Rimowa’s E Ink-based label. Image:MekoAlthough it’s not much consolation if it’s your bag that has been mislaid, but there was a 12.5% drop in the number of bags that was lost last year – down to only 21.6 million bags from 3.77 billion passengers – that is 5.73 bags per thousand passengers, down from 6.53 in 2015. Since 2007, the number has dropped by 70% because of better technology. New regulations will be introduced from June 2018 that mandate that each bag has to be checked four times – at check-in, at loading, at transfer and on arrival. This should further reduce problems caused when baggage is transferred from one aircraft or carrier to another. 47% of the delay in bags in 2016 was caused by transfers.
Analyst Comment
Although this isn’t really a display story, we know that many of our readers are frequent flyers! I suspect that fewer travellers are taking hold baggage, these days, because of the actions of budget airlines, which may be contributing to the reduced rate of mis-handling.
The image is a picture we took of the integrated display in Rimowa luggage at the recent Passenger Terminal Expo. This kind of technology might help to reduce losses, although it’s an expensive option at the moment. I suspect it’s a “$100 solution to a $5 problem”. (BR)
