Number of ‘mishandled’ luggage comes down in 2008

Airlines around the world ‘mishandled’ 23 per cent less baggage in 2008 compared to 2007. The reason: Passengers generally carried fewer luggage in order to avoid fees for baggage as well as the latest technology the airlines used to monitor luggage.

According to the annual Baggage Report compiled by SITA, the world’s leading provider of information and telecommunication solutions for the air transport industry, the number of checked bags that was late, sent to the wrong place, damaged or lost dropped to 32.8 million in 2008 from 42.4 million in 2007.

And, this fall in the number of “mishandled” luggage was the first since SITA started publishing its annual luggage report in 2005.

SITA, based in Geneva, Switzerland, was founded in 1949 by 11 airlines. This

network of airlines, airports, freight companies and computer reservation systems is currently owned by 550 airlines as well as some airports.

A “mishandled” bag is defined as a report of a delayed, damaged and/or pilfered bag recorded by an airline, or its handling company, on behalf of a passenger, for handling as a claim.

SITA said in a statement that it compiled the Baggage Report using data and information on tends obtained from various surveys conducted around the world and that it works closely with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the international industry trade group of airlines, “to ensure completeness of facts, figures and analysis.”

“There is a clear trend across the industry,” SITA’s annual Baggage Report said, “towards encouraging passengers to lighten the load, with fewer and lighter bags, or, at the very least, ensuring that passengers pay the costs associated with checking-in baggage.”

The trend of charging for checked bags gathered momentum in 2006. Even many low-far carriers, including the Ireland-based Ryanair, which is Europe’s biggest budget airline, are levying fees for checked luggage in an effort to increase revenue in the time of economic recession.

American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, and the world’s second largest airline, started charging a fee of $25 for a second checked bag from early 2008. In June 2008, American Airlines added a fee of $15 for the first checked bag.

Other major United States-based carriers such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are among those charging for luggage.

In 2008, airlines around the world could reduce mishandled luggage to 18.86 items per 1,000 passengers compared to 14.28 items per 1,000 passengers in 2007. Also, the number of pieces that could not be recovered fell to 0.32 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2008 from 0.57 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2007, the SITA report said.

SITA’s annual Baggage Report goes on to explain that the number of passengers went up by 1.4% in 2008 and so the fall in the number of mishandled baggage did not happen as a result of less business. Airlines, it added, have reduced capacity in an effort to “fill planes” and many carriers increased time available between connecting flights, which aided in getting luggage “to the right place on time.”

In the report, SITA – which also sells baggage-management systems – said the fall in baggage-related complaints was also on account of an increased use of SITA’s tracking software that was installed at 73 airports in 2008, as compared to 50 airports in 2007.