Over 250 delegates from all over the world attended Check-In '09 to learn about the latest advances in passenger and baggage processing.

Delivered in collaboration with McCarran International Airport and IATA, the conference focused on “Enhancing the passenger experience: From front door to plane door” and saw innovative presentations from many leading organisations including ANA Japan, TSA, airTran, Delta, Continental, Gensler, Aéroports de Montreal, CATSA, IATA, Air Canada, IBM, DFW and Air France-KLM. In addition, over 25 companies exhibitors provided demonstrations of the latest technologies and services on the market to inquisitive delegates.

Missed Check-In ‘09 but would love to get your hands on the presentations, conclusions and delegate list? No problem purchase the Post-Show Delegate Pack. Click here to request

Check-In Show for Europe

We also organise ACI EUROPE Airport Exchange which is hosted by Aena and takes place in Barcelona on November 23-25th. The event brings together seven conferences, a comprehensive exhibition and an outstanding networking and social programme.

The IT Summit focuses on all the key issues, such as CUPPS, AIDX, Data Exchange, Self Tagging and Boarding, NFC and Biometrics, and will see presentations from SAS- Scandinavian Airlines, Schiphol, McCarran International Airport, Lufthansa, Zurich Airport, SEA, ANA, Iberia, LFV and more.

IATA will also stage an interactive StB workshop at the event on BCBP and Fast Travel.

• Read full conference programme
• Visit the Airport Exchange website

Whether your ticket is read face-up or face-down by the scanner can have a significant impact on how long passengers are kept waiting – as Access IS explains.

Bar codes printed on different sizes and shapes of paper or card are now presented at check-in desks, security points, and boarding gates. There have also been successful trials to present them on mobile phones and personal digital organisers (PDAs) – a trend that may grow.

This variety of media makes accurate, first-pass scanning harder and trials have shown that reading a document face-up achieves faster boarding than placing a document face-down.

When the trials compared the reading methodology, they found that a face-up reader made it easier for the agents to see the barcode location and confirm that it’s within the scanning target area. The face-down method required every document to be turned over, adding a small delay each time, and because agents are unable to see the location of the barcode on the document, it’s harder to get the barcode positioned correctly at the first attempt.

The imaging device of a face-down scanner can also be affected by glare from overhead lights or sunlight and the glass surface will accumulate scratches, finger prints, adhesive, ink and airborne debris – adding to scanning errors. With bar codes on phones and PDAs the problem gets worse.

In contrast, for face-up devices, the scanning surface is, by design, protected from overhead lights and glare from stray sunlight and the scanner optics are separated from the media or phone that it’s scanning ensuring that users cannot scratch the device or contaminate the reader.

By achieving faster passenger processing and boarding, face-up scanning is the logical choice.

O’Connor: “Our brand-new offering is able to provide reliable routing of all airline message types with particular focus at this stage on IATA RP17545 BSMs (Baggage Service Messages).”

Ultra Electronics Airport Systems has announced the launch of its latest operational solution, as well as new working relationships as it looks towards further innovation.

UltraConnect is the company’s new global aviation messaging solution. Andrew O’Connor, Ultra’s Head of Product Management, said: “Our brand-new offering is able to provide reliable routing of all airline message types with particular focus at this stage on IATA RP17545 BSMs (Baggage Service Messages). UltraConnect is a service, not just a product, with 24/7 monitoring plus end-to-end diagnostics.”
The solution is already in use at one UK airport and is routing BSMs from some major carriers.

Ultra has now gone live with its CUPPS pilots at Dublin International Airport with the Continental Airlines application, which has been handling live operational flights for some time. Ultra is also working closely with Iberia to enable its new CUPPS application within the live pilot, as well as being an active participant in the IATA CUPPS initiative.

Ultra is also working closely with NCR, a major provider of kiosks. They will jointly offer full passenger processing capabilities at the forefront of airport and airline trends. The company has also ventured into a new partnership with UltraEnterprise solutions. O’Connor added: “Ultra is innovating delivery of a number of its solutions using thin-client devices and VMware technology in partnership with UltraEnterprise solutions, such as our common-use UltraCUSE Enterprise platform. These solutions represent a move towards a SaaS (Software as a Service) model, allowing rapid deployment of new platforms at airports.”

Damarel Local DCS aims to provide a flexible, easy-to-use solution allowing agents to continue checking-in and boarding passengers in the tightest of handling operations.

All Nippon Airways has chosen Damarel to supply the latest version of its full DCS back up system – designed to provide critical support in the event an airline experiences computer glitches or failure.

The solution provide a real-time transfer of passenger and flight information between an airline’s own DCS and Damarel’s Local DCS, ensuring the best possible continuation of service and on-time performance.
ANA is using the system to protect its handling operations at Tokyo Narita International Airport. ANA is one of the largest airlines in Japan, with an extremely busy operation at Tokyo Narita catering to dozens of international flights every day.

Damarel’s Local DCS has been providing automated passenger check-in and boarding for airlines and ground handlers around the world for a number of years. The solution is continually evolving and helping to drive forward the uptake of modern IATA initiatives, such as 2D bar codes and low-cost general purpose printers.

By acting as a back-up system for an airline’s own DCS, Damarel Local DCS aims to provide a flexible, easy-to-use solution allowing agents to continue checking-in and boarding passengers in the tightest of handling operations.