Delta works to improve baggage service
The airline’s track record is worse than other major carriers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, September 12, 2008
Delta Air Lines has completed the first phase of $100 million in improvements for baggage handling using tunnels and technology at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. And the airline says some of the changes have already cut back on baggage problems.
The Atlanta-based airline, the largest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson, generally performs worse in baggage handling than other major carriers.
ELISSA EUBANKS/eeubanks@ajc.com
Part of Delta’s problem with baggage handling has been outdated technology and decades-old infrastructure in Atlanta.
ELISSA EUBANKS/eeubanks@ajc.com
Delta employee Thomas Dolan Jr. keeps a watchful eye on the ground to see who is available to pick up baggage from an incoming flight
“Our baggage performance has been bottom tier,” acknowledged Delta senior vice president of airport customer service Gil West.
In July 2007, for example, Delta had 9.29 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers, including lost, delayed, damaged and pilfered bags, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Delta improved its baggage handling performance by 39 percent this July, according to the U.S. DOT — to 5.65 reports per 1,000 passengers. But Delta still ranks well below the leading carrier, Northwest, which had 3.09 reports per 1,000 passengers.
Baggage handling is a factor that passengers use “to judge whether or not airlines fulfilled their promise,” said Dean Headley, co-author of the Airline Quality Rating and associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University. Airlines have “upped the ante on the performance because now they’re charging people” to check bags. Delta has increased its charge for checking a second bag to $50, while other airlines have started charging for first and second checked bags.
Part of Delta’s problem with baggage handling has been outdated technology and decades-old infrastructure in Atlanta, Delta’s largest hub where it operates about 1,000 flights a day. Delta will handle more than 30 million bags this year at Hartsfield-Jackson.
With recently installed conveyors, new baggage scanning systems and more work underway, Delta is hoping to narrow the gap, said Greg Kennedy, Delta’s Atlanta hub vice president of airport customer service.
Over the summer, Delta finished a conveyor system using a tunnel that runs from the terminal to the south side of the B Concourse. The tunnels have been vacant since the failure of Eastern Airlines. The conveyors allow Delta to free up space in the congested terminal basement.
Now under construction in the bowels of the airport is a conveyor system to the north side of the B Concourse to be tested for bugs and completed by the end of this year.
The new system is expected to help the airline significantly improve its baggage handling by directing bags to a larger system of carousels for sorting. “We’ll really see the benefits kicking in next year,” West said.
The five miles of conveyors are being built by Vanderlande Industries, which has its North America headquarters in Marietta. The conveyors allow bags that are awaiting connecting flights for more than two hours to be distributed at the right time, instead of being stored for later flights for workers to retrieve.
Delta said it does not plan to cut staff due to the new infrastructure, but will be able to move more staff to other areas as a result.
The conveyors also cut back on some of the hassles of dealing with congestion above ground, where baggage handling tugs must navigate across the tarmac and taxiways along with airplanes and other vehicles. Like crowded Atlanta roads, the traffic at the airport can make a trip take longer, all while airplanes are on tight schedules for takeoff.
Delta also put in place earlier this year a system to scan bags as they’re loaded onto planes, which other airlines have had for years to better pinpoint where missing bags went astray.
In the works is a system to track bags through other points of their journey, including through bag rooms. After its proposed merger with Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines, Delta plans to add technology from Northwest to detect when scanned bags are being loaded onto the wrong plane.
“As we work to improve our processes, we’re playing catch-up to some degree to the rest of the industry,” Kennedy said.



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Comments
By Bill Henry
Nov 14, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
I had a flight out NOV.7.08 and when i checked in i thru the carri on area to be checked and my bucket got turned over and my cross that i had carried for 30 yrs. and a set keys on a red ring didnt make it home with me. I went Delta at about 2:00pm.813-286-8100
By doug
Sep 24, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
jr1 , the only thing you seem to know how to do is curse. we are looking into your work record and attitude. i suggest you stop.
By jr1
Sep 22, 2008 6:35 PM | Link to this
By to jr1
Sep 21, 2008 8:57 PM | Link to this
jr1, you are an idiot. can't believe how dumb you are.
jr1 is an idiot. i bet your family already knows this!
stupid redneck go back to having sex with you mother!!!!!!!!!
By to jr1
Sep 21, 2008 8:57 PM | Link to this
jr1, you are an idiot. can't believe how dumb you are.
jr1 is an idiot. i bet your family already knows this!
By jr1
Sep 20, 2008 11:59 PM | Link to this
Hey Bill...Go fk yourself
By jkr1
Sep 20, 2008 11:59 PM | Link to this
Hey Bill...Go fk yourself
By bill
Sep 20, 2008 6:20 PM | Link to this
HEY JR1, YOU ARE EMBARRASING YOURSELF. SHUT THE HELL UP!!
By bill
Sep 20, 2008 6:18 PM | Link to this
HEY JR1, YOU ARE EMBARRASING YOURSELF. SHUT THE HELL UP!!
By BAS
Sep 17, 2008 5:10 PM | Link to this
AS AN 18 YEAR MEMBER OF THE US ARMY MY BAGS HAVE ONLY GOTTEN LOST TWICE. I HAVE ONLY FLOWN DELTA TWICE AND TWICE MY MILITARY BAG WAS LOST. YES WE ALL MAKE SOME MISTAKES HOWEVER SOME MISTAKES ARE PREVENTABLE.
By jr1
Sep 17, 2008 7:44 AM | Link to this
By jr1
Sep 16, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this
I rest my case. We spell speech in this country with two e's. I'm not sure where you live, but that's how we do it!
Now, who's the fking moron, ramp?
you are still the moron fkface!!Still having sex with your mother?Am I under your skin bothering you yet Mr./Ms. WoW
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