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65 Computer simulation analyses were performed to estimate facility requirements for selected concepts: (1) a process-based departures hall concept and (2) a landside concept, the bag- check plaza. Rather than develop representative computer sim- ulation models, it was determined that it was more effective to use existing datasets of actual U.S. airports so that realistic estimates could be obtained for the selected concepts. The objectives of the computer simulation analyses were to esti- mate operational benefits and facility requirements. Process-Based Departures Hall Concept Simulation Analysis The three-lane check-in concept was simulated to estimate the check-in position requirements based on the process- based departures hall innovation. This concept consists of three components for departing passengers, using different access points depending on their service requirements: 1. Full-service counters, 2. Self-service bag drop, and 3. Self-service devices. Objective The objective of the simulation analysis was to identify the number of check-in positions required for the three com- ponents. Both a one-step check-in process and a two-step check-in process were analyzed. ⢠For the one-step process, it was assumed that the self- service check-in and bag-drop operations would occur together as one process. The average processing time was calculated as a weighted average of bag drop only (Internet check-in passengers with bags); self-service check-in with bags; and self-service check-in without bags. ⢠For the two-step process, it was assumed that the passenger would first use the self-service device for check-in, then proceed to a second location for self-service bag drop. Methodology Three scenarios were reviewed to show the impact on the terminal of a three-lane check-in facility. 1. The first scenario (or baseline) identifies the number of positions required for each component if each airline maintains dedicated positions. There would be no dedi- cated self-service bag drop in place for the one-step process (todayâs environment), while self-service bag drop was assumed for the two-step process. 2. The second scenario identifies the maximum number of common-use positions by type when each airline is assigned check-in positions that vary by demand through- out the day. (This is similar to todayâs implementation of common-use facilities, where an airline is allocated check-in positions for a block of time to accommodate its flights.) 3. The third scenario identifies the number of positions re- quired for the âprocess-basedâ approach, where all airlines would share common positions. Two datasets of existing airport passenger terminals were used to evaluate the departures hall concept. One dataset (Airport A) is a single concourse within the airport, with three commercial passenger airlines serving just fewer than 2 million annual enplaned passengers. The second dataset (Airport B) incorporated operations by seven commercial passenger airlines forecast to serve just fewer than 7 million annual enplaned passengers. Assumptions Airport A On average, originating passengers arrive at the airport 110 min prior to a departing flight scheduled before 9:00 A.M., and 115 min prior to a departing flight scheduled after 9:00 A.M. Table A-1 shows the assumptions for passenger A P P E N D I X Simulation Analysis Results
check-in locations, and Table A-2 shows the average check- in processing time by component. Airport B On average, originating passengers arrive at the airport 60 min prior to a departing flight scheduled before 9:00 A.M. and 74 min prior to a departing flight scheduled after 9:00 A.M. Tables A-3, A-4, and A-5 show the assumptions for passenger check-in locations for a low-cost carrier and for other airlines with and without the use of curbside check-in. Table A-6 shows the average check-in processing times by component. Description of Simulation Models Airport A Airport A has an average of 1.6 passengers per group, with an average of 0.9 checked bags per passenger group. In the departures peak-hour, there are 8 departing flights and 566 originating passengers. All three airlines at this facility are 66 Passenger Type Type of Positions With Check Baggage Without Check Baggage Full-service counters 26.8% 11.4% Self-service devices 28.6 36.4 Internet 44.6 52.2 Type of Positions Average Processing Time (minutes) Full-service counters 3.4 Self-service bag drop1 1.5 Self-service device 2.1 Self-service device + bag drop2 1.6 1 The self-service bag-drop processing time is estimated at approximately 70% of kiosk processing time. 2 When the two check-in functions are combined at one kiosk for the one-step process, the processing time is a weighted average time for passengers checking-in with and without check bags and passengers with check bags who obtained boarding passes on the Internet. Passenger Type Type of Positions With Check Baggage Without Check Baggage Full-service counters 18.8% 13.5% Self-service device 15.3 39.1 Internet 57.3 41.2 Curbside1 8.6 6.2 1 It was assumed that all curbside check-in passengers would use the self-service devices. Table A-1. Airport A passenger and baggage check-in locations (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-2. Airport A average check-in processing times by passenger group and location (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-3. Airport B passenger and baggage check-in locations for a low-cost carrier (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Passenger Type Type of Positions With Check Baggage Without Check Baggage Full-service counters 20.5% 18.9% Self-service device 30.9 36.4 Internet 38.9 35.8 Curbside1 9.7 8.9 1 It was assumed that all curbside check-in passengers would use the self-service devices Table A-4. Airport B passenger and baggage check-in locations for other airlines with curbside check-in (source: TransSolutions, LLC).
legacy carriers, with the peak hours occurring at approximately the same time of day. Airport B Airport B has an average of 1.3 passengers per group, with an average of 1.1 checked bags per passenger group. In the de- partures peak-hour, there are 18 departing flights and 2,093 originating passengers. The seven airlines operating at this airport terminal include both legacy carriers and low-cost carriers. One predominant airline has approximately half of the market share at this airport. Results Airport A Under the first scenario, with individual check-in positions allocated to the three airlines on a long-term basis (although each airline may not require the number of allocated positions except during certain periods of the day), nine full-service positions are required for both the one-step and the two- step processes, while the two-step process requires 25% more self-service check-in devices (12 SSDs) than the one-step process (9 SSDs). Under the second scenario, representing todayâs common- use environment where check-in positions are allocated by airline throughout the day to meet the airlinesâ flight schedule and/or hourly passenger demand, there would be a small savings in the number of both full-service positions and self- service kiosks. Under the third scenario, with a process-based approach, the required number of full-service check-in positions would be reduced to five, a 45% reduction compared with the first scenario; however, the number of self-service positions would remain about the same. Table A-7 summarizes the check-in position requirements for the one-step process, and Table A-8 summarizes the find- ings for the two-step process. Since the three airlines at Airport A all have peak depar- ture hours at approximately the same time, a similar number of self-service devices would be required with the process-based approach as with dedicated facilities (todayâs scenario). However, there would be a significant (45%) reduction in the number of required full-service check-in positions. Airport B Under the first scenario, with individual check-in positions allocated to the seven airlines on a long-term basis (although each airline may not require the number of positions allocated except during certain periods of the day), 17 full-service coun- ters would be required for both the one-step and the two-step processes, while the two-step process would require 15% fewer self-service check-in devices (44 SSDs) than the one-step process (52 SSDs). Under the second scenario, representing todayâs common- use environment where check-in positions are allocated 67 Passenger Type Type of Positions With Check Baggage Without Check Baggage Full-service counters 22.7% 20.9% Self-service device 34.2 39.5 Internet 43.1 39.6 Type of Positions Average Processing Time(minutes) 1 Full-service counters 2.3 Self-service bag drop 1.4 Self-service device 1.3 Self-service device + bag drop 2.4 1 The combination of a low-cost carrier and other airline processing times. Table A-5. Airport B passenger and baggage check-in locations for other airlines without curbside check-in (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-6. Average check-in processing times by location (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Number of Positions Type of Positions Scenario 1 Positions Dedicated to Each Airline Scenario 2 Todayâs Common Use Scenario 3 Process-based Full-service counters 9 8 5 Self-service device 9 9 9 Table A-7. Summary of check-in position requirements: Airport A one-step process (source: TransSolutions, LLC).
by airline throughout the day to meet the airlinesâ flight schedules and/or hourly passenger demand, there would be a small savings in the number of full-service check-in positions (15 compared with 17 above) and in the number of self-service kiosks (41 SSDs for the one-step process and 37 SSDs for the two-step process). Under the third scenario, with a process-based approach, only 10 full-service check-in positions would be requiredâ a 40% reduction compared with the first scenario; like- wise, the number of required self-service positions would be reduced to 37 SSDs for the one-step process and 28 SSDs for the two-step process. For the one-step process, the re- quirement for SSDs would be reduced by about 29%, and for the two-step process, the requirements would be re- duced by 47% for SSDs and 31% for self-service baggage check. Table A-9 summarizes the check-in equipment requirements for the one-step process, and Table A-10 summarizes the re- quirements for the two-step process. As the airlines at Airport B have different peak departure hours, significant reductions in check-in equipment would be realized in the process-based departures hall. The check- in devices used predominantly by one airlineâs passengers at one time of day would be used by other airlinesâ passengers at other times. This sharing of facilities shows that an exist- ing airport departures hall (with dedicated airline check-in equipment) can accommodate a significant increase in the number of passengers by adopting a process-based approach. Landside Bag-Check Plaza Concept Simulation Analysis Operations in the bag-check plaza were simulated to estimate the numbers of self-service check-in positions and parking/ queue positions required to accommodate passenger demand. The impact on the terminal check-in hall of providing a bag- check plaza was also analyzed. Methodology The dataset used in this simulation analysis represents a medium-hub airport with a high percentage of POVs. Ex- isting demand (from 2002) at one domestic terminal was approximately 1,200 peak-hour enplaned passengers on 11 peak-hour aircraft departures. The bag-check plaza was evaluated with different numbers of check-in stations to de- termine requirements to meet demand. Three scenarios were tested. 68 Number of Positions Type of Positions Scenario 1 Positions Dedicated to Each Airline Scenario 2 Todayâs Common Use Scenario 3 Process-based Full-service counters 9 8 5 Self-service device 6 5 5 Self-service bag drop 6 5 6 Table A-8. Summary of check-in position requirements: Airport A two-step process (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Number of Positions Type of Positions Scenario 1 Positions Dedicated to Each Airline Scenario 2 Todayâs Common Use Scenario 3 Process-based Full-service counters 17 15 10 Self-service device 52 41 37 Number of Positions Type of Positions Scenario 1 Positions Dedicated to Each Airline Scenario 2 Todayâs Common Use Scenario 3 Process-based Full-service counters 17 15 10 Self-service device 15 13 8 Self-service bag drop 29 24 20 Table A-9. Summary of check-in position requirements: Airport B one-step process (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-10. Summary of check-in position requirements: Airport B two-step process (source: TransSolutions, LLC).
1. Scenario 1: 8 bag-drop positions using a 60%/20%/20% split: ⢠60% of POV passengers with check baggage proceed to the bag-check plaza, then park. ⢠20% of POV passengers with check baggage are dropped off at the curbside first to use full-service check-in, then park. ⢠20% of POV passengers with check baggage park, then use full-service check-in. ⢠POV passengers with no check bags park, then 20% use full-service check-in, while the other 80% obtain board- ing passes at an SSD or proceed directly to the SSCP. 2. Scenario 2: 8 bag-drop positions using a 40%/40%/20% split: ⢠40% of POV passengers with check baggage proceed to the bag-check plaza, then park. ⢠40% of POV passengers with check baggage are dropped off at the curbside first to use full-service check-in, then park. ⢠20% of POV passengers with check baggage park, then use full-service check-in. ⢠POV passengers with no check bags park, then 20% use full-service check-in, while the other 80% obtain board- ing passes at an SSD or proceed directly to the SSCP. 3. Scenario 3: 12 bag-drop positions using a 60%/20%/20% split: ⢠60% of POV passengers with check baggage proceed to the bag-check plaza, then park. ⢠20% of POV passengers with check baggage are dropped off at the curbside first to use full-service check-in, then park. ⢠20% of POV passengers with check baggage park, then use full-service check-in. ⢠POV passengers with no check bags park, then 20% use full-service check-in, while the other 80% obtain board- ing passes at an SSD or proceed directly to the SSCP. The process evaluated in the simulation modeling included passengers parking their vehicles in available spaces, unloading their check bag(s), and walking to the self-service bag-drop position to check their bag(s). After check-in, the passengers walk back to their vehicles and drive away to park. Assumptions Table A-11 shows the locations where passengers/baggage first come into contact with airline staff for check-in. âAirline 1â is a low-cost carrier with different characteristics than the other airlines. The âgateâ location represents passengers who checked-in through the Internet prior to arrival at the terminal. Table A-12 shows the average check-in processing times by passenger class and location. The same processing time distribution was used for the bag-check plaza and curbside check-in. Description of Simulation Models The departure peak-hour operations include 11 departing flights with 1,192 enplaned passengers. Four airlines operate at this terminal, including one low-cost carrier. The terminal has an average of 1.4 passengers per group, with an average of 1.3 checked bags per passenger group. Originating passen- gers arrive at the airport on average 90 min prior to departure for flights scheduled before 8:30 A.M. and 110 min prior to de- parture for flights scheduled after 8:30 A.M. 69 Location Passengers Baggage Airline 1 Other Airlines Airline 1 Other Airlines Curbside 7.3% 17.4% 21.4% 20.1% ATO 41.1 73.3 78.6 76.6 Kiosk 0.0 5.6 0.0 3.3 Gate 51.6 3.7 N/A N/A ATO = Airline Ticket Office; N/A = Not applicable Average Processing Time (minutes) Passenger Class/Location Airline 1 1 Other Airlines First/business class â 2.6 Coach 2.3 3.7 Curbside 3.2 3.2 1 Airline 1 is a low-cost carrier and does not offer first/business class check-in. Table A-11. Passenger and baggage âfirst contactâ locations (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-12. Average check-in processing times by passenger class and check-in location (source: TransSolutions, LLC).
Table A-13 shows the transportation mode distribution used in the model. Table A-14 shows the distribution of the first point-of-contact locations for POVs. Table A-15 shows the distribution of parking facilities used by passengers that arrive at the airport by POV and park. Table A-16 shows the distribution of private vehicle load and unload times at the airport. This distribution times will be used only for passengers using the bag-check plaza. Results Table A-17 shows the total time passengers would be in the bag-check plaza, the maximum number of parking spaces needed for vehicles in the bag-check plaza, the number of check-in positions, and the average numbers of vehicles per position for the three scenarios. The analysis shows that increasing the number of positions by 50% (from 8 to 12 positions) would reduce the time spent in the bag-check plaza and the number of vehicles waiting in the queue. Scenario 1 would not provide the number of bag-drop positions to effectively meet demand. Scenarios 2 and 3 would both meet demand, providing acceptable times for this check-in process. Of the 6.6 min, on average, passengers would spend in the bag-check plaza, processing accounts for just over 6 minâunloading from the vehicle, walking to the bag-check position, checking in, walking back to the vehicle, and loading into the vehicle. Only 30 sec of the average bag- check plaza time were spent waiting or queuing. Inside the terminal check-in hall, the maximum passenger queues would be reduced by 50% or more. Meanwhile, the tra- ditional curbside check-in queues would be similarly reduced. To serve the 1,200 enplaning passengers with 77% in POVs, 8 bag-check positions would be adequate if 40% of the POVs use the bag-check plaza. If the bag-check plaza use increases to 60%, then 12 positions would be required. For each check- in position, approximately four or five parking spaces should be provided for vehicle staging. 70 Transportation Mode Percent Private car 77.1 Rental car 14.4 Taxicab 2.3 Limousine 1.0 Door-to-door van 2.8 Hotel/motel courtesy vehicle 2.3 Chartered bus 0.1 Location of First Point of Contact Percent To the curb, then exit 48.9 To the curb, then off-airport parking 0.8 To the curb, then parking or rental car return 2.9 To parking or rental car return 47.4 Parking Facility Percent Terminal 67.5 Airport remote 18.0 Off-airport 2.3 *The remaining 12.2% are private vehicles that do not utilize on-airport parking facilities. Bag-check Plaza Average Load/Unload Time(seconds) Private vehicle load time 96.5 Private vehicle unload time 76.2 Table A-13. Transportation mode distribution (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-14. Private vehicle first point-of-contact locations (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Table A-15. Private vehicle parking facility distribution (source: TransSolutions, LLC).* Table A-16. Average Vehicle load/unload times at the bag-check plaza (source: TransSolutions, LLC). Time in Bag-check Plaza (minutes) Scenario (Share of passengers using bag- check plaza/number of positions) Average 95th% Max. Maximum Parking Spaces Needed Number of Positions Average Vehicles per Position Scenario 1 (60%/8) 24.24 53.0 72.2 146 8 19 Scenario 2 (40%/8) 6.6 11.7 21.7 36 8 5 Scenario 3 (60%/12) 6.6 11.7 24.3 51 12 5 Table A-17. Bag-check plaza summary (source: TransSolutions, LLC).
