No More Lost Bags

Revolutionizing Baggage Operations with Advanced Data
Analytics and Tribal Knowledge

Our collaboration with United Airlines produced three innovative concepts for streamlining baggage operations, enhancing passenger experience and supporting the company's growth. Our forward-looking approach differentiates United Airlines in a highly competitive industry.

Meeting the Challenge of Revived Travel Demand

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines faced unprecedented challenges and had to adjust their scale and offerings. The good news for airlines in 2022 is that travel demand is rapidly returning. However, airlines are facing increasing pressure to operate efficiently despite a shortage of staff, in order to maintain the trust of their customers.

No More Lost Bags

In 2022, cases of baggage mishandling have surged, leaving travelers with a negative impression. Passengers crave a hassle-free experience where they don't have to worry about lost luggage or any other unexpected surprises. Mishandled baggage can quickly erode the trust of passengers, resulting in lost loyalty.

Barriers to Efficiency in Baggage Operations:
Enhancing Collaboration and Data Collection

Despite modern technological advancements, baggage operations in the airline industry have largely remained unchanged for years. Valuable information is lost as data collection is currently not a priority, and physical paper tags offer no backup. The reliance on experienced baggage handlers hinders knowledge sharing and efficiency. Additionally, the baggage process is operated in silos based on customer touchpoints, highlighting the importance of collaboration and analyzing the entire process. These factors prevent United Airlines from improving their baggage operations.

Future-Proofing Baggage Operations:

A Three-Phase Approach

Our service will be introduced in three phases from a short-to-long-term perspective. The first phase, at-home baggage check-in, can be implemented as soon as possible. The second phase involves the gradual adoption of smart bag tags. Finally, in the long term, we plan to develop a Baggage Assistive Guidance System to codify employee knowledge on baggage handling.

At home baggage check in

To fast track the user experience at the airport and to gain more data to plan baggage travel ahead of time, we asked passengers to scan bags in our system at home.

Smart tags

We wanted to assess the tag of the future, while still maintaining ease of integration into the current airline industry. These options ranged from disposable RFID tags, permanent tags or collaborations with suitcase manufacturers to build tags into the bags.

Baggage Assistive Guidance System

By combining the collected baggage data with the knowledge on how to best handle them, we proposed a system that codifies employee know-how and presents it through an Augmented Reality (AR) headset that guides employees with in-context instructions on what bags to load, and what to be on the lookout for.

Living Labs: Pioneering the Future of Baggage Operations with Confidence

Our solution to the barriers hindering efficiency in baggage operations involves introducing three innovative concepts as Living Labs. These open innovation tools facilitate the exchange of valuable feedback and new ideas from stakeholders, providing evidence to confidently move forward with futuristic ideas. Through the Living Labs approach, United Airlines can create traceable, adaptive systems for baggage through diverse customer touchpoints. This enables us to imagine new futures and inspire United Airlines staff to develop further for successful implementation.