New DIY bag tagging at LAX
Alaska Airlines is testing a system that lets passengers print tags and leave luggage at drop-off stations.
Alaska Airlines is testing a system that lets passengers print tags and leave luggage at drop-off stations.
Alaska Airlines has gained a reputation for being willing to test new technology on its passengers.
The Seattle-based carrier tried adding solar panels to power its passenger ramps in 2013. The airline tested out fingerprint machines to identify passengers at its airport lounges in 2014 and launched electronic, reusable bag tags on a trial basis last year.
Now Alaska is experimenting with a system at Los Angeles International Airport that lets passengers tag their own bags and leave them at an automated station.
Under the trial program that started last week, Alaska passengers can print bag tags at home or at an airport kiosk. Once the tags are affixed to the luggage, the passengers take them to self-drop stations.
The idea has already been used by airlines in Europe and Asia.
“We try to be nimble,” said Bobbie Egan, a spokeswoman for Alaska.
Alaska claims that the drop-off process takes less than 30 seconds. The trial will continue until Nov. 10.
Why is Alaska testing the new system at LAX?
“The self-bag drop model works best at high-volume airports where road warriors are tech savvy and willing to try a new pilot like this,” Egan said.
“The design of the checkin area at LAX in particular was better suited for the equipment and passenger flow than in Seattle, for example,” she added.
Alaska also is aiming to be California’s go-to airline, now that Alaska has acquired Burlingame-based Virgin America.
$1 billion solely from airline fees
The airline industry collects so much revenue from charges to check bags, reserve seats, buy food and connect to the Internet, among other things, that 10 of the world’s biggest carriers have surpassed the $1-billion revenue mark solely from fees.
A report by IdeaWorks, a Minnesota-based consultant on airline revenue, concluded that 67 of the world’s biggest airlines generated a total of $40.5 billion from passenger fees and other ancillary revenue last year, up 6.5% from the previous year.
The largest 10 airlines each pocketed at least $1 billion from such fees, the study found.
“Now, the top 10 group is a billion-dollar club with annual ancillary revenue ranging from just over $1 billion to nearly $6.2 billion per airline,” according to the IdeaWorks’ report, written by the company’s president, Jay Sorensen.
The $1-billion club includes United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air France, Southwest Airlines, Ryanair, Lufthansa, Easyjet, Qantas and Alaska Airlines.
By comparison, only United, American and Delta generated more than $1 billion in fee charges and ancillary revenue in 2008, when most airlines began charging bag fees.
Florida-based Spirit Airlines collects the biggest share of its overall revenue — 43.4% — from a long list of charges including bag fees, online and call center fees, assigned seat fees and charges for selling frequent flier points to business partners.
The success low-cost carriers such as Spirit are having with passenger fees has forced major international carriers to offer rockbottom-price seats, coupled with fees for extra services, according to the IdeaWorks report.
One reason that passenger fees have become so popular with the airline industry is that the federal government taxes airfares at a higher rate than it does passenger fees.
Airlines seek limits on therapy animals
Turkeys, pigs and even roosters have flown the friendly skies, carried onto commercial planes by passengers who identified the critters as emotional support animals.
But a committee of airline representatives and disabled rights advocates has been meeting for months in Washington, D.C., to come up with new rules on what type of animals should be permitted on planes and what documents are required to prove the animals are needed.
Airlines recognize two types of animals that can accompany passengers free of charge: service animals, such as seeing-eye dogs, and emotional support animals, which help comfort travelers with psychological or emotional conditions.
The debate among members of the Accessible Air Transportation advisory committee focuses on what type of animals can be recognized as emotional support animals.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, among others, suggests limiting emotional support animals to dogs, cats and rabbits, while other organizations, including the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, would like to add birds to that list (but not chickens, ducks or turkeys).
Some advocacy groups say passengers shouldn’t be required to carry a letter from a mental health professional confirming the need for an animal because it would be stigmatizing.
Airline representatives say too many passengers falsely claim that their pets are emotional support animals. The carriers want to recognize only dogs and miniature horses as service animals and require that all animals be kept in pet carriers during the flight.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation wants to limit the type of animals allowed on a plane for a different reason.
“Allowing various types of animals to fly will expose all passengers to pet dander, even when the animal is riding in an enclosed carrier,” the group wrote to members of the committee.
The meetings, which began in April, wrap up next month.