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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The pilot project, which took place in Australia’s busiest international airport terminal, servicing around 13 million travellers annually, saw four Auto Bag Drop units process more than 125,000 bags. These self-service baggage check-in units will now be placed into permanent service, helping to bring a fast and seamless check-in experience for QANTAS customers flying on international flights.

The customisable ICM Auto Bag Drop self-service units are already in operation across Australia for domestic flights, and have helped cut check-in times and clear up crowded terminals across the country, as well as in leading international airports such as London’s Heathrow airport.

They integrate cutting-edge scanning technology with ergonomically friendly design, and ‘plug’ directly into existing airport baggage handling infrastructure. They also ensure real time security and safety, with 24 hour monitoring provided by ICM’s support team.

Richard Dinkelmann, Managing Director of ICM Airport Technics, commented: “We are delighted that Sydney Airport has made the decision to purchase our Auto Bag Drop Units for the T1 International Terminal following a very successful pilot.”

“These market leading self-service bag drop units not only deliver notable benefits to both airports and airlines, but they present passengers with a simpler and faster service for checking in their bags – it is very rewarding for us to see that Sydney Airport has experienced first-hand such improvements. This is another key milestone for bringing the Australian-developed Auto Bag Drop experience to international travel across the world.

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• London Heathrow – Framework agreement for roll-out
• Aéroports de Paris – Contract award for roll-out
• Charles de Gaulle – Hybrid trial

ICM Airport Technics (ICM) has been awarded a framework agreement to supply Auto Bag Drop (ABD) units for all terminals at Heathrow Airport, which is to be executed over the next 5 years. “This clearly demonstrates ICM’s global leadership in the supply of ABD units and is the result of 3 years of hard work and dedication by the ICM team” said Mike Sanderson, Managing Director ICM UK.

The scope of work includes the design, supply, installation and ongoing technical support of the self- service bag drops over 5 years.

Heathrow Airport carried out trials in 2012 and 2013 enabling the potential benefits to be tested in a live passenger environment. These trials were well received by passengers and provided a wealth of learning regarding every element of the process and technology. Heathrow Airport envisages Self-service bag drops playing a significant role in future passenger journeys.

Passengers departing Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris can look forward to using the latest technology self- service bag drops following the award by Aéroports de Paris of a significant supply contract to ICM Airport Technics.

“This initial contract will see us supply and install 35 of our Series 1 Bag Drops before the end of March 2015”, said Mike Sanderson, Managing Director ICM UK.

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ICM’s Auto Bag Drop (ABD) Hybrid provides the best of both worlds, with a bag drop that can operate in fully unassisted self-service mode or assisted mode with a fully equipped CUTE (Common User Terminal Equipment) check-in desk.

The CUTE mode allows the check-in agent to operate and process passenger’s baggage drop-off the same as they do on a traditional check-in desk.

Once switched to the unassisted mode, which runs ICM’s CUSS (Common User Self Service) platform, there is no need for an agent and passengers can perform the bag drop off completely unassisted.

“The ABD Hybrid is designed to provide Airports and Airlines the flexibility to deploy a solution that can operate in assisted mode with CUTE and easily switch to unassisted mode for CUSS operations.” said Richard Dinkelmann, Managing Director of ICM Airport Technics Australia. “There is a large demand for this flexibility with common use airports. And ICM is ready to deploy these Hybrid units with the first installation happening at a large European airport.”

With the agent area adjacent to the side loading passenger area, there is no barrier between the agent and the passenger which enables an efficient and customer centric service. The design allows for various types of CUTE equipment to be housed in a secure cabinet. The angled desk allows space for both the agent and passenger in either mode.

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