The Next Big RFID Application: Correctly Steering Two Billion Bags a Year Through Today's Less-Than-Friendly Skies

Abstract

This chapter examines the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the commercial aviation industry, focusing on the role of RFID systems for improved baggage handling and security. The chapter provides a timely overview of developments with regard to the implementation of RFID technology in commercial aviation, which promises distinct advantages over the currently used bar-code system for baggage handling. The chapter focuses on how RFID technology can improve customer service through better operational efficiency in baggage handling, which has been demonstrated to be an integral component of the airline’s customer service equation. Developments with RFID technology can dramatically improve the accuracy of baggage handling, which can enable air carriers to close an important service gap among customers in an increasingly turbulent operating environment. Other service industries can certainly benchmark the airline industry’s use of RFID technology in luggage tracking as a way to improve their own operational capabilities.