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

The SITA CUPPS Pilot started in January 2009 at Orlando International Airport with check-in and boarding of WestJet passengers.

CUPPS is a true collaborative industry effort, bringing together airports, airlines and vendors to ensure that all stakeholder needs are considered. For airlines, a single application can be used for all CUPPS sites, regardless of platform provider; it saves on development, training and implementation/support costs, and there are consistent operating procedures across all platform providers. For airports, CUPPS makes it easier to adopt common use by updating the old Recommended Practice, simplifying the airlines’ process for common use, and has the ability to evolve as the industry does. “Furthermore, it will improve the airports ability to attract new airlines, move or change an airline’s facility requirements based on market conditions and/or alliance demands,” said Catherine Mayer, Vice President, Airport Services for SITA.

The SITA CUPPS Pilot started in January 2009 at Orlando International Airport with check-in and boarding of WestJet passengers, followed recently by Continental Airlines passengers. Orlando International Airport currently uses SITA’s AirportConnect Open. This platform is capable of supporting CUPPS, legacy CUTE, proprietary and web-based applications, as well as CUSS kiosk applications. John Vinelli, manager, Information Technology, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, said: “The CUPPS technology will make a significant difference to airlines as it will replace the CUTE standard and avoid airlines having to develop their own applications to work with different platforms. Orlando is pleased to have been involved in delivering this technology to the industry.”

New Recommended Practice

Continental is participating actively in Pilots at Orlando, Las Vegas and Dublin, using Attachmate’s InfoConnect software. “These tests in the operational environment have gone very smoothly; we have been pleased with the performance of both the platforms and the application,” said Amy Foltz, manager technology, Continental Airlines.

The culmination of the Pilot came when SITA demonstrated that its platform is full compliant with the pre-released version of the IATA CUPPS Technical Specification. “This is a big achievement as it reconfirms our market leader position in the area of common use passenger processing solutions,” said Catherine Mayer, Vice President, Airport Services for SITA. “SITA developed the first CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) system with the airlines in 1984 in response to additional traffic demand at Los Angeles International Airport during the Olympics. SITA has continued to upgrade and evolve the solution by adopting the latest technology and responding to the changing needs of the industry. We are very proud to be the first company to provide the next generation solution to the industry today including backwards compatibility.”

The key lesson learned during the Pilot was that although CUPPS is very complicated, by coming together as one community and sharing ideas, it was possible to develop a new Recommended Practice (RP). Even with the detailed Technical Specification there were still different interpretations of the RP by different companies and developers. The Pilot brought those different understandings to the surface and allowed the CUPPS team to enhance the Technical Standard with those lessons learned. “For software developers, there is nothing more fundamental than working code. The Pilot delivered just that – working code that has proven to be portable across platforms. Throughout the Pilot, if an issue was found, the participants addressed the issue and confirmed the results before continuing,” said Mayer. “The process has been completely transparent, open for input and review by all CUPPS participants, whether they were directly coding in the Pilot or not.”

As part of the CUPPS Recommended Practice, SITA was required to test its platform by a third-party Certified Test Entity (CTE) registered by IATA. Using test cases defined by IATA’s CUPPS Management Group, the CTE confirmed that SITA’s CUPPS platform meets the technical and functional requirements as defined in the IATA CUPPS Technical Specification.

Transition to CUPPS

Airlines from all over the world have been active participants in the development of the CUPPS standard to ensure that it responds to their needs. Now that the solution has been proven to be a reality, airlines will work on migration plans for their applications.

Airlines from all over the world have been active participants in the development of the CUPPS standard to ensure that it responds to their needs. Now that the solution has been proven to be a reality, airlines will work on migration plans for their applications. “I would expect airlines to transition to CUPPS over the next two to five years, which is fine since our AirportConnect solution accommodates traditional CUTE, new CUPPS, CUSS and browser-based applications – all on the same platform. We will continue to work with the airlines on a successful migration to CUPPS at the time of their choosing,” said Mayer.

CUPPS is about ensuring the airline applications are interoperable across all CUPPS platforms. The challenge with CUTE, explained Mayer, was that an airline needed to have a specific application for each of the CUTE solutions. “The key success factor for CUPPS is that an airline can use the same application on any CUPPS platform, whether it is developed by SITA or another company,” she said. “However, having stated this, SITA does have a CUPPS-compliant airline application and it has been tested successfully on another provider’s CUPPS platform.”

Operational tests

A key lesson learned during the CUPPS Pilot Program was that although CUPPS is very complicated, by coming together as one community and sharing ideas, it was possible to develop a new Recommended Practice (RP).

Continental is participating actively in Pilots at Orlando, Las Vegas and Dublin, using Attachmate’s InfoConnect software. “These tests in the operational environment have gone very smoothly; we have been pleased with the performance of both the platforms and the application,” said Amy Foltz, manager technology, Continental Airlines.

She explained that during the trials, a few minor points were identified where the CUPPS Technical Specification can be clarified. “These have been reported to the CUPPS Software & Devices team, who are working to incorporate them into the next version of the Technical Specification. Overall, we have been very impressed with the level of standardisation in the platforms achieved during the Pilot,” said Foltz.
CUPPS should reduce the cost and time required to implement and deploy software changes and new applications to common use environments. Carriers will be able to create a single application that can be deployed to any CUPPS platform, regardless of supplier; therefore, it will be more cost-effective to develop, test and deploy applications. Airports will be able to transition to – or between – CUPPS platforms with less impact to their carriers. “The standardisation of the platform should make troubleshooting issues that arise in production easier on everybody,” said Foltz. Continental believes that CUPPS will be a significant improvement on the current, multiple CUTE environments that exist today, and expects that carriers will realise both cost and time savings due to the standardisation of the platforms and the streamlined certification and deployment processes.

Lufthansa, which is among the biggest users of (agent facing) common use worldwide, has been participating in CUPPS pilot trials with SITA at Orlando and RESA at Brussels.

Lufthansa, which is among the biggest users of (agent facing) common use worldwide, has been participating in CUPPS pilot trials with SITA at Orlando and RESA at Brussels. “The objectives I would say from an air carrier’s perspective are the goal to achieve that one application without any modification runs on any CUPPS platform (portability/compatibility) – that ultimately allows us to reduce cost regarding the certification and deployment processes and the overall support and maintaining of the system that airlines have been waiting for so long,” said Thomas Jeske, senior manager – IT infrastructure, Lufthansa. “I believe in the end the processes will be seamless to the passengers.”

The air transport industry stands on the threshold of a new era with the breakthrough CUPPS technology. CUPPS can be easily integrated with other airport systems such as flight information displays. It brings cost savings associated with check-in and boarding passengers for both airlines and airports and also supports check-in off the airport campus.

The TSA is pursuing a number of initiatives to integrate security into the check-in process, including Secure Flight, 2D barcoded boarding passes, VIPR Operations and random and unpredictable screening procedures.

The BPSS concept was initially developed in response to increasing security concerns involving the use of duplicate boarding passes to access sterile areas. While convenient for passengers, the ability to print boarding passes at home and use mobile (electronic) boarding passes increases the potential of duplication. “In designing the trial system it became apparent that the system could address all security concerns and also provide data that can be used to enhance performance and increase customer service,” said Burden.

CATSA’s involvement in the BPSS trial was from April 2009 to June 2009, however, due to the success of the system it remains in operation under the control of Aéroports de Montréal. The objective of the trial was to verify that the boarding pass validation process, performance monitoring and breach resolution process could all be enhanced without negatively impacting on CATSA screening operations. The other primary objective was to prepare for national deployment by testing various models of scanners and testing various operational processes.

‘Exception handling capability’

The trial system is deployed at the domestic PBS checkpoint at Montréal Trudeau, where bar code scanners were installed at the front of the queue and at each of the seven screening lines. Both paper and electronic boarding passes are scanned with support for many different formats. “Exception handling capability is a necessary feature to address those boarding passes without a bar code or with non-readable bar codes,” said Burden. “A touch screen monitor with a simple, easy-to-use interface is used by the Screening Officers to populate a limited amount of data when these exceptional situations occur. The increased adoption of 2D bar codes by air carriers over time will limit the exceptions and result in faster service.”

The BPSS provides benefits to the travelling public, as well as all stakeholders involved. A primary benefit that became apparent early in the trial was providing the capability of notifying passengers before they enter a queue that they were at the wrong checkpoint.

Passengers first have their boarding passes scanned when entering the queue. Using a wireless handheld device, this scan is able to validate the boarding pass and performs checks including the date, time, airport, location and whether there are any duplications. The passenger then waits in line and is scanned again at the front of a screening line just before the X-ray. Burden explained that the time stamp between these two scans provides automated wait time statistics. “Data entry only occurs at the second scan point in that it is the location that minimizes unnecessary wait time. The time stamps at each screening line provide accurate throughput statistics. All data collected is used to better plan services and manage passenger expectations,” he said.

Timely breach resolution is critical to security management. This system enhances this process by providing passenger names and flight numbers, which can be used to quickly locate a passenger following a breach and avoid a costly holdroom re-screening process. “The privacy of passengers is another key aspect of this project. That is why it is important to note that this data is only used in the rare instance of a breach and is deleted from the database every 24 hours so that this data is not retained,” said Burden. “When designing a system of this scale it is essential to conduct trials to validate requirements and assumptions and most importantly to determine how it will impact airport operations. There were many valuable lessons learned from this trial, which were incorporated into the new system design that will be deployed nationally following a formal request for proposal contracting process.”

In order to maximize benefits, the BPSS project is dependent on all airlines using 2D bar codes on their boarding passes. This includes carriers such as the international carriers flying into Toronto and Vancouver, smaller carriers flying dedicated routes with smaller aircraft and all of the US carriers. Currently, not all carriers are using the 2D bar code.

BPSS benefits

The trial system is deployed at the domestic PBS checkpoint at Montréal Trudeau, where bar code scanners were installed at the front of the queue and at each of the seven screening lines.

The BPSS provides benefits to the travelling public, as well as all stakeholders involved. A primary benefit that became apparent early in the trial was providing the capability of notifying passengers before they enter a queue that they were at the wrong checkpoint. This avoids wasted time and potentially missed flights.

“Although not immediately visible to passengers, the system provides valuable performance metrics to CATSA which can be used to improve performance and enhance customer service. Automated wait time data and more accurate throughput data will result in better service planning for CATSA, airports and air carriers,” said Burden.

Enhancing the passenger experience

A key element of the Boarding Pass Security System is enhancing the passenger experience at Pre-Board Screening. Burden explained that for CATSA, customer service is an essential element of the screening process and is becoming increasingly important. Due to the proliferation of self-service check-in and bag drop, CATSA is becoming in many cases the first point of human contact that passengers have in a Canadian airport. “The passenger experience will be enhanced by providing courteous and professional services, making the screening process less stressful, minimizing wait times and maximizing throughput,” said Burden.

Throughput rates can be increased through the use of advanced technology and modifications to the screening process that permits segregation of passengers and bags that require additional screening. Key to this is identifying where the bottlenecks exist and how they can be reduced. A current trial at the Regina International Airport will focus on passenger education and encouraging active participation in the screening process. “As passengers learn to properly divest, alarm rates will decrease resulting in higher throughput,” said Burden. “In addition, the process will be adjusted to screen those passengers that alarm in a separate area such that it does not impede the flow of passengers who do not alarm.”

In the current screening process, CATSA must by regulation conduct various random searches on bags and passengers. These functions are incorporated into the standard process whereby it is conducted at all locations within a checkpoint. CATSA is trying something different at Ottawa International Airport where a full search lane has been established. “At this full search lane, all random search targets for the entire checkpoint will be achieved thereby removing the requirement from all other screening lines. This will result in higher throughput rates at all screening lines other than the full search lane,” said Burden.

CATSA will start to deploy split lanes at PBS checkpoints, which permit automated diversion of bags requiring supplemental search. This parallel conveyor at the end of the X-ray provides physical separation of these bags and allows expedited flow of passengers whose bags do not require a search. “All of these proposed changes must be properly designed and customized to the CATSA screening environment, such that all components integrate into a seamless system,” said Burden.

Checkpoint of the future

CATSA is actively pursuing multiple concept of operations trials at PBS checkpoints to determine the optimal blend of effectiveness (security), efficiency, consistency and customer service that when combined will form the CATSA PBS checkpoint of the future.

CATSA is currently testing different devices which provide electronic random selection of passengers for random search. Early indications are that passengers prefer the use of this technology, which directly addresses incorrect perceptions of targeted searches.

Each AirportConnect kiosk is capable of printing bag tags, but progress is still being made to implement this at KLIA.

Malaysia Airports will host the inaugural Check-in Asia conference and exhibition at the Pan Pacific, Kuala Lumpur, on 24-26 November 2010 – a new check-in forum specifically for the Asia Pacific region. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is also one of the first Asia Pacific airports to become 100% BCBP (bar coded boarding pass) capable – one of several IATA Simplifying the Business (StB) projects now live at the airport in collaboration with Malaysian Airlines and SITA. Louise Driscoll reports.

IATA’s 65th Annual General Meeting at KLIA from 7-9 June was an opportunity to showcase the airport’s adoption of the latest self-service technologies – achieved in collaboration with IATA, SITA and the airport’s home carrier, Malaysian Airlines.

One key element of StB has been KLIA’s move to 100% bar coded boarded passes earlier this year – a further milestone for IATA, which has already achieved an industry standard for 2D bar codes.

Mohd Aminuddin Yaakub, general manager, Malaysia Airports Technologies, said: “Having already implemented CUSS in our check-in operations, it was the next logical step for us to adopt IATA’s BCBP standard. Before this was implemented passengers using internet check-in had to validate their boarding passes before leaving the departure lounges.” IATA believes that CUSS is now mature, given the wide adoption of web and mobile check-in platforms.

At KLIA passengers are now able to print IATA standard 2D bar coded boarding passes via the web, mobile phone, CUTE workstation or using SITA’s new fully functional CUSS AirportConnect kiosk, which is designed to take up half the space of a conventional kiosk. The first of these were launched and demonstrated at the airport during IATA’s AGM. Each kiosk is capable of printing bag tags, but progress is still being made to implement this at KLIA.

Next year, IATA aims to meet key targets for bar coded boarding passes and across its other initiatives: IATA e-freight, Baggage Improvement Programme (BIP) and the Fast Travel Programme.

Paul Behan, IATA’s head of the passenger experience, said: “72% of all boarding passes meet the IATA 2D standard now. Our target is 100% by the end of 2010.” The focus will be on achieving standards across the remaining projects and then mass implementation across the programme, he added.

Self-boarding standards

At KLIA passengers are now able to print IATA standard 2D bar coded boarding passes via the web, mobile phone, CUTE workstation or using SITA’s new fully functional CUSS AirportConnect kiosk.

The self-service standards in IATA’s Fast Travel programme aim to capture the major touch points of a passenger’s journey: bags ready to go (where passengers can print their baggage tags from a kiosk ready for an agent), document scanning (using a self-service kiosk), self-boarding (automated ID checks at a kiosk) and bag recovery (using a kiosk to report a missing bag).

Among the projects is IATA’s continual development of self-boarding standards. KLIA has been involved in trials for Etihad and Malaysia Airlines passengers, who were able to self-scan their boarding passes and board the aircraft following positive identification. Trials were limited to domestic routes, enabling large volumes of passengers to test the technology. Feedback from passengers has been positive, reports Aminuddin, but there is still some work to be done with the scanner technology where identification checks require passengers to show a boarding pass and passport. “Having a scanner is not beneficial and the process is under review. With the right combination and location of scanners, integration with an airline’s DCS and possibly some biometric identification, self-boarding can be successful.”

Behan added: “This is a known technology but is new to the airport environment – we are starting to see hotspots appear and our job is to consolidate that and ensure delivery at airports.”

IATA’s target is 10 airlines capable of self-boarding at the gate by the end of 2009 and with one airline using automated ID checks as required for international travel.
Under IATA’s Baggage Improvement Programme (BIP), which focuses on minimising baggage mishandling, KLIA is focused on further improving its automated baggage handling system. The process involves scanning baggage tags for sorting and matching the tag with Baggage Source Messaging data received from an airline’s departure control system. An IT upgrade will address how to optimise the scanning and sorting process and further improve their baggage tracking record, he said.

For the last two years, the airport has been focusing on RFID as a tool to improve the baggage handling process, but this is not the solution, said Aminuddin. “With the uncertain costs of RFID to airlines, no progress has been made with RFID. A more realistic focus will be to measure the queue time for passengers at service points – to measure service rates and identify opportunities for further improvement. The other focus will be driving the self-service process from check-in to boarding.”
He added: “Our collaborations between IATA and SITA have been essential to the success of the project. The commitment of the local Airline Operations Committee has also been crucial and their part in sharing the StB objective for KLIA and supporting our activities.”

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.

CUPPS has been architected as the platform of the future, able to accommodate many things even beyond the agent-facing applications that it will initially address. The biggest benefit will be that one air carrier application will be able to run anywhere on any CUPPS providers platform.

While the technical trials are ongoing, the compliance trial parameters are being defined and the technical specification updated with lessons learned. Errors and omissions are being fixed so that the time required to execute the specification update segment can be minimized.

There are currently four active trials in progress – Las Vegas (ARINC), Orlando (SITA), Dublin (Ultra) and Brussels (RESA). “While the actual execution of the trials has changed over time due to the installation and site-specific needs, the overall progress is proceeding as planned,” said Samuel Ingalls, Assistant Director of Aviation, Information Systems, Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, who is also Chair of the CUPPS Leadership Team. He continued: “Our original goal was to have the technical trials completed by April 15, 2009, but we learned through the pilot process that the critical milestone in the schedule is the publication of the Technical Specification. Each of the four trials is progressing with different tasks, in different orders, based on the participants’ views and needs, and therefore they are completing the trial milestones in different orders. This flexibility has allowed us to learn more in a quicker manner, as well as giving everyone the freedom to complete their tasks in a manner that is comfortable for them.”

Once the technical trials are completed, the applications and platforms will be compliance tested and then certified to the specification. The specification will be updated then published by IATA.

The technical trials are scheduled to be complete on 15 July; the certification trials are scheduled to be complete on 8 July for platforms and 15 July for applications. The technical specification is scheduled for completion by 15 September.

There are currently four active trials in progress – Las Vegas (ARINC), Orlando (SITA), Dublin (Ultra) and Brussels (RESA). Once the technical trials are completed, the applications and platforms will be compliance tested and then certified to the specification. The specification will be updated then published by IATA.

Catherine Mayer, SITA’s Vice-President for Airport Services, explained that the pilot is critical to ensure that the technical standard works as expected, especially the interoperability of CUPPS applications among the different platform vendors. “The intent is to have vendors test their platform with at least two airline applications and for these same airlines to test their new CUPPS application on at least two vendor’s platforms,” she said. “If there are technical issues or discrepancies, the Technical Committee can update the technical specification before its final release, again ensuring success and following a logical practice that is new for aviation industry Recommended Practices. This is the first time that the industry has ever ensured such testing and recommended practice development; it is a great showing of the benefits of industry collaboration.”

SITA began testing at Orlando in January, with WestJet passengers checked-in and boarded using the CUPPS technology. When testing is fully completed, SITA’s AirportConnect Open platform will be considered as CUPPS compliant prior to a general product launch later in the year.

Lufthansa is participating in the pilot trials with SITA at Orlando and RESA at Brussels. “We have been conducting thorough testing of our CUPPS application (CLIP – CUPPS LH Integration Platform) and the platform suppliers’ platforms we are doing pilot trials with,” said Thomas Jeske, senior manager – IT infrastructure, Lufthansa. “It is of no surprise that while for the first time these new platforms and the LH middleware get integrated an array of issues arise that even a very thorough Technical Specification could not foresee. So we have had several test runs (integration tests) in our labs both with SITA and RESA. We have reached a stage where we feel our code is stable enough to provide it to SITA and RESA to do their own testing/integration testing in their labs.”

ARINC’s CUPPS platform went live at Las Vegas McCarran in January. ARINC worked with the international IATA/ATA/ACI CUPPS team to develop the CUPPS Technical Specification published in 2008. The company fast-tracked its deployment of the vMUSE CUPPS platform installed for the CUPPS Pilot Project at Las Vegas McCarran. John Belcher, ARINC Chairman & CEO, said: “This is a true breakthrough for the aviation industry. CUPPS represents a major investment by ARINC that will give the industry tremendous savings. ARINC’s vMUSE platform is now being enhanced to simultaneously run legacy CUTE applications, newer CUPPS applications, and airlines’ native applications – a capability we launched in Singapore in November 2007.”

SITA began testing at Orlando in January, with WestJet passengers checked-in and boarded using the CUPPS technology.

Efficiencies and cost savings

CUPPS has been architected as the platform of the future, able to accommodate many things even beyond the agent-facing applications that it will initially address. The biggest benefit will be that one air carrier application will be able to run anywhere on any CUPPS providers platform. That has been the key foundational principle throughout the course of the initiative. The issue currently is that many different companies are providing differing types of platforms and implementations, requiring the carriers to maintain (in some cases) as many as six different applications, including their own proprietary application. “It can be a rather daunting task for them to update these many applications as their business demands change and/or as security changes or other changes occur in their respective operating environs,” said Ingalls. “I liken this to the rather public standards fights that we are all familiar with. Going back a couple of decades, it was the Beta vs. VHS fight, eventually won by VHS. More recently, it was the BlueRay vs. HD-DVD face-off. By all accounts, the lack of a standard greatly inhibited the public acceptance and uptake of high-definition DVDs. When I play a movie, I don’t want to have to think about whether I have the right manufacturers player. I want to put the DVD in and sit back to relax and enjoy the movie. In somewhat similar fashion, air carriers should be able to easily port their application from one venue to another, not having to consider the peculiarities of a specific vendors platform in a particular airport. The efficiencies and cost savings of being able to accomplish that should be of significant benefit to the industry.”

Jeske similarly believes that streamlined standard processes across vendors, suppliers, airports and airlines will bring costs down for each of the stakeholders. “If we achieve this we should also be able to offer to the passengers a better system for a lower price that in the end could reduce the cost for tickets further – a win-win-win-win solution. So the cost factor is in my eyes a critical part to the overall success of CUPPS,” he said.

Significantly, the CUPPS standard represents the first time that a recommended practice has been jointly owned by both airports and air carriers. In fact, the recommended practice has been approved by three organizations: the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Air Transport Association (ATA) and Airports Council International (ACI). CUPPS also includes Aviation Information Data Exchange (AIDX).

The platform will evolve over time, unlike the former common use standard, which largely sat untouched for many, many years. The CUPPS standard will be living and breathing, with updates over time. Effective CUPPS oversight is currently being structured to facilitate communication and updates.

What makes CUPPS unique is that it will enable an airline to process passengers using the same application on any CUPPS provider’s platform, eliminating the need to maintain multiple terminal emulator applications and therefore reduce costs. “For airports, it is the first time that they can assure their airline tenants that their system is the same as the one found in other CUPPS airports, regardless of location in the world or provider; CUPPS provides global consistency for the airlines,” said Mayer.

Zurich airport’s PassengerBagdrop, developed by Swissport and SITA and launched at the beginning of this year, is an example of common bag drop’s potential for greater interoperability and cost sharing between multiple airlines. It is developed for use by the 11 carriers in the Star Alliance.

Zurich airport’s PassengerBagdrop, developed by Swissport and SITA and launched at the beginning of this year, is a real life example of the common bag drop’s potential for greater interoperability and cost sharing between multiple airlines. Developed for use between the 11 carriers in the Star Alliance, it appears to be a major step in the right direction, highlighting a way forward in making better use of airport spacing and staffing arrangements and reducing overall transaction times.

The software enables passengers from any airline in the Star Alliance to be processed in the same queue – with any combination of departure control hosts able to run from a single bag drop counter. The Star Alliance uses just one host, highlighting the possibilities of the technology for driving efficiencies. According to Rico Barandun, Swissport’s head of e-services, Zurich’s PassengerBagdrop has achieved a throughput increase of 50% since becoming operational – a sign that airline alliances could continue the trend.

Developments in other self-service check-in processes, including self-bag tagging, are likely to facilitate the common bag drop process, which IATA is addressing. “Bags ready to go is an important part of our Fast Travel initiative, comprising two specific parts: self-tagging and bag drop – whether dedicated or common-use. We are focusing on a standard for the common bag drop, which we will present in October – these are not mandatory but will be recommended practices for airlines,” explained IATA’s Paul Behan.

However, developing a definitive common standard poses wider, complex challenges, particularly where different airline methods of revenue collection must be accommodated. “Bag drops, especially common use set ups must be flexible to support individual airline business rules, including weight restrictions and excess baggage. If an application can handle this, a common-use set up is much more feasible,” said Mark Stokes, director of IT, Brock Solutions, whose first common bag drop solution has been operational for four years at Montréal-Trudeau airport. Named ‘SmartDrop’, the original version serves WestJet and Air Canada passengers. It’s the only US solution that has received approval by the TSA for trans-border use, with further deployments in Vancouver’s domestic terminal and London Heathrow for flights to Canada. Both are approved by the UK DfT (Department for Transport) and Transport Canada.

In a further development, earlier this month, the latest version of the SmartDrop system, which is currently used by Air Canada in a dedicated mode at Vancouver and Toronto airports, has been extended to customers departing London Heathrow. An upgrade was carried out in collaboration with BAA in early June, leaving other airlines open to using the older version as a common bag drop or in a dedicated mode. Where passengers self-tag their own bags, they will need to use a SmartDrop desk as SmartDrop performs the necessary bag activation.

Stokes added. “I suspect that in airports where there is a large presence of a carrier that we will always see a more dedicated bag drop environment, most likely using common facilities in a dedicated mode not unlike the CUTE counter equipment environment.”

Retaining brand identity

Common bag drop applications don’t naturally lend themselves well to non-alliance airlines – particularly legacy carriers, Stokes explained. “Branding is a huge issue among airlines, especially in their hub airports. With a common-use setup, this will tend to work in an alliance situation. We have also seen a desire from airlines with a large presence at an airport to want to deploy a bag drop using a common platform, but in a dedicated fashion for as long as the airline is operating in that space,” said Stokes.

According to Rico Barandun, Swissport’s head of e-services, Zurich’s PassengerBagdrop has achieved a throughput increase of 50% since becoming operational.

‘True’ commonality will be achieved more quickly among the smaller carriers, added Swissport’s Barandun. “Smaller airlines which don’t tend to have a separate bag drop counter will have to increase their self-service offers so that we can really move towards a true common bag drop. I think this solution will develop among airlines who don’t have the same volumes as a legacy carrier would.”

The question for legacy carriers operating under an alliance umbrella is whether a common bag drop would be viable where the airline will lose its dedicated branding.
Jamie Cassidy, British Airways’ general manager, Airline Partners, explained: “The common bag drop depends on which airport it is and how important it is to the carrier as to how an airline invests in its branding. An airline operating once a day to a leisure destination wouldn’t invest in its own branding as much as an airline with heavy business.”

Furthermore, the Star Alliance serves as the major brand identity at Zurich airport, in contrast with the oneworld alliance, which sits under British Airways’ brand – airlines in this scenario will not want to lose their branding, added Cassidy. “British Airways would invest more in individual brands than the SkyTeam – we find this is what our own customers want and is something we need to take into account,” he added.

This view is shared by IATA’s Paul Behan: “At baggage, we don’t believe branding is all that important. An airline at their home airport will probably always have dedicated solutions due to frequency and volume of traffic, but at many airports where they have several flights per day, the arguments for common-use become compelling. Additionally, it has to be right from a product and operational perspective too.”

Cassidy conceded that there is still some way to go until airlines reach the same standard with self-service check-in and bag drop. “While as an airline, we are comfortable with the notion of bag drop and self-service, for a common bag drop to happen, you also need co-location. At London Heathrow’s Terminal 3, the oneworld alliance is in the same building but not in the same area and they offer a mix of short and long haul services. I can see the common bag drop developing over time, but where there is co-location and synergy,” he explained.

Zurich airport’s common bag drop, which is installed in the check-in 1 terminal area where Swiss and Star Alliance members are grouped, is facing this challenge as it tries to roll out the application to its check-in 2 area. “In check-in 2, we face a situation with multiple handlers and airlines from multiple alliances – this makes it hard to deploy a common system for everyone. A common bag drop will mean common bag drop per alliance – the time for a ‘true’ common bag drop for any airline is yet to come,” said Thomas Vogel, Zurich airport’s project manager. The success of any common bag drop solution also depends on strong relations between handling agents, airlines and the airport, he said. “We have a close collaboration with Swissport and are working with The Airport Technologies (APT) to look at how to improve the common bag drop process and optimize services in areas like bag drop software, automated bag drop and RFID tagging.”

Bag tagging improvements

Thomas Vogel, Zurich airport’s project manager: “We have a close collaboration with Swissport and are working with The Airport Technologies (APT) to look at how to improve the common bag drop process and optimize services in areas like bag drop software, automated bag drop and RFID tagging.”

Susan Prediger, vice president of US-based CAGE Inc, whose specialist services include automated baggage handling systems at airports, believes there is still some time before the common bag drop solution takes off. “The ongoing pilot programs and industry studies will need to resolve issues such as security, visibility of charges, tag printing and application and wayfinding.”

Nick Gates, SITA’s Baggage Portfolio Director added that most airlines’ kiosk applications don’t support bag tag printing and often kiosks don’t have the ability to print bag tags.

As new solutions develop, ensuring a standard will be a further challenge. Compared to Brock Solutions’ common bag drop, where passengers print and apply their own bag tags from a kiosk before dropping off their bag, Zurich airport’s Swissport/SITA solution requires an agent from the Star Alliance to print the tag on behalf of the passenger. Zurich airport is using its common-use bag drop to test methods of RFID tagging in different scenarios, with both an automated and manned bag drop.

According to Brock, regulatory approval for passenger self-tagging is a further obstacle, particularly in the US. “A rule exception was provided for Aéroports de Montréal, however, a rule change is desired so that other airlines and airports can implement bag drops where the passenger applies the bag tag themselves,” said Brock. “We will eventually see high-speed bag drops in many major airports being used by most carriers. In time, as the act of dropping off a bag becomes a fast trivial process, airlines may become more open to the idea of a common bag drop outside of alliances if the bag drops prove that the passenger is there for such a short amount of time that branding is not needed.”

Airports of the future or terminal expansions are likely to make better use of space as new technologies, improvements in bag tags and common-use self-service methods continue to evolve.

CAGE’s Susan Prediger agrees that common use bag drop solutions have a positive future in the long-term. “IT and common-use self-service trends will shift baggage handling paradigms – the future will offer more choices from airports and airlines using shared processes, with better control of operating costs through flexible infrastructure improvements in syncronisation and staff, and closer collaboration among stakeholders,” said Prediger.

Airports of the future or terminal expansions are likely to make better use of space as new technologies, improvements in bag tags and common-use self-service methods continue to evolve. “Architects can draw in these common bag drops and use the newly ‘acquired’ space for more shopping or concessions, which can increase the revenue for an airport,” said Brock.

Mobiqa’s mobi-pass service is now ‘live’ with Northwest and Qatar Airways and is in the trial stage with a number of other airlines in Europe and the Middle East.

It has been reported that by 2010 60% of airlines will offer mobile check-in, a development that is inevitably linked with IATA’s target for 100% Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP) by 2010. The drive to achieve 100% BCBP means more airports will be mobile-enabled; the target for BCBP is an enabler of mobile check-in. “Most airlines that are implementing BCBP are also looking at mobile check-in. If airlines make mobile check-in available there will be no reservations from passengers as it is so convenient,” said Ronnie Forbes, founder and chief technical officer, Mobiqa.

Both iPhone and BlackBerry sold more than 6MM units in Q3 2008; that is particularly significant as they are devices that are typically sold with data plans attached.

Alon Kronenberg, IBM’s Practice Lead – Mobile Applications, believes that if mobile check-in is defined as the ability to receive a BCBP on your mobile – even if the check-in transaction itself took place in a different channel – then the 60% figure is certainly possible.

IBM has several initiatives underway; last year it added support for SMS-based check-in, where the check-in transaction transpires entirely through an exchange of text messages between the passenger and the airline. “We believe this approach will resonate in emerging markets where data plans for mobile devices are not as readily available as they are in Europe and North America,” said Kronenberg. “We are also looking at further tailoring our mobile check-in offering to automatically adapt itself to the look, feel and input methods of the target device, thus delivering a more natural user experience.”

Ronnie Forbes, founder and chief technical officer, Mobiqa: “We have also been expanding our airline product suites. We have a vision of the completely mobilized passenger – for the complete journey from reservation to check-in, flight alerts and revenue-generating ideas.”

Real Time’s technical director Alaistair Deacon believes that by the end of 2010, we will see mobile check-in as a regular option. “However, I’m not sure it will become the dominant check-in mode. Into 2011, we will see maybe 30-50% of passengers moving from remote check-in to mobile check-in,” he said.

It was announced in February that Austrian Airlines has launched Real Time’s paperless mobile phone boarding solution FirstPass, which was previously successfully trialed and rolled out in the UK by bmi. “Put simply, a passenger using FirstPass no longer needs to queue to check-in, use a kiosk or even find a printer to print an online paper boarding pass. One mobile boarding pass will give a passenger everything he/she needs to board an aircraft via security with additional information displayed as text for inspection once on board,” said Deacon. “FirstPass also provides additional benefits such as sending passengers immediate flight updates to their mobiles or, for low-cost carriers, delivery as a premium service to increase passenger revenues.”

FirstPass uses WAP Push and MMS technology to deliver a boarding pass directly to the passenger’s mobile phone. Real Time’s technology then ensures that the boarding pass and 2D barcode are sized correctly.

David Reszner, Austrian Airlines’ ground product development manager, said: “We are delighted to be one of the first European airlines to introduce mobile phone boarding passes. We were looking for a mobile solution that would not only improve the service we offer our customers but, over time, would also reduce our costs. Real Time’s FirstPass solution has met all our requirements and we are excited at the prospect of rolling out this groundbreaking technology across our whole network.”

Mobile vision

Real Time’s technical director Alaistair Deacon: “Put simply, a passenger using FirstPass no longer needs to queue to check-in, use a kiosk or even find a printer to print an online paper boarding pass. One mobile boarding pass will give a passenger everything he/she needs to board an aircraft via security with additional information displayed as text for inspection once on board.”

Swissport has been looking at mobile check-in possibilities. It is implementing the mobile boarding pass into web check-in for its biggest customer – Swiss. “It is not a pure mobile application, but removes the need for a printer. It is the first step towards pure mobile check-in,” said Rico Barandun, Head e-Services, BOE, Swissport.

The Swiss application will be rolled out in June 2009. Development was completed in April and followed by two months of testing.

Mobiqa’s mobi-pass service is now ‘live’ with Northwest and Qatar Airways and is in the trial stage with a number of other airlines in Europe and the Middle East. Forbes reports that the trials have been very successful and those airlines are looking to go into live operation. “NWA, which went live with the service in May 2008, is rapidly expanding the mobile check-in service across airports in the US; Qatar Airways is extending it across different countries. This is now becoming recognized as the best practice mobile check-in,” he said.

NWA has extended the capability of its offering so that whether the passenger checks in via the web, via their mobile or on a kiosk, they receive their boarding pass on their mobile phone. “We have also been expanding our airline product suites. We have a vision of the completely mobilized passenger – for the complete journey from reservation to check-in, flight alerts and revenue-generating ideas,” said Forbes.

Revenue opportunities

There are revenue opportunities to be gained from mobile applications; these are predominantly likely to be upselling opportunities. “With mobile, adverts can be interactive – the user can make a rental car or hotel booking, for example. It is ‘the kiosk in your pocket’. Airlines are very happy to have revenue-generating ideas,” said Forbes.

Kronenberg explained that many airlines have gone through the process of unbundling services to generate ancillary revenue. “I believe the mobile channel presents a unique opportunity to further realize that revenue stream, since mobile – unlike any other channel – offers the prospect for interaction at any time,” he said. “For instance, I am likely to be a great deal more amenable to purchasing a lounge pass if offered – perhaps at a nominal discount – when notified of a delay on my mobile than I might have been weeks earlier at the time of booking.”

Advertising and retail opportunities will, according to Forbes, come in the first half of this year, with SMS text alerts tied into the offering. “The concept of the fully mobilized passenger is gradually being implemented. The ability to use mobile phones onboard, such as the recent Ryanair/OnAir deal, opens up opportunities to prepay for inflight F&B. If airlines can capture that revenue on booking, it means they don’t have to handle cash onboard,” he said. “We recently did a trial of this with OnAir; this was very successful and we are now in discussions with them about proposing discounts at duty free, for example, to the airlines.”

Kronenberg similarly referenced the possibilities relating to duty free and F&B. “I would not be surprised to see something along those lines piloted soon – especially around duty free,” he said. “I do believe that mobile devices offer a unique opportunity to generate ancillary revenue. Similarly, I expect the passenger’s mobile device to quickly become his/her primary point of interaction with the airline for many – if not most – CRM-related initiatives.”

Swissport has been looking at mobile check-in possibilities. It is implementing the mobile boarding pass into web check-in for its biggest customer – Swiss.

Deacon highlighted another potential revenue area – the possibility to offer a premium rate service on domestic routes. Real Time, for example, offers First Pass as a premium rate service. Instead of the airline paying for the mobile boarding pass, the provider would pay the airline and then make money by charging the passenger for sending the message containing the boarding pass.

An additional benefit of mobile technology indicated by Forbes is that if the traveler has a multi-sector journey and misses their connection because the inbound flight is delayed – mobile technology means the airline can automatically rebook the passenger and issue them a boarding pass, which is a popular objective of airlines.

Unique mobile interaction

IBM believes that the mobile channel will play a significant role in a number of areas; not only check-in, but also as far as booking, day-of-travel – flight status, delay notifications, etc – and even inflight. “However, one must realize that simply shrinking an existing web application to fit into a smaller mobile screen will not yield success, it is truly imperative to re-think each of these functionalities and re-shape them to leverage the unique nature of the mobile channel,” said Kronenberg. “We are focused on enabling the mobile channel beyond check-in. We are identifying what other airline functions/processes can be transformed to leverage the unique mobile interaction and are building associated applications. Essentially, we are looking at ways of helping our customers transform their mobile channel from a mixture of various disjointed schemes to a single and consistent initiative that will transform, in a very significant way, how they interact with their customers.”