Checking in baggage at the airport can be a convoluted and stressful process, and airports are constantly looking for new technologies, systems and solutions to improve passenger flow and customer satisfaction. Idar Sørgjerd, managing director of DSG BagDrop, talks to Future Airport about how the company’s automated bag-drop solution reduces lead times, cuts costs for airlines and ultimately enhances customer satisfaction across the board.
Why should customers in the airlines sector choose DSG BagDrop to provide their baggage check-in solutions, over and above those of your competitors?
Idar Sørgjerd: DSG BagDrop has been providing solutions for the international airlines sector for more than 15 years. Consequently, we’re well-known within the industry. Our work in the airport basements operating all kinds of baggage-handling systems has led to our unique understanding of passenger flow bottlenecks, as well as the demands placed on our clients in the installation and management of an automated bag-drop system. Therefore, when we talk to new clients, we are always able to pinpoint exactly what can be improved within their system.
What marks out the DSG bag-drop system as unique within the sector?
Our bag-drop systems are unique because they’re ‘plug and play’ products. Our systems are easy to install and operate, and can be adapted to a range of different environments, regulations, airports, airlines and regions. We can enable or disable features to meet all needs of the industry today and ensure that the user interface is intuitive for all.
Furthermore, our system is extremely fast. If we take into account the time it has taken for the last five million passengers to pass through Oslo Airport, we can see that the average time it takes to deliver an individual bag is about 12 seconds.
When did the system first demonstrate that it could quantitatively ease the flow of passengers into the departure lounge?
DSG BagDrop first tested its automated system in 2012 at Oslo Airport, but our big moment came at Easter of that year. The terminals were totally packed. We had just installed the system and because of high foot traffic, airlines had opened an extra check-in counter next to our new self-service stations. The queue was horrendous. Suddenly, one passenger moved out of the queue and over to our empty station. She scanned and dropped her suitcase and moved on. Then another came, and another. People dropped and scanned. In a matter of minutes, the queue was gone. It was magic.
What are DSG BagDrop’s plans for the future?
Our plan for the future is to continue to improve the experience of air travel. In the first years of self-service bag drop, the idea was to boost airport capacity and cut cost. It was thought that self-service was an economy-class service that business travellers didn’t want. As a result, the only check-in lines were in front of the business class counters.
Today, all customer segments are interested in self-service. In Scandinavia especially, travellers take the system for granted and are frustrated when they meet at airports without self-service. It is the fastest and most hassle-free way to check-in.
At the moment, we’re seeing a radical change in the sector. Moving on from implementing self-service on a few counters, airports now order the systems for all their check-in counters. It is what the customers demand. Airports that want to improve service do so with our system.
