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6Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers
Not all airports have recheck facilities; instead, some have their passengers check in to domes-
tic connections along with originating passengers. For example, some carriers at San Francisco
International Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airport have stopped using recheck
facilities due to staffing costs.
As a result, the elimination or reduction of baggage recheck is a byproduct of exempting con-
necting bags from appearing in the international arrivals hall.
Increasing Pressures
Limited time, space, and resources are some of the pressures that are facing international air-
ports. Moreover, this is the segment of air traffic that is forecasted to have the highest growth rates.
Based on facility guidelines from CBP, passengers and bags are reunited in the FIS facility. As a
result, baggage recheck facilities are offered to collect bags connecting to other flights. However,
this process reduces the effectiveness of U.S. international airports to act as hubs. The adoption
of liberalized traffic agreements, the growth and evolution of market partnerships and alliances,
and new aircraft technology have all combined to magnify the global nature of the airline business.
The market forces within the airline hub-and-spoke network serve to nurture and support an
environment where international arrivals translate into a subsequent set of connections to onward
domestic or international markets.
Connecting passenger growth and increased checked baggage are a direct result of new ser-
vices being introduced at U.S. hub airports. The numbers of connecting market itineraries
that are generated by a new spoke into a hub are impressive, whether it is Washington Dulles,
Houston, or Memphis. Over the last decade alone for United and its Star Alliance partners at
Washington Dulles, domestic markets have increased by 8 and international destinations have
increased by 18. When multiplied across a hub's entire service pattern, these numbers can trans-
late into thousands of potential international-to-domestic and international-to-international
connections.
The points above summarize the overall development of international services based on mar-
ket trends, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. The speed and consistency
at which passengers and their baggage can transit an airport is of increasing importance to the
growth of the hub-and-spoke model. In this context, airport and U.S. government agency pro-
cesses and resources governing connection traffic and their bags have a measurable impact.
For this reason, there is such a strong focus on facilitation initiatives in the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) aimed at
simplifying the business or enhancing the future travel experience. Recent initiatives by CBP to
foster a risk-based environment toward "seamless travel" are also part of this trend. The strength
of hubs and the continued role of connecting passengers in the airline marketplace is a key rea-
son why this research is timely and improvements are essential.
The "passenger experience" aspect for passengers is also increasing in prominence as passen-
gers have additional options. Surveys from airports and other leading studies on passenger opin-
ions continue to show reduced satisfaction corresponding with the number of times that bags
need to be handled during the course of a journey. For example, a 2010 SITA global passenger
survey showed that waiting for bags on arrival is the second most important area of air transport
in which passengers would like to see improvement (3). This dissatisfaction is exacerbated by the
need for international arrivals to recheck their bags only moments later when connecting through
a U.S. airport. Improving this experience by reducing or eliminating these steps is a goal that all
stakeholders--airports, airlines, and CBP--share.
