The first flight out of T4 was Cathay Pacific flight CX 650 to Hong Kong, where Richard Dinkelmann, CEO of ICM Group was amongst the first passengers to check-in, using an ABD unit to drop his baggage.

The ABD units are a crucial element of several fast and seamless travel (FAST) initiatives at T4 including check-in, baggage drop, immigration clearance and boarding.

The ABD units were developed, manufactured and installed by ICM, and were specifically designed to meet the exact needs of Terminal 4. ICM worked closely with Changi Airport Group to tailor the ABD units to not only be easy for the passengers to use in self-service mode, but also be switched in a matter of seconds to a conventional agent-manned check-in desk.

Dinkelmann commented: “We are incredibly proud to see our advanced Biometrically enabled self-service Auto Bag Drop units go live at Changi T4 today. The units will not only deliver notable security and efficiency benefits to the airport and airlines, but they present passengers with a simpler and faster process for checking-in their bags.”

ICM’s ABD units can be found in major airports across the globe including Auckland, London Heathrow, Milan Malpensa, Minneapolis, Munich, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Singapore Changi and Sydney amongst many others.

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Next month ICM will be taking part in the FTE Asia EXPO at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore from 7 – 8 November.

Showcasing our next generation Series 7 Auto Bag Drop with biometric capabilities, and also our retrofit Series 1 Auto Bag Drop, this is a great chance to view the latest in self-service bag drop technology, as seen at Changi T4, Heathrow T5 and many more major airports around the world.

Register now and visit the ICM team at Stand C5. See you in sunny Singapore!

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The trial aims to greatly reduce the dreaded check-in queues and enhance the overall passenger experience bringing the same ICM technology to Munich Airport that is enjoyed by numerous leading airports worldwide.

With many of the world’s large airports adopting self-service technology to create a fast and seamless check-in experience, traditional check-in desks are becoming a thing of the past.

The ABD machines integrate cutting-edge 3D bag scanning technology with an ergonomically friendly design. They ensure real time safety and security, with around the clock monitoring provided by ICM’s support team.  The new ABD units are also future proof with the ability for face-to-passport biometric scanning technology to be fitted.

Munich Airport’s T1 ABD trial coincides with a similar trial taking place in the US with Delta Airlines at Minneapolis St Paul Airport where ICM’s biometrically equipped Series 7 units have been successfully used since June. Both trials come ahead of the highly-anticipated opening of Singapore Changi Airport’s brand-new Terminal 4, where 50 of ICM’s ABD units will commence full operations on 31^st October.

“It is great to see Munich and TUIfly’s passengers using our self-service bag drop units to enhance the check-in process and we look forward to building on this success,” said Fabio Castro, ICM Project Manager

Joerg Scheuer from Munich Airport’s Terminal and Operational Planning said of the trial: “We are really pleased with how the ICM bag drop machines are working. Our passengers are quickly adopting to the process and overall we are seeing the benefits that these automated bag drop units deliver.”

ICM’s ABD units can be found in major airports across the globe including Auckland, London, Milan, Minneapolis, Munich, Paris and Singapore amongst many others.

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[00:00:00] Debuting the nation’s first biometric self-service bag drop right here in the Twin Cities. Carol Evans John Croman was out at MSP today to see exactly how it works and how it’s going.

[00:00:13] Most of the waiting game is about getting bags on a plane.

[00:00:17] When you look at any bag drop line you have a lot of people who don’t really need a lot of help they just need to drop a bag.

[00:00:22] So Delta is testing a new self-service backdrop system at MSP that expedites the process using facial recognition technology.

[00:00:30] So I’m going to go ahead and tag you start at a kiosk where you print your own baggage tag. Then you move onto the biometric do it yourself bag drop.

[00:00:39] So first I scanned my boarding pass. It’s going to ask for my passport.

[00:00:42] The machine can scan a passport or driver’s license but a passport requires no human assistance.

[00:00:48] So now it’s going to ask for me to look into the camera.

[00:00:50] The optical scan of Rick’s face will be instantly checked against a digital image pulled from his passport.

[00:00:56] And it said yes that’s who I am. Weigh the bag and took the bag.

[00:01:01] Of course we don’t always look like we did when we got a passport or a license.

[00:01:04] When there’s a biometric algorithm that takes you know the distance between your eyes the distance from your ears and the ratios of all of those points on your face. Does the match.

[00:01:14] Delta customers seem to warm up to the system pretty quickly.

[00:01:17] Yes. I love this it’s quick and easy and fast and it’s great.

[00:01:22] And as people move to the biometric bag drop it’ll free up Delta agents to help customers with more complicated issues.

[00:01:29] And we really want to move towards solutions with technology and innovation that allow our employees to get out from behind the counter not processing transactions but adding to the customer experience.

[00:01:42] As for privacy the facial scan is for that point in time. They’re not stored.

[00:01:47] So Minnesota is kind of the guinea pig for this new system but if it works well here we can expect to see Delta implement it at other airports around the nation. From MSP I’m John Coleman

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“We expect this investment and new process to save customers time,” said Gareth Joyce, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Airport Customer Service and Cargo. “And, since customers can operate the biometric-based bag drop machine independently, we see a future where Delta agents will be freed up to seek out travelers and deliver more proactive and thoughtful customer service.”

The airline’s introduction of self-service bag drops and facial-recognition technology is a natural next step in its work to streamline airport processes and is complimented by Delta’s industry-leading radio frequency identification technology. Previous self-service innovations like ticketing kiosks and check-in via the Fly Delta Mobile app have transformed congested lobby areas and drastically improved customer satisfaction scores.

Delta also worked with the Transportation Security Administration to implement the first automated screening lanes in the U.S. at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Other innovations include developing a groundbreaking app that helps pilots avoid turbulence for a more comfortable flight, launching the industry’s most interactive airport wayfinding maps on the FlyDelta mobile app and strategically enhancing its boarding process.

“This is the next step in curating an airport experience that integrates thoughtful innovation from start to finish,” Joyce said. “We’re making travel easier than ever for our customers and continuing to deliver a leading customer experience.”

The airline will collect customer feedback during the trial and run process analyses to ensure that this lobby enhancement improves the overall customer experience. Studies have found that self-service bag drops have the potential to process twice as many customers per hour.

Source:

http://news.delta.com/delta-testing-facial-recognition-technology-plans-first-biometric-based-self-service-bag-drop-us

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Vedaleon’s strong aviation software solution platform complements ICM’s market leading Auto Bag Drop offering, enabling the business to offer a broader range of products and services to the aviation sector globally.

Vedaleon is headquartered in Melbourne, and is currently focused on 3 main business streams:

• e-Commerce: Internet booking engines (IBEs) for airlines catering to consumers, corporates and travel agents. This also includes hotel booking engine and frequent flyer booking engine.
• Airport operations: Software and systems for self-service check-in kiosks, reprint kiosks (boarding passes), agent assisted bag drop, self-service bag drop and boarding manager.
• Regional carriers: Reservations and departure control software including reservation system and departure control system.

Vedaleon applications enable over 500 million passenger transactions annually for some of Asia Pacific largest carriers.

ICM is a global leader in airport baggage technology, and inventor of the self-service Auto Bag Drop solutions used by the world’s best airport terminals. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia with offices in the UK, France and Singapore, ICM uses cutting-edge innovation to help airlines and airports enhance the traveler check-in experience, while helping airports and airlines improve their efficiency. ICM currently operates over 300 Auto Bag Drop units in over 17 airport terminals across the world, and have processed more than 40 million bags.

Richard Dinkelmann, CEO of ICM said “The merger of ICM and Vedaleon further entrenches us at the cutting edge of being able to provide efficiencies and improvements to airlines, airports and ultimately their customer, the travelers. It also brings together a like-minded approach to innovation and R&D which will continue to be a focus for the group.”

Cornel Nunes, Vedaleon co-founder and CEO, said “Having proven ourselves in the Asia Pacific region, Vedaleon is excited at the prospect of matching our software with ICM’s market leading hardware solutions on the global stage. A mutual passion for high quality solutions means that the parties are now ideally placed to provide comprehensive end-to-end passenger management and e-Commerce solutions globally”.

Vedaleon co-founders – Mac Smith and Cornel Nunes – as well as the broader management team remain fully committed to their existing and future clients.

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Richard Dinkelmann, Managing Director at ICM Airport Technics Australia, said, “We are proud to secure our partnership with Changi Airport Group, and roll out our advanced self-service bag-drop solution. Our technology has been received incredibly well – ICM Airport Technics has been awarded recent contracts for self-service bag-drop solutions at airports in Montréal, Milan (Malpensa), Munich, and Johannesburg. It is an exciting time and we look forward to continually transforming the traveller check-in process and bringing it forward into the 21st century.”

Ang Siew Min, Vice President of Airport Operations Management at CAG, said, “With the wider adoption of self-service bag-drop machines at Changi Airport, passengers can look forward to a faster and more convenient check-in experience. The hybrid functionality of ICM ABD units also provides airlines and ground handlers with increased flexibility in their operations.”

ICM Airport Technics has successfully introduced its ABD technology at other international airports, including Auckland International Airport in December 2015. More airports around the world are witnessing the benefits of the technology and the seamless bag drop-off experience offered to busy passengers looking to save time.

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The carrier, which was recently named Best Airline in Oceania at the FTE Asia Awards 2015, says the introduction of the new bag drops supports its strategy of empowering passengers and creating a more seamless airport journey.

John Whittaker, Air New Zealand Group General Manager Airports, said: “We can now streamline the check-in process for our customers at Auckland International Airport and provide a more seamless airport journey. It will reduce the time it takes for our customers to check in and free up our airport team to interact with customers and support them through the self-service process should they require assistance.”

Five of the new self-service bag drop machines have been installed, with a further eight scheduled to be installed in early 2016.

Their introduction follows last month’s launch of “Airband” – a wristband for children travelling unaccompanied, which is embedded with technology that triggers text messages to guardians letting them know where the child is during their journey.

Link to article here  https://shar.es/1GXLts

Download PDF version of the story here.

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ICM is excited to be quoted in article about the future of airline baggage in The Wall Street Journal!

This article first appeared on The Wall Street Journal. View the original here.

A prototype of Air France-KLM’s permanent bag tag, programmed to head to London Heathrow Airport, and attached to a bag on a belt at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. PHOTO: ARTHUR MEBIUS/ FASTTRACK COMPANY

By JACK NICAS and TARUN SHUKLA
July 1, 2015 2:10 p.m. ET

For decades, fliers have checked their bags the same way: hand them to an airline employee and trust that they will reappear at the destination.

Now big changes to that model are coming as airlines look to streamline the airport experience – and pass more work to customers and machines.

Their latest ideas including letting fliers tag their own bags, print luggage tags at home and track their bags on smartphones. Later this year, some fliers in Europe likely will begin using what could be the future of flying luggage: permanent bag tags that digitally update if flight plans change. Improved technology and loosened security rules are accelerating changes to baggage handling.

“It’s a bit of a baggage revolution,” said Ryan Ghee, editor of the Future Travel Experience, a website on advances in commercial flying. “Normally you have one [change in] development, but it’s all going on at once.”

The changes face hurdles, including opposition from unions, security rules and fliers who prefer a human touch. On a recent weekday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, several fliers struggled to tag their bag and summoned airline employees for help.

Still, carriers are plowing ahead. More than a third of global airlines now ask fliers to tag their own bags, compared with 13% in 2009, according to SITA, an airline-technology firm. By 2018, more than three-quarters of carriers intend to offer the service.

“I don’t work for the airline. Why should I do their job?” said Mark Sam Rosenthal, a television writer from New York who prefers to check bags with ticket agents. “If something goes wrong or I have a question, the self-tagging machine isn’t going to have an answer,” he said.

Charlie Leocha, head of the flier-advocacy group Travelers United, predicted the new technology will shorten airport lines, but also warned it would eventually replace airline workers, frustrating fliers when storms or other disruptions hit. Airline unions generally oppose the new technology for the same reasons.

Airlines say such technology isn’t intended to reduce staff, but instead free workers to handle customer problems.

From 2004 to 2014, a period in which airlines added many self-service technologies like kiosks, the number of U.S. ticket agents fell about 13.5% to roughly 138,000, according to federal estimates. U.S. airline passengers increased 8.6% to 761 million over that period.

The biggest of the coming changes is permanent bag tags, electronic devices that strap on to frequent fliers’ luggage and digitally display their flight information. The tags display bar codes like a traditional tag, allowing them to work with existing infrastructure. Fliers update the tags via Bluetooth from their smartphones, and the airline can also remotely update the tag if its owner gets rerouted.

Air France-KLM SA aims to release a permanent tag later this year. Only Qantas Airways Ltd. of Australia now uses one. Two independent companies also plan to launch permanent tags this year and say they’re nearing deals with airline partners.

Air-France KLM is also releasing a bag tracker that goes inside luggage. The device uses satellite data to give travelers the bag’s location and light sensors to alert them if the bag is opened en route. The carrier said advances in mobile technology allowed it to release the tag and bag tracker after years of development.

Officials expect similar technology to soon arrive in the U.S. “Home-printed and electronic bag tags are the low-hanging fruit for U.S. airlines,” said Stephanie Taylor, manager of passenger services at Airlines for America, the largest U.S. airline trade group. “We’re expecting multiple carriers to adopt these solutions by the end of the year.”

Michel Pozas Lucic, Air France-KLM’s vice president of customer innovation, said alliance partner Delta Air Lines Inc. helped develop and test its permanent tag. “We expect them…to be interested” in adopting the technology, he said, adding that other airlines are in talks to use the devices, too. “We don’t see a lot of reasons why it wouldn’t take off.”

Delta declined to comment.

Simpler bag-handling changes are becoming pervasive. It is now common for travelers to tag their own bags in Europe, and it is catching on in places like China, Africa and the Middle East. Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, India, said it plans to deploy the country’s first self-tagging kiosks in July. About a quarter of global fliers now regularly tag their own baggage, according to a recent SITA survey.

The Transportation Security Administration late last year changed its policy to make it simpler for U.S. airlines to offer self-tagging. American Airlines Group Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and Alaska Air Group Inc. are adding self-tagging kiosks across the country.

In April, Alaska Air started enabling home-printed bag tags—which fliers fold and slip into plastic cases the airline provides—following foreign carriers including Air France-KLM, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and Qatar Airways. Alaska offers 1,000 frequent-flier miles to customers who use it. Curtis Kopf, vice president of innovation, said Alaska Air is now looking toward permanent tags. “The customer may not need paper at all,” he said.

In Europe and elsewhere, carriers use fully automated machines to accept passenger-tagged bags, meaning travelers don’t have to interact with airline employees. ICM Airport Technics, which has installed its automated bag-drop machines in airports in London and Australia, said the typical transaction takes between 15 seconds and 45 seconds. (Bolded by ICM)

In the U.S., airlines still must staff bag-drop stations because security rules require employees to check identifications of passengers checking bags.

Airlines for America said it is lobbying the TSA to allow a biometric identification check, such as facial-recognition software or fingerprint readers, to remove humans from the process. The TSA said it “does not currently envision changes to bag security requirements.”

Airlines also are moving to improve bag tracking ahead of a June 2018 deadline set by industry groups to install such technology. Tracking should help reduce the rate of mishandled bags world-wide, though airlines in 2014 lost 7.3 bags per 1,000 fliers, compared with 13.2 bags in 2003.

As airlines better track bags, they’re passing that information to fliers. A tenth of airlines, including Delta, let fliers track their bags in real time, according to SITA. By 2017, two-thirds of carriers intend to offer the service.

Download a PDF version of the article here.

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