A Nightmare on Lindbergh street? Never Again!

Ghost-written article for John Jarrell, SITA Airport Services.
Published in the International Herald-Tribune newspaper, European edition, October 2002.

At one time or another many experienced business travellers will flaunt their definitive travel horror story. Attempting to get from one place to another by air seems to be particularly hassle-prone. Though some may exaggerate, regular air travellers may genuinely wonder whether things will ever improve.

Fortunately airport operators know and see all. They are responding proactively to an ever-increasing demand for flights with enhanced customer service. The airport industry now reacts to and is an integral part of the global marketplace thanks to the Internet and e-commerce, and these guys know that IT is the way to maximise their effectiveness. SITA has the tools to get the job done.

Check-in lines were one of the first things airports wanted resolved. Originally, the airport would have to allocate check-in desks for every airline using the airport. Some desks would stand empty while others overflowed – neither cost-effective nor good customer service. Now over 150 commercial airports from Atlanta to Vienna use SITA’s common-use terminal equipment (CUTE). This means the airlines can share check-in desks, airports can use their infrastructure more judiciously, and passengers can move effortlessly to their flights. In the future kiosks will become more commonplace so passengers can breeze through within one card swipe.

The next step is immigration and visas. SITA developed the electronic travel authority system (iVisas) with CPS Systems and Australia’s Department of Immigration and Cultural Affairs to facilitate visa approval. The benefit to airports and passengers alike is that traditional paper visas are no longer needed. The visa request is now handled at the travel agent stage, and approval can be received within seconds. Additionally the Australian government requested that a complimentary service be developed for the recent Olympic Games, advanced passenger processing (iPass), which further reduces the potential for delays. Preliminary feedback suggests a stunning success.

Finally there’s baggage – what happens if an item of baggage gets into the departing plane’s cargo hold without its appropriate passenger? This used to cause major headaches for the airports, as by law a plane cannot leave the tarmac with unclaimed baggage on board. This could mean a delay of up to thirty minutes for everyone on board while the offending suitcase had to be located and removed. Nowadays airports use SITA’s baggage reconciliation service (BRS) to locate such baggage and remove it in under ten minutes – just enough time for those on the plane to choose between the latest bestseller, the in-flight movie, or a ‘powernap’.

The good news for the future is that airports are pushing solutions providers like SITA to realize ‘blue sky’ projects for the Internet generation of travellers. Solitary smart cards will hold your ticket information, passport, and airline food and seating preferences. Computer chips in your jacket will match you to your baggage. Star Trek-style teleports are still unfortunately unlikely, but the technology behind the airport scenes is rapidly evolving to make those air travel horror stories a thing of the past.

John Jarrell has been VP and general manager of SITA Airport Services since October 1998. He works with airports to provide a portfolio of solutions to combat airport congestion, maximize airport resources, improve airport operating efficiencies, reduce airport costs and provide new streams of airport revenue. SITA is the world’s leading provider of integrated telecommunications and IT solutions to the air transport industry.