Airport Baggage Management Solutions

FirstBag is a new generation web-based Baggage Reconciliation System (BRS) which works in conjunction with an airline’s Departure Control System (DCS).

Each time that a passenger checks in a bag, it is allocated a unique bar code and the DCS sends a Baggage Source Message (BSM) to FirstBag containing the passenger and bag information.  The information is held in the FirstBag database and associated with the correct flight.  When the bag arrives in the baggage makeup room, the bar code is scanned using a hand-held terminal and a check is performed to ensure that it matches the passenger and flight information that is held in the database (i.e. correct flight, class, destination, and passenger). 

If the bag passes the check, FirstBag will authorise it for loading.  If loading staff attempt to load a bag into the wrong container, FirstBag will issue a warning and advise the correct location for the luggage; thus eliminating the ‘human error’ factor.

If a bag fails the check or has been previously scanned, FirstBag will raise an alarm and further action will be needed before the bag can be loaded.  This ensures that each bag loaded onto a flight has been positively reconciled and authorised.

FirstBag records the location of each bag that is loaded (i.e. container and position within the container).  This ensures that staff can quickly locate and offload luggage should the need arise (e.g. passenger is not travelling, or for security reasons).

Management staff can monitor the status of a flight using a workstation and easily identify any potential misconnected, missing, or unknown bags and take action to resolve the problem.

Once the flight has departed, staff at the destination airport can access the bag information and use it to plan and prioritise offloading (e.g. interline luggage for connecting flights).

All FirstBag features can be easily accessed using one screen containing a set of pages, each of which provides information and options regarding different aspects of luggage management and planning.

Departures

The majority of flight processing is performed from the Departures page, including adding flights, configuring ULDs and printing cards, monitoring bag loading and processing alerts, creating exception tags for bags (e.g. crew, rush), closing and authorising flights, and printing flight reports for management.

Arrivals

When flights have been processed by FirstBag at the departure airport, the Arrivals page allows ground staff at destination airports to view container and bag details of incoming flights.  Consequently, staff can be prepared to unload and transfer baggage in the most efficient manner when flights arrive.

Search

This enables staff to quickly locate current or historic baggage information in FirstBag by using a wide range of search criteria.  Partial matching will be applied to any criteria entered, which enables staff to type all or part of a criterion to conduct searches.  For instance, typing 00900 as criterion for a bag tag would retrieve information where those numbers were contained in that order anywhere within bag tag numbers (e.g. 0090064865 or 0056700900, or 0056009001).

Interline

The Interline page enables operational staff to compare incoming flights with outgoing and estimate the time that will be available to transfer bags to connecting flights.  The information is colour-coded to enable staff to quickly identify instances where there is a danger of bags misconnecting with onward flights.

Bagroom

The Bagroom page is used to view and process details of misconnected bags.  If it has not been possible to reconcile a bag that is on hold with the correct passenger and flight, it can be allocated an International Air Transport Association Routes Online (IATA ROL) code in this page, which will allow staff to extract data in the future to identify trends in misplaced baggage.

Open Flight

This feature provides a snapshot summary of the next eight flights and their status.  The number of bags that are on hold and outstanding for flights can be quickly identified, thus providing operations staff with the ability to react quickly and make informed decisions.  Typically, our customers display this screen on a large monitor in their operations room to provide staff with flight status information at a glance.

Analysis

This feature enables staff to produce flight performance statistics and reports which can be used to analyse current trends and improve efficiency. 

Maintenance

The Maintenance page is used to manage all static data for FirstBag, including airlines, airports, employees, flights, ground handlers, hold areas, IATA ROL reason groups, codes, and action codes (please see Bagroom above for details).

If you would like to discuss this product with a Zafire representative, please email us, or call us on 01295 701 810.