UNISYS extends baggage reconciliation contract

The Board of Airline Representatives Australia (BARA) has signed a five-year contract renewal with Unisys for a baggage reconciliation system supporting the operations of 44 international airlines at eight Australian airports.

The system assists the airlines to collectively meet compulsory security requirements for baggage handling, by reconciling baggage barcodes with passenger records before loading. The system currently handles more than 20 million bags each year in Australian airports. However, the new contract phase includes technology upgrades which will enhance the process.

Dave Walton, director Global Commercial Industries Asia Pacific for Unisys, says that “not only did we renew the contract, but we have basically upgraded the system the airlines use, providing them with up to date technology which provides much greater usability for the operators. For example, instead of the baggage handlers having multiple screens on their scanners they now have one, so it’s a much more usable interface. And we have things like internet access for reporting and planning processes for the airlines, to provide them greater visibility pretty much anywhere in the world. So the system is a significant step change in what they were using before.

“Having delivered the system for the last five years, we learned by working with the airlines to understand just what they their needs and frustrations were. And that’s culminated in this new system.

“And because of the way the application has been designed, being thin-client and web-based, upgrades etc can be done remotely, with no downtime for the operators.”

Unisys is hoping to take the upgraded technology elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, indeed globally.