Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) announced enhancements to its Baggage Reconciliation System (BRS) featuring more detailed information about baggage handling requirements for incoming flights, real-time monitoring and alerts of service level agreements (SLAs), and a mobile app to provide passengers with live updates on when and where to collect their bags.

The Unisys Baggage Reconciliation System is available from Unisys as a managed service to airlines, airports and authorities responsible for the security of air passenger baggage.

The Unisys Baggage Reconciliation System links passengers with their bags, tracking both as they move through the system, helping airlines comply with industry security requirements which decree unaccompanied baggage can’t travel ahead of the passenger.

When passengers check in their luggage, each bag receives a barcode, which is then scanned and reconciled with a passenger record before the bag is loaded onto the aircraft. Permanent RFID bag tags are processed in the same way. As the airline has a record of the baggage loading order, bags can be quickly identified and recovered if passengers fail to board, preventing costly and annoying flight delays.

Mr. Olivier Houri, President and General Manager, Global Transportation, Unisys said the Unisys BRS is an example of how processes implemented to primarily comply with security requirements can be harnessed to improve business operations and therefore provide true business benefits. “The BRS helps ground handlers process arriving baggage quickly, providing a better customer experience for air travelers while helping airlines and airports utilize their resources more efficiently,” Mr. Houri said.

A new feature of the Unisys BRS is a mobile app to improve the passenger’s experience by providing real-time relevant information about their bags. Available on Apple iOS and Android devices, the app allows travellers to receive alerts advising when their bag has been loaded onto the belt. If the Unisys BRS is integrated with the airport’s Flight Information Display System (FIDS), the app can also advise when, and at what carousel, the bag will be available to be collected from. Passengers can then decide whether to go directly to the baggage area or spend time in the airport’s shops or restaurants.

Other new features of the Unisys Baggage Reconciliation System include:

Inbound baggage reconciliation. The latest BRS provides a comprehensive view of all incoming flights and their baggage load arriving at the airport for a given airline. The BRS analysis tools give ground handlers insight into staff statistics, demand peaks and the number of bags to be loaded or unloaded to help schedule the appropriate number of people to process the bags on arrival.

Baggage information is updated in real-time as bags are offloaded from aircraft, allowing the destination airport to identify which bags should remain onboard if going on to another port and to more quickly process any mishandled bags so they can be reunited with their passenger.

Inbound baggage service level performance monitoring and analysis. Using an advanced rules-based engine, the Unisys BRS records baggage handling performance and displays color coded indicators showing performance against agreed service levels. Typically these SLAs track the time taken for the first and last bags of a flight to be processed, or by seat class where baggage belonging to first or business class passengers is to be processed within a specific timeframe. The real-time information allows early and proactive action if extra staff are required to meet the service level agreement. As it can be accessed via tablet devices ground handling staff can make informed decisions on the ground.

The baggage handling information can also be analyzed after the flight to determine if changes need to be made in the way baggage is loaded at the departing port, to identify peak periods so shift changeovers and breaks are scheduled at appropriate times, and to track the individual performance of ground handling staff against key performance indicators for their job role.

The Unisys Baggage Reconciliation System is currently used by 17 airports and 38 airlines across Asia Pacific including members of the Board of Airline Representatives Australia and Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand.