Baggage Tag System - Foolproof?

[Cocitus23]

A couple of years ago I flew from MEL to IAD via LAX. My bag did not arrive at IAD, and the reason may be of interest to others.
When checking in I have a habit of glancing at the baggage tag just to check that the airport codes printed in large font do in fact correspond to my itinerary. I assumed this would ensure that the bags would arrive at my destination unless there is some human error or equipment malfunction. But I discovered that my assumption was wrong. Here's what happened:
I checked in at MEL with Qantas for QF93 to LAX, connecting onto UA123 to IAD. (I forget the actual flight number, but 123 will do for the purposes of this tale. The carrier was certainly United.) There was ample connect time. I checked that the tag read LAX, IAD.
When I arrived at LAX, after passing through US Immigration, I collected my bag and proceeded to Customs, after which I re-consigned my bag. I took my UA flight to IAD, but the bag did not arrive. I told the story to the UA Baggage Services desk. Their first reaction was to blame Qantas. I asserted that I believed the fault definitely lay with United, because I had personally seen the bag at LAX, and had handed it over to UA there. As it turned out, I was wrong.
The next day I received a call from United telling me that the bag had been located at MCO and that they would get it to me later that day. They did, so all was well.
Fortunately, the original tag attached at MEL was still on the bag and I wondered why it had gone to MCO when the tag clearly said IAD. Then I read the smaller print on the tag and I saw that the flight numbers were entered as QF93/UA213, ie 213 instead of 123. OK, so the Qantas check-in officer at MEL had made a simple key stroke error. I checked on the United schedules and saw that they did indeed have a flight UA213 leaving LAX for MCO at about the same time as UA 123 for IAD.

What the episode told me was:

1. The bar code contains the flight numbers and this is what determines the destination, not the airport code; and
2. The system has no internal check to verify that the specified flight actually serves the specified airport.

I reported this incident to Qantas. Maybe the system has been upgraded. Does anyone know if this is the case? Has anyone else had a similar incident?

 

[chrisb]

I would have thought that positive bag matching would have seen your luggage kicked off the flight - unless it was a long time ago.

 

[Cocitus23]

Nice observation, chrisb, and of course you are correct. But the end result would be the same, my bag would not have arrived at IAD.
I was prompted to make the original post because a friend mentioned that he always put faith in a tag check of the destination airport. Now that's a good idea, and I still do it, but I was trying to make the point that it had not always proven sufficient to guarantee success. The failure of the software, at that time, to check destination against flight number seemed to me like a shortcoming which could have easily been overcome. I was wondering if it had been.
I can't recall when exactly the incident occurred, but upon reflection it was certainly more than the "couple of years" which I glibly stated simp[ly to indicate that it wasn't yesterday. More like 5 or 6 years, I would guess.

 

[chrisb]

But the end result would be the same, my bag would not have arrived at IAD.

Possibly, yeah.

Regardless of what I said, i work with software so i know that it could happen - For example, since you're not ticketed on the flight, nothing would be checking to see if you boarded and had luggage, but that wouldn't stop the (possibly airport controlled) baggage system seeing the bag tagged with that flight and shoving it in the right pile...

First rule of software engineering - never under estimate the ability of users to screw things up

 

[ozbeachbabe]

AFAIK the QF Altea checkin system would recognise the flight entered in error is not valid and give an appropriate response thereby prompting the checkin to double check the data typed in.

chrisb

I would have thought that positive bag matching would have seen your luggage kicked off the flight - unless it was a long time ago.

Interesting point that WRT noshows for thru checked bags on interlining flights (see documentary The Maltese Double Cross). The airline would have to practice 100% bag reconcilliation so when the baggage handler scans the bag tag prior to loading it, if pax was not checked in the error response would be "do not load" or something to that effect.

Not sure which airlines ex Australia practice this.

First rule of software engineering - never under estimate the ability of users to screw things up

Is it really that difficult to design software that would check a database of flights from all IATA airlines that would reject the input and not enter the flight (and subsequent erroneous bag tag) unless the flight number and destination matched???

It's not rocket science is it, mind you given that the destination was Orlando (Kennedy Space Center) perhaps it is! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


Cheers Oz

 

[chrisb]

Is it really that difficult to design software that would check a database of flights from all IATA airlines that would reject the input and not enter the flight (and subsequent erroneous bag tag) unless the flight number and destination matched???

Of course not, but budgets and time get in the way of doing things in the best possible way.

 

[serfty]

... also there would often be the situation where the database of flights and reality would not always match; the check-in software would need an override when the flight number could not be matched in the database.

So a check in person may get into the habit of simply automatically/subconsciously using the override whenever a flight number gets rejected rather than checking.

 

[davidj-bell]

Is it really that difficult to design software that would check a database of flights from all IATA airlines that would reject the input and not enter the flight (and subsequent erroneous bag tag) unless the flight number and destination matched???

It's not rocket science is it, mind you given that the destination was Orlando (Kennedy Space Center) perhaps it is! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


Cheers Oz

You would think... I caught a flight from LHR to HKG on QF, then changed (separate PNR) to a CX flight to PEN. I interlined my luggage all the way through, but the agent in London didn't know what the flight from HKG to PEN was (and neither did I), and she couldn't look it up on the system. I looked up an old itinerary with an incorrect flight number (for that day, the flight exists normally on other days) and the system accepted it. Once I got to the lounge, I realised my error. I got it sorted out at HKG and it turned up in PEN. My saving grace is that there is only one flight a day from HKG to PEN, so I knew it would end up there eventually.

 

[trooper]

OK... So it can STILL go astray... but I'd recommend continuing to "have a look" when the bag is being tagged... you can catch other erors...:mrgreen:

On a (admittedly complex almost "MR" type) series of flights this year I caught an error at check in where the bag was NOT tagged to my final destination....

..that was just from checking the airport codes on the tag as the agent started to attach it..

WHEW!!!!!.....:shock: