Los Angeles International Airport is testing a common-use, self-service bag-drop system in Aisles B and C of the ticketing lobby at its Tom Bradley International Terminal.
To use the new self-service system, a passenger must first print their bag tags using either the common-use self-service kiosks located near the front of the ticketing lobby or a smaller ‘Tag & Fly’ unit installed in front of the bag-drop area. Once their bags are tagged, passengers will go to the ‘Drop & Fly’ bag-drop unit, which includes a conveyor belt to take bags to the main bag intake system.
The equipment is capable of using additional biometric technology, such as facial recognition, which may be tested later on, according to the airport.
Contracted staff from Pacific Aviation will be on hand to help passengers use the technology. During this phase of the pilot, passengers will scan their boarding pass to access the system. If bags are oversize or overweight, the staff will direct passengers to their airline’s counter to complete check-in. Guests who check in online with a participating airline can also receive a quick response (QR) code that they can scan at the terminal to speed the experience further.
To make room for the equipment, four ticket counters were removed from Aisles B and C.
During the pilot test, which is expected to last four to eight months, the airport operator will be closely monitoring the system for processing times, the number of successful transactions and the number and types of failures, which could include both technical problems and user-generated errors. This data will be used to evaluate and refine the program.
At present the system can be used by customers flying with Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, Norwegian and Scandinavian Airlines. The pilot will later expand to include Air France/KLM, ANA, British Airways, Korean Airlines, Singapore Airlines and EVA.
“A seamless, efficient and easy guest experience is key to creating a world class airport,” said Justin Erbacci, interim chief executive officer, Los Angeles World Airports. “By integrating state-of-the-art self-service bag-drop technology and improving each point of the passenger journey, we continue to transform the airport inside and out.”
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