United Airlines Tests RFID to Speed Baggage and Passenger Check-In

Upon completion of the project, Star Alliance intends to determine whether to deploy the RFID baggage-tracking system at other airports and make it available to more passengers. "Based on customer feedback and our results, we will explore the best way to move forward," says Jeffrey Kovick, United Airlines' public relations manager. "The technology has the ability to decrease the average time it takes [a United passenger] to check a bag from around two minutes to a few seconds."

Star Alliance, Khan says, "has been looking into RFID from a cargo perspective, and an asset-tracking perspective, and we thought, 'Let's implement the technology in this area, to reduce check-in times.' The object is simplifying the process."

However, Khan notes, Star Alliance's longer-term goal is to implement the system globally for baggage tracking, as well as for passenger check-in service. "We all know the technology is there," he says. "Our challenge, as an alliance, is that RFID readers and other infrastructure are not in place at most airports." What's more, he adds, there are still several RFID standards in use in various parts of the world that might result in a tag provided in one country being unreadable in another.

"The approach we're taking," Khan states, "is to start by making the check-in process faster and more efficient." The next step, he says, will be discuss with airports the options involved in deploying RFID in their own terminals. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that mishandled luggage costs the airline industry almost $4 billion every year.

In late 2008, another Star Alliance member, Air New Zealand, began deploying RFID technology to improve customer service for its own passengers. The airline is issuing permanent, reusable boarding passes containing 13.56 MHz high-frequency passive RFID tags that enable its frequent flyers to check themselves in, enter passenger lounges and board their flight (see Air New Zealand Readies for RFID-enabled Boarding Passes).