Baggage handling – the next frontier in better air travel service?

Today’s travelers expect better service and a better experience from brands and businesses more than ever before.

In fact, seven out of ten U.S. consumers say they’ve spent more money to do business with a company that delivers great service.

This trend is readily apparent in certain areas of the travel industry but seemingly absent in others.

Case in point, the U.S. airline industry collected over $4.58 billion dollars in checked bag fees between 2014 and 2017, with Delta collecting $907 million dollars in 2017 alone, yet close to 22% of travelers’ bags are either delayed, damaged, pilfered, lost or stolen.

The result is a massive gap between the expected quality of service and the actual traveler experience.

With the exception of certain first‐class cabins, the service provided by most airlines relative to bag checking and baggage fees has remained flat or even declined, which neglects the traveler who desires a top tier experience.

Instead, those travelers now must piece together service themselves with apps, disparate loyalty programs and third‐party service providers.

Some seasoned travelers have access to status, credit cards or other programs that may save them from some of the fees for checking luggage, but the hassles and general poor experience associated with checking luggage remains.

For this reason and more, many travelers choose to use a luggage‐shipping concierge services to circumvent the hassles associated with checked bags while receiving elevated service.

Service requirements

When you step back and look at air‐travel the world over, you can quickly see that we’re being outpaced here in the U.S.

Many Asian and European airlines are shuttling their passengers directly to the plane on the tarmac, implementing top‐notch service in the terminal and designing experiences that mimic more what you would find at a high-end mall or apartment building.

The top‐tier airports and carriers are looking at air travel holistically, much like a hospitality executive would look at a group of hotels stratified at various price points.

Hotel groups are exceptionally good at serving customers in several different price brackets, highlighting quality across all levels, and still managing to turn a profit that can keep their boards and investors happy.

There is no reason that those involved in air travel cannot do the same.

Luckily, a thriving industry of third‐party service providers have stepped in to fill the voids in services once offered by the airlines and airports themselves.

TSA Global Entry and Clear have revolutionized the security experience, employing next-gen technology that enables discerning travelers to breeze through a once arduous screening process.

The lounge experience, often enabled by valuable credit card sponsorships and branding deals, has improved over the past several years, going beyond the typical buffet and open bar to create a true respite from the rest of the airport.

I believe consumers will continue to seek out the service and quality experience they expect.