and was excluded
in the model, baggage Connecting through other cities before coming to DCA as final
destination do not have any effect on the failure to transfer baggage, therefore that
parameter wasnt necessary to be inclusive in the model, however, all baggage from
the seven stations having their transfer city as DCA was included because the failure
of transferring all transfer baggage lead to the rerouting problem of transfer failure.
security screening may contribute to flight delays or cancellation and even isolation
of planes, hence leading to plane, flight and baggage disruption and interruption of its
normal course. These kinds of events occur some times and were included in the
regression model to take care of the conditions. All baggage originating from DCA to
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other cities does not directly contribute to the problem of failure to reroute AA to AA
ORD_DCT + d1 Unusual
Error
The R-square is 0.57 implying 57% of the data variation is explained by the
model and the mean daily mishandled bags due to rerouting from AA to AA is 2.27.
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The following observations were identified and interpreted from the regression
results:
However, the effect is not significant at 0.05 level. The scanner use doesnt
directly have a great influence on all direct connecting transfer (DCT) bags
significantly (at the 0.05 and 0.1 levels, respectively) to mishandled bags due
to rerouting form AA to AA. JFK transfer bags through DCA contribute to the
depth of the problem more than MIA, DFW, BNA, RDU, and STL.
We excluded all baggage from direct flights to DCA and baggage that
connected through other cities before DCA as final destination because they did not
directly affect the failure to load bags on the plane. Probably other factors such as late
baggage check-in, or TSA baggage security hold might have contributed more to the
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All baggage which is connecting through DCA from all the seven cities was
included in the regression model because if transfer bags or DCT do not make
connection on the scheduled flight, then the failure to load baggage mishandling
begins. The other baggage that was included in the model is all outbound baggage
which was checked-in by passengers at DCA to other cities. The checked-in baggage
may fail to be loaded on flight because of too many checked-in bags during peak time
hours at the airport and that BRU could not have identified baggage on time for
taking the scheduled flight, as now we know that DCA BRU baggage is manually
sorted.
The unusual incidents like bag system failure at all seven airports could cause
the problem of failed to load to escalate in DCA and cost the airlines thousands of
dollars if not immediately handled. Therefore, unusual events are critical situations
which significantly contribute to the problem and cant be overlooked. Use of scanner
technology is another factor towards the solution of the problem through efficient
baggage loading and easier tracking, so this parameter was included in the model.
The fact those weekdays had different baggage volume flows from weekends;
TOT + e1 Unusual;
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Parameter Estimate Standard t Value Pr>|t|
Error
The R-Square is 0.50 implying 50% of the data variation is explained by the model
and the mean daily mishandled bags due to failed to load is 1.85. On average two
bags are mishandled every day and costs the airline US $ 200.00 daily for failing to
load bags on the scheduled flights from DCA. The reasons could be passengers
checked bags late probably close to the cutoff time (usually 15 -30 minutes of flight
departure), probably DCA tracking system of scanners is not used in the BRU where
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x Observation 1: Surprisingly, the use of scanner technology positively
requires to be done at check-in, TSA area and BRU, cart loading and plane
loading).
from JFK, BNA, and RDU positively contributes to the total number of failed
x Observation 3: It seems that hub airports such as DFW, ORD or MIA are
doing better than the non-hub airports such as RDU, BNA, and JFK except for
STL. Although the effect is not significant at the 0.05 level, STL seems doing
bags due to failing to load is not significant. This implies that the services for
outbound baggage are doing well. Therefore, failure to load bags on correct
flights is not mainly caused by volume of the outbound traffic from DCA; it
failed to load is significant at the 0.001 level. Unusual situations like severe
96
cause the problem to be heavily evident in DCA. On average, there will be an
US $ 100.00 standard cost of a mishandled bag daily, then the airline will lose
{(11 bags * $ 100.00 daily cost per bag) = $ 1100.00 Daily lose}
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Chapter 5: DISCUSSION 5
Meeting security needs at DCA, without slowing down any stage of baggage
handling operations is a priority for BRU and ramp baggage handlers. Scanners are
used at the AOA when loading baggage at the aircrafts and they contribute to the
just introduced the scanner technology use, therefore its operations are still at the
infancy levels. A clear picture of scanner technology use at DCA needs more time to
In Figure 18 scanners are currently used at the plane loading phase only in DCA (the
fourth stage Plane Loading (Ramp) in Red color). There is need for introduction of
using scanners all way through Baggage check-in, baggage sorting and loading at
BRU to Plane loading at the AOA. The use of scanners can streamline baggage
handling processes by quick baggage management and avoiding flight delays caused
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from passengers not boarding and when inbound connecting flights are delayed due to
ramp baggage handling not finishing on time [14]. Human errors are reduced in
sorting out baggage tags, staff access to baggage information regarding status,
destination and routing of baggage update and baggage location in ULDs. Therefore,
it is imperative for DCA to expand its scanner technology use at the station for better
AA Code 5 35 39 40 50 88 93
Mishandling Code Failed to Load Agent Mishandling Baggage Service Security Mishandling Damage Baggage Baggage System PReroute TOTAL
Mishandling AA to AA CLAIMS
Time Period DEC. 09 196 15 22 5 35 0 187 588
Before Use of Scanners JAN. 10 35 2 14 3 53 13 46 259
2009/10 FEB. 10 14 8 11 2 31 0 38 259
TOTAL 231 25 47 10 119 13 271 1004
% 23% 2% 5% 1% 12% 1% 27%
According to data in Table 14, there is a great improvement in the listed codes;
5, 35, 39, 40, 88, 93, except code 50 in the period 2009/10 before scanner use and
2010/11 after using scanners. The above identified codes have direct connection with
the scanner use except code 50 (damaged baggage). Code 5 (failed to load), code 39
(BSO), code 40 (security mishandling), and code 93 (reroute AA to AA) all involve a
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human factor element during the baggage operation and scanners directly help in the
efficiency and improvement of these services. The statistics indicate that more than
50% improvement from all codes other than code 50 happened after the introduction
of scanner use from December 2010. The most mishandled codes from earlier
discussion are code 5, 50 and 93 which costs the airlines huge loss in correcting the
problems. Data in Table 14 shows a significant drop in the figures which implies an
improvement by the use of scanners which help baggage handlers, and TSA screening
misconnecting baggage due to flight delay, and mis tagging bags at ticket counters.
The scanned data helps BSO agents in tracking baggage and improving the
information visibility when lost baggage claims are being opened by passengers at
BSO. Agents abilities to minimize errors and offer quicker and better services to
baggage have increased significantly as seen in Table 14. It has been noticed that
unusual situations during the baggage operations cause the significant increase in the
damaged baggage as baggage traffic flows are affected by the baggage operating
systems from other stations that feed DCA with baggage due to bad weather and
TSA use ETD and EDS CT scanners to check the baggage that are checked
on all outbound planes at DCA. The security scanners have made the baggage move
fast at DCA, TSA screening checkpoint. Passenger baggage easily goes through the
machine and continues descending to BRU for sortation until ramp loads it on the
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aircraft. According to AA baggage statistics of 2010/11 (see pie chart above), security
mishandling is only one percent and ranked in position 15 among all the twenty DCA
itemized baggage mishandlings types. This is an indication that security scanners help
in avoiding the baggage delays at the TSA baggage checkpoint, otherwise other TSA
screening procedures are slower and would be taking longer time to clear bags and
leading to baggage failure to load. The use of ETD and EDS technology helps
ensure the safety and efficiency of baggage handling operations at this airport.
Explosives detection equipment such as EDS and ETD CT scanners are the
checked baggage for outbound aircrafts. TSA ensures that all baggage is screened 100
probability of exploding a plane down by terrorist. TSA uses several other methods in
implementing operational efficiency and security measures like x-ray scanning for
carry-on bags, metal detector portals, physical searches, canine teams, Computer-
46
CAPS is an automated procedure which reviews data in airline passenger records and matches data
with security intelligence data of people on watch list, grouped into high risk and low risk. When
passenger is selectee or his or her bags are on high risk then additional security measures like PPBM
will apply.
47
PPBM is positive passenger bag matching and it one of the security procedure which involves the
off-loading of passengers checked baggage from the plane if passenger is not available at the
departure gate.
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5.2.1: Baggage Flow and Security
checked-in at the ticket counter or curbside areas or at the departure gate. TSA X-ray
screens 100 percent all baggage at its checkpoint and in some cases some bags are
investigated with ETD devices or physically searched before they are cleared on
board [15]. Carry-on baggage proceeds with the passenger for shelving in the
overhead cabin or under a seat, while checked-in baggage is sent to the bag room
where it is sorted. If a passenger checked-in bags at the ticket counter, then he or she
is asked three questions regarding the contents and control of their bags. The
passenger and bag are subjected to CAPS, and if he or she is determined by CAPS as
selectee48 then PPBM is applied too and if cleared, bag will be loaded to the
aircraft. For gate check bags, CAPS and PPBM will not be applied because bags were
48
A selectee is a person who purchases an air ticket in less than 24 hours and using cash or otherwise
to get the ticket. Security regulations consider this person a risk passenger.
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Figure 19 shows how Information Technology influences security in
there is 14 minutes delay on departing flights and it costs airlines US $ 100 million
per year [18]. This is why the use of effective tools in the passenger and baggage
growing pressure to control costs, and trying to improve efficiency associated with
increased security mandates compliances [12, 25]. For the aviation industry to be
service business model will be necessary and it includes greater collaboration and
flexible infrastructures within airlines and airports [33]. The unpredictable fluctuating
fuel prices along with the stiff competition and ATSA, November 2001compliance
costs are constraining airlines and airports in USA to reposition their approach in
passenger screening and baggage handling. The main challenges in the aviation
industry are securing and tracking passenger baggage as well as customer satisfaction.
Use of bar-code on baggage tags has been in operation for a long time and
relatively cheaper and secure in baggage handling. Bar-code labels directly link
passengers with their baggage, but identifying the right bag in a right plane and
baggage transfers from plane to plane could be very challenging. The only times
103
when airlines could know the location of their passenger baggage is during check-in,
and tagged for departure, and when the passenger retrieves it from the baggage
carousel at arrival [19]. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)49 has been suggested
as good substitutes of bar-code tags by several organizations like FAA, TSA and
enables increased visibility of baggage [14] due to the enhanced tracking and logging
ULD before they are loaded into a wrong flight. This curtails mishandling costs by
minimizing the average time of baggage screening and baggage missing original
Airport in Las Vegas (LAS) and Hong Kong International Airport where operational
improvements have been realized, enhanced security and better customer service
satisfaction is enjoyed[19, 34]. TSA helped funding the It is found that use of RFIDs
integrate EDS CT- scanners into baggage handling conveyors lines [19]. DCA should
and make verification research if they could adopt a similar system because
McCarran has a similar business interest like DCA. Most passengers flying to
and improved operations are more important than baggage transfers (a case for Hong
49
RFID is a new technology developed which is wireless and use information technology to
automatically identify products, resources, items and assets using devices known as RFID tags.
104
Kong International Airport). This is a similar model for DCA, with few transfer
baggage, tight security and most passengers use the airport as their final destination.
McCarran International Airport RFID system helps in capturing accurate data and
easily generates accurate reports which in turn help the airport meet U.S. homeland
Security Act requirement [19]. According to the statistics of 2009/10 and 2010/11,
baggage mishandling figures are still very high after bar-code handheld scanners were
the problem.
According to Jaska, P., et. al., service profit chain applies to airport baggage
flexible [36]. The external service value phase offers customer access to his or her
baggage tracking information which is accurate in a secure and private way by having
a private access code provided by BSO when opening a lost baggage claim for
tracking a lost baggage or a PPS shipment using the internet. In the service success
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5.3.3: RFID Tags Improve Baggage Handling Efficiency
According to the IATA study of 2005 [33, 37] transfer baggage mishandling
accounted for 61% (of all baggage delays), followed by 15% failure to load as the
second largest mishandling in that year. The figures suggest that transfer bags were
posing a significant problem in the aviation industry during that time. Five years later,
if we consider AA data for DCA of 2010/11, transfer bags percentage is 20% and
failure to load is still 15%, suggesting that the problem of baggage mishandling
havent changed much in some airlines like AA and AE even if innovation of new
technologies can help in the problem solution. The deployment of RFID at DCA
along with already existing bar-code scanning technology will help to improve the
implement RFIDs, DCA security cant be compromised because the airport is very
close to the Washington D.C. Federal properties which are highly safe guarded. IF
RFIDs are implemented, they will track baggage in real time; prevent misplacement
of baggage in ULDs or carts or incorrect baggage loading; reduce the time for
passenger bag match; improve handling of unclaimed baggage; quick data matching
generating the RFID label, an RFID tag is fixed on it which includes all the itinerary
of the passenger who owns the bag with all security concerns stored on the tag,
ensuring that as the baggage moves, timely alerts are still communicated to the
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5.3.4: Data Systems Integration
Figure 20 shows visionary RFID baggage handling process and the resulting
information sharing among baggage and other systems [33, 34, 38]. SOA integrates
systems in order to improve quality of baggage handling and complete data with
with bar-coding techniques 100% tracks and trace baggage to improve the
irregularities rate. For this case RFID improves the security of baggage; increase
107
baggage traceability through the whole baggage movement chain; enable baggage
reconciliation time to go down; automate system functions and speed processes are
The visionary process as seen in Figure 19 shows how a passenger can check
herself or himself on a remote terminal other than airline ticket counter at the airport
easily with improved baggage services all way through BRU sorting, loading up to
the AOA loading. Since the greatest problem of AA and AE is mishandled baggage at
DCA, SOA may prove to be a better mechanism in improving lost baggage issues as
highlighted in the last column of figure 19. Technically minimizing lost baggage at
DCA indirectly reduces cost in lost baggage compensation and raises customers
108
Chapter 6: CONCLUSION
data, which is sufficient for statistical analysis. Throughout this research, we came to
learn that baggage mishandling could be caused by various reasons which are often
most sensitive airports is a key factor in the security enhancement in this country.
Lack of strict security measures could undermine the economic implications in USA.
with explosives and use it as weapon to blow up American planes and claim innocent
attempts in sabotaging the aviation industry and the continued threats in all airports in
USA prove the case when you note by the security color code at all USA airports are
either Orange or Red and never Green since September 11, 2001. The color codes
indicate the level of threat at airports which triggers the threat alert.
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6.1.2: Security Compromise with Cost
the mandated agencies, and the security enhancement measures have increased a high
security cost on the baggage handling in the aviation industry but the USA
government seems not to compromise security with cost because the safety of
American people on planes is more valuable. Safe guarding the most sensitive
Federal government property in WMA from terrorist attacks and threats is key issue
of interest by law makers in USA like the congress. The aviation industry in USA
Law makers in congress50 and other agencies in USA are concerned about the
way how other countries handle the issue of security where American aircrafts do
business but USA technical security measures of civil aviation do not apply to those
overseas inbound flights where most baggage threat related issues are more
hindrance factor in this regard. TSA the enforcing agency in implementing the
flights other than the outbound flights only. This is lapse in baggage security handling
in this country. Other countries havent invested yet in the U.S. type of baggage
security screening ttherefore, more threats could rise from this weak area.
50
Law makers in the USA congress passed the International Security & Development Cooperation Act
of 1985, reflected in 49 U.S.A. Code Section 44907. The Act requires foreign airports to have security
standards which assure good levels of security on all flights coming into the USA. If governments of
other countries do not agree with the USA International Security Act, then the USA president can
prohibit their aircrafts from providing transportation between their countries and USA airports.
110
6.1.4: Influence of Technology on Airlines Baggage
influenced and depends on the size and volume of traffic they experience. This
becomes a very important tool for airlines operators, general aviation and TSA in
managing the secure, smooth flow and routing of baggage in USA. The smooth flows
of baggage reduce the level of mishandled baggage among airlines and consequently
reduce the costs of servicing mishandled baggage. Airlines are losing cliental because
of inefficient baggage handling and a cliental gain for those airlines who improved
records prove that millions of passengers every year suffer great consequences of
mishandled baggage in USA. Their costs and stress of lost baggage can aggregate to a
without employees knowledge why they use it and make them like it. Based on the
information I received from the employees I interviewed from both airlines, there was
totally different reactions towards hand-held use of scanners. All most all AA ramp
handler did not like the use of scanners, and their reason of dislike was that the
scanners are very slow, sometime lose network and that they perform their job faster
without them. I also noted that most of AA employees have worked on the ramp
position for more than ten to twenty years and very few with less than ten years. So
the persons age with attitude change is a serious factor in this issue. However, when
I talked to AE employee group, who are fairly younger with few years (less than six)
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of experience in the airline industry, they seemed to be very open, and liked the use of
hand-held scanners because they make their job a lot more easier, quicker, and fun
doing it. They also pointed out that the scanners network signals get lost sometimes
but not often and that the scanners still help them so much and they are very accurate.
All AA and AE employees were trained but were not exactly told why they will need
to adapt the new method of scanning all baggage for efficiency and effective
DCA did not have an Off-Airport baggage check-in51 like some other airport in
New York, San Francisco in California, and Miami in Florida prior to September 11,
2001 and did not get to offer these services to passengers due to FAA regulations
including Hotels. This regulation was result of stopping all remote baggage handling
services in places like Las Vegas which used to be serviced by Certified Airline
Passenger Service52. This used to be good service and could have impacted the rate of
11, 2001, imposed Alert Level IV security measures to all airports in USA [12].
51
An Off-Airport baggage check-in is remote place from the airport, usually at downtown areas where
passengers check-in baggage before they get to airport and get processed without the passenger.
However, Off-airport baggage check-in proved to be very expensive to restart again due to the FAA
regulations that require TSA officers and EDS and ETD- CT scans. Airlines are not ready yet.
52
Certified Airline Passenger Service is local baggage handling company which is privately owned,
had contracts with at least 10 airlines to issue boarding passes to passengers and receive their baggage
for enplaning LAS passengers. Passenger only required check-in between 2-12hours before flight
schedule and they worked for a fee of only US dollar $ 6.00 per passenger service not per baggage.
112
Section 6.2: Summary of Contributions
It has been very interesting working on this kind of research, and it gave me a
new way of looking at airport baggage functions and their related security amongst all
airport operators. It has been very difficult collecting data about airport security and
the airline data collection is extremely labor intensive. This research have utilized the
airlines raw statistical data and derived useful conclusions about how baggage flows
budget, employees of government agencies and airlines roles and responsibilities, and
resources used at airports such as different kinds of equipment and tools. Major
findings and observations from the regression models will help in triggering the
investment with new methods of airports security policy measures and enhancements.
research analysis towards the problem, little improvement could be realized and
sometimes resources get misguided due to lack of proper knowledge of the real cause
and level of the problem. Therefore, the economic analysis of baggage routing and
airlines security in this research could help in guiding investors such as airlines and
federal government to identify the need, effectively plan and manage resources
recommend DCA to focus more on how to utilize new technology like RFIDs
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Appendices
I. Gateway Airport List and their Geographical Map
Source: TSA/DHS
114
II. List of Baggage Mishandling Codes
CF Baggage connecting through any of the seven cities to DCA as final stop.
DF Baggage from one of the seven original city to DCA final destination.
DCT Baggage from anywhere connecting through DCA to anywhere and OA.
Unusual Unexpected events which cause changes or disrupt any flight schedule.
NonHubDF Direct flight baggage from cities with low traffic (BNA, STL, RDU, JFK).
NonHubCF Cities with low traffic baggage transfer before coming to DCA.
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RDU_DCT Baggage from RDU transferring through DCA
MIA_DF Baggage directly checked-in MIA as original city to DCA final destination
DFW_DF Baggage directly checked-in DFW as original city to DCA final destination
ORD_DF Baggage directly checked-in ORD as original city to DCA final destination
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X. Set of research study questions to AA and AE personnel
Manager of Services
American Airlines
Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
1 Aviation Circle, Washington DC 20001
Johny L Sozi
Masters of Information Systems Student (UMBC)
Questionnaire
117
(iii) If No, how do you handle this process of knowing different stages of the bag
movement end-to-end?
Section II: Baggage Handling
Question:
4- (i) How are the roles of baggage handling services allocated in DCA between the
American Airline and Airport Authority (MWAA, TSA, and FAA)?
(ii) What specific role does each one play?
(iii) Who decides these roles for each party?
(iv) How are the roles and policies enforced?
Question:
5- (i) Are there specific roles assigned during the process of end-to-end baggage handling in
DCA? If Yes,
(ii) What are these different roles at DCA and how do they affect the process system in
terms of time used, costs, materials and machinery used, man power, etc?
(iii) How much in general do these different roles cost the American Airline at this
station DCA?
Question:
6- (i) What is the system used in transacting or managing or tracking baggage handling at
DCA from origin to destination (end-to-end)?
(ii) How do you respond and track a particular bag from the time passenger drops it with
skycap or AA ticket counter or TSA screening area until the passenger claims it at his or
her final destination?
Question:
7- (i) Do your DCA station have the capabilities of tracking baggage connecting to and
from American Airlines?
(ii) If Yes, how is it done?
(iii) If No, how do you handle and access information concerning connecting baggage in
DCA?
(iv) Are there any major costs involved with connecting baggage from other Airlines to
American Airline in DCA?
(v) If Yes, list them with their estimated monetary values.
Question:
8- (i) How do you track if American Airline passengers are picking up their right bags from
the DCA arrival carousal?
(ii) Does it cost the American Airlines if passengers pick wrongs bags from the baggage
arrival carousal?
(iii) How often does this problem happen (wrong bag pick up) at DCA?
(iv) Can you give estimated figures for this problem if it happens?
(v) How much has American Airline spent in this kind of problem since the beginning of
this year 2010 at DCA?
Question:
9- (i) Do you have special baggage treatment of AA passengers travelling confirmed seat in
first or business class?
118
(ii) How are they remunerated if their bags are not with them on their flight?
(iii) Do these lost baggage for first or business class passengers usually happen at DCA?
(iv) How often does it happen? (Avail tracking records if possible).
Question:
10- (i) Do DCA experience any damaged passenger baggage per month? If Yes,
(a) What nature of damage that occurred at DCA since the beginning of this year
2010?
(b) Do you know the causes of these damages of passenger baggage?
(c) How do you help the passenger in this situation for the airline not to lose
him/her?
(ii) How many and how much does this damaged baggage cost the American airline?
(Get estimates from January 2010 to present time).
(iii) How is the process of damaged luggage done? How efficient is it to your airline VS
passengers?
(iv) Are there any other related American Airlines costs caused by passenger damaged
baggage? If yes, what are they?
Question:
11- (i) Do different seasons (winter, fall, Spring & Summer) have any major effect on the
flow of baggage handling services? If yes explain how.
(ii) What level of impact do these seasons get to the American Airline in terms of costs,
security and others?
(iii) Give total estimates of baggage handling services costs for each different season in a
year at DCA?
Question:
12- (i) Do you get IT system failures occasionally in DCA?
(ii) If yes, how many times in a month or year?
(iii) What kind of IT systems failures do you experience?
(iv) What part of the American Airline services that get affected most?
(v) How are they solved and by who?
Question:
13- (i) How many total number of baggage did DCA receive from in-coming flights in the
following years 2008, 2009, 2010 respectively (In-bound Baggage)?
(ii) How many total number of baggage did DCA receive from passengers originating
from DCA to other cities in 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively (Out-Bound Baggage)?
119
(ii) What factors (e.g., competing airlines policy change, government) would affect the
baggage policy change?
(iii) Do passengers excess baggage checked in on outbound flights have any effect on
the performance and cost of baggage handling at DCA?
(iv) What are the effects of policy change on mishandled baggage at DCA? Explain how
they happen.
Question:
16- (i) What are your most security concerns about baggage handlings as an airline operating
at DCA?
(ii) How do you handle these security concern scenarios?
(iii) What is the cost burden of this baggage security issue to AA at DCA?
(iv) Do you have partnership with Government agencies in handling baggage issues?
(v) How do these agencies help you in baggage handling issues at DCA?
(vi) How are the costs involved in the baggage handling at DCA shared between AA and
these government agencies?
Question:
17- (i) Have you ever hard security concerns [ like flight delays or cancellations due to
security violations (sv)] before in the most secure areas of DCA airport?
Please give some examples.
Question:
18- (i) Increased use of technology in both passenger ticketing and baggage check-in have
improved your operations at DCA.
(a) What is the overall cost impact of these technologies on baggage handling at
DCA?
(b) Show some figures if available
(ii) Technology use in explosive trace detection, bag search, advanced imaging
technology, behavior detection and K9 teams (use of dogs to sniff unauthorized items) are
some of the techniques used at DCA in baggage screening.
(a) How much does each of these technologies add to the total cost of baggage
handling?
(b) Give any data available or source where this information could be accessed.
120
(iii) Employee security procedures on baggage and the best practices of security
checkpoints are serious factors in the secure baggage flow at DCA.
(a) What are the DCA employee security procedures on baggage?
(b) How much does it cost American airlines (AA) at DCA to implement and
maintain these baggage security practices?
Question:
19- (i) Prior to 9/11 ( Sept 11,2001), airlines and airports paid directly for most security cost.
Now TSA assesses each airline a monthly security fee based on the amount it paid for
passenger screening.
(a) Does this change apply to American Airline at DCA too?
(ii) Please give source of information and if possible attach support documents or access
links.
Question:
20- (i) Please briefly describe the business relationships between AA and the outsourced
BSO (baggage service Office) & Baggage delivery contractors for key baggage handling
parties.
(ii) In order for me to understand the business relationships of AA and other baggage
contractors:
(a) What are the major reasons of outsourcing these parts of AA operations at
DCA?
(b) What criteria do you use when making the outsourcing decision?
(c) What are the responsibilities, performance metrics, reward and penalties of
AA contractors at DCA?
(d) What are the AA responsibilities towards its contractors?
(e) What are the differences before and after outsourcing these major parts of the
AA operations to contractors?
(f) Are there any financial savings in baggage handling after outsourcing these
AA baggage operations?(Provide source)
Question:
21- (i) Do you have or intend (plan) to offer cargo services and baggage self-check-in at
DCA airport soon or near future?
(ii) What is or would be your expectations from cargo and baggage self-check-in
services at DCA?
121
(iii) What is the ratio between the costs involved in baggage handling services and the
total operational budget at DCA station?
Question:
122
Glossary
AA - American Airline
AE - American Eagle
AMR - American Corporation
AOA -Aircraft Operations Area
AQR - Airlines Quality Rating
ASAC - Aviation Security Advisory Committee
ATSA - Aviation and Transportation Security Act
BCO - Baggage Change Order
BDO - Baggage Delivery Order
BIP - Baggage Improvement Program
BNA - Nashville Airport
BMS - Baggage Management System
BRCU - Bag-Room Control Unit
BRU - Bag Room Unit
BSO - Baggage Service Office
BWI - Baltimore-Washington International
CAPS - Computer- Assisted Passenger Screening
CB - Connecting Bags
CBS - Central Baggage Service
COD - Cash On Delivery
CF - Connecting Flight
CT - Computerized Tomography
DC - District of Columbia
DCA - Washington-Reagan National Airport
DCT - Direct Connecting Transfer
DF - Direct Flight
DFW - Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
DHS - Department of Homeland Security
DOT - Department of Transportation
EBSP - Electronic Baggage Screening Program
EDS - Explosives Detection Systems
ETD - Explosives Trace Detection
FAA - Federal Aviation Administration
FSD - Federal Security Directors
GAO - Government Accountability Office
GLM - General Linear Model
HBS - Hold Baggage Screening
IATA - International Air Transport Association
IAD - Washington-Dulles International Airport
IBV - Incoming Baggage Volume
123
IT - Information Technology
JFK - John F. Kennedy International Airport
LCA - Low Cost Airline
MAN - Major Airlines Network
MIA - Miami International Airport
MCT - Minimum Connecting Time
MIS - Masters of Information Systems
NOTAM - Notice to Airmen
NPIAS - National Plan for Integrated Airport Systems
OA - Other Airlines
OHR - On-Hand Room
ORD - Chicago OHare International Airport
PAWOB - Passenger Arriving Without Bag
PPBM - Positive Passenger Bag Matching
PPS - Parcel Priority Service
PVC - Present Value Cost
RA - Regional Airlines
RITA - Research and Innovative Technology Administration
STL - St Louis International Airport
TCB - Tax Credit Bond
TB - Transfer Bags
TOT - Total Outbound Transfer
TSA - Transportation Security Administration
ULD - Unit Load Device
USA - United States of America
VOR/DME - Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring
Equipment
WMA - Washington Metropolitan Area
124
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