SMART BAGGAGE SOLUTION Charlotte NC

This month's cover story showcases DFW International and the comprehensive in-line baggage screening system they have incorporated into the hub. Turning to the non-hub perspective, San Diego International Airport's Steve Cornell, director, airport master plan program, and his team are working to improve the customer service experience — expanding and building upon common use self-service equipment (CUSS) and common use terminal equipment (CUTE). During an interview in April in San Diego, Cornell said the most stressful activity for a traveler at the airport is often getting the boarding pass and dragging luggage around the terminal.

Until recently, all luggage at most airports was being handled by each airline because it was going to separate locations. With the advent of in-line baggage screening, luggage is, generally, all going to the same place before boarding the aircraft; Cornell sees an opportunity.

The solution, says Cornell, is a system the airport is referring to as Smart Curb. The airport envisions that at some point, passengers will be able to check in at a curbside common-use kiosk, choose their airline, and then proceed to a common-use bag check where boarding passes will be checked and bags will be tagged and checked by a common-use representative and enter the in-line system through a single feed. It would eliminate the need for passengers to bring baggage into the terminal and wait in line at airline counters or kiosks.

This "easy movement," says Cornell, will reduce lines and congestion in the airport lobby. Also, an operation like this benefits airlines because fewer ticketing agents are needed to process the same number of passengers. Cornell suspects that the number of passengers using this system will depend on how many feel comfortable with it. However, with the proliferation of common use in airports and in other industries, it's expected that the number of users will only increase.

In 2010, San Diego will open ten new gates and a new parking structure. Of its total 52 gates, Cornell says 29 will be supported by the Smart Check system. The new parking garage will be connected to the terminal and therefore will be a "catch point" for travelers — making the curbside solution even more intuitive.

At the time of the interview, Cornell said the airport was in the process of collecting data for the system and was working with Texas-based consulting firm TransSolutions on modeling and simulation of the Smart Curb solution. He adds that for any airport looking at implementing this technology, modeling and simulation will be key. And, for many airports, conveying the baggage from the curb to the in-line screening might pose the biggest challenge. At SAN, says Cornell, there is a tunnel under the roadway which runs between the terminal and the parking structure that will be used to move the baggage.

Implementation of a technology solution like this isn't a "huge investment" for the airport, says Cornell, because it's just taking advantage of technology that's already in place. What could be a significant investment is the baggage belts necessary to transfer the luggage curbside to the in-line system.

Cornell says the airport is working closely with the airlines and Transportation Security Administration to ensure the best and most efficient use of the system.