By Jean Luc Devisscher

One of the most frustrating experiences while traveling—if not the most frustrating one—is everything to do with luggage. It starts with checking in luggage, especially if there is no automated baggage delivery solution. And if there is one, you often have to be an IT wizard to understand what you need to do with your label. But most of the frustration comes from having to wait for the ground handler to deliver your luggage at your final destination.

This often takes hours (or so it seems), and you often think that they need to collect luggage from another airport, not from a plane that is usually parked 100 meters away.  It’s true, waiting for luggage often seems to take much longer than it actually does, but in many cases, it is quite a lengthy process, and it really influences people’s opinion about flying and the efficiency of the airport (rarely the ground handler).  

Having to wait for a long time is one of the last things people remember from their trip, and it badly impacts their overall experience. So, I asked myself what airports could do to improve the experience, and it all comes down to 4 things which they can all manage very well:  

(a) Making sure the baggage handler knows exactly when which plane with what number of bags will arrive. 

(b) Using the data (read: the average duration) that is being captured by the different systems and communicating it to the passengers even BEFORE they leave the plane, so people have more time to spend in the terminal (get a coffee, buy that expensive scarf, etc.) instead of waiting for their luggage that is delayed anyway. 

(c) Organizing the luggage approach so that ground handlers don’t wait for all bags to be delivered, but deliver what can be delivered as soon as the first carriage is ready. 

(d) Getting timings right—don’t mention 30 minutes if you know it will be longer or shorter. Get it right and use the right systems to get the right data. Efficiency is all about sharing the right data, not a best guess. Passengers are no fools, and having to wait even longer to be “told” (read: having to find out) about extra delays makes the situation even worse. 

Waiting for one’s baggage is one of the most frustrating things about travel, but airports and ground handlers have many means to make the experience much better.  

So, please airports use your tools or implement the right processes!