According to a document called the SITA 2010 Baggage Report, released earlier this year, there has actually been a drop of 23.8% in the number of air passengers’ bags mishandled over the last 12 months, resulting in savings of US$460 million for the world’s airlines in a year when their overall losses reached US$9.4 billion.
This is the second consecutive year that the industry has brought down significantly the number of bags mishandled worldwide. Last year there were 2.2 billion enplaned passengers and 25.025 million bags mishandled globally, which is down 23.8% (or 7.8 million bags) from 2008, and more than 40% (or 17.4 million bags) down on the 2007 numbers.
SITA, the aviation IT specialist, operates WorldTracer, the industry-standard, fully-automated system for tracing mishandled passenger baggage used by more than 440 airlines and ground-handling companies worldwide.
Francesco Violante, SITA CEO, said: “Effective baggage management plays an important part in the overall passenger experience and this latest drop in mishandled baggage rates is welcome news to passengers and airlines alike.
Half of the previous year's lost bags had to be from Heathrow Terminal 5 alone
“Some of the decline can be attributed to fewer passengers traveling last year but the 2.9% decline in passenger numbers is still far smaller than the 23.8% decline in mishandled baggage. Improvements in baggage handling systems and passengers checking in fewer bags to avoid extra fees have also contributed to the overall decline.”
When do bags go missing?
During aircraft transfers – 52%
Failed to load – 16%
Ticketing error/bag switch/security/other – 13%
Airport/customs/weather/space-weight restriction – 6%
Loading/offloading error – 7%
Arrival station mishandling – 3%
Tagging error – 3%
While the vast majority of mishandled bags are restored to their owners within 48 hours or less, just 3.4% of all 25.025 million mishandled bags go either unclaimed or, in rare instances, are actually stolen. Normally, after up to six months, unclaimed bags are salvaged, donated or destroyed, depending on government policy.
The single most important thing that passengers can do to avoid their bag being mishandled is to leave sufficient time between connecting flights to ensure their bag is transferred correctly and on-time.
SITA surveys consistently show increasing passenger willingness to use self-service technology for checking in baggage either at the airport or off-site, leading SITA to develop check-in kiosks with a greater range of functionality including bag tag printing.
The new WorldTracer kiosk enables passengers to skip service queues by generating a unique claims ID number which then allows the passenger to remain informed of the status of their mishandled baggage, either through a dedicated website or a call centre.
The report was announced at the Passenger Terminal Expo, the world’s largest industry event focused on airline and airport passenger service that takes place each year in Brussels. It can be found here.
Jason Cotter
