System and method for remote baggage check-in

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/945,688 filed Nov. 27, 2007 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REMOTE BAGGAGE CHECK-IN.” The present application also claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 10/689,873 filed Oct. 21, 2003 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REMOTE PASSENGER AND BAGGAGE CHECK-IN,” which issued on Dec. 18, 2007, as U.S. Pat. No. 7,310,568. It also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/420,042 entitled “REMOTE PASSENGER AND BAGGAGE CHECK-IN METHOD AND SYSTEM” filed on Oct. 21, 2002. These applications are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

The present specification relates generally to common carrier baggage processing. More particularly, the present specification relates to a system and method for remote baggage check-in.

Checking in baggage and obtaining a boarding pass for travel via common carriers (e.g., commercial air or cruise line) can be inconvenient and time-consuming. The time required for checking baggage and obtaining a boarding pass has been made even more cumbersome after added security measures adopted following the terrorist airplane hijackings of Sep. 11, 2001. A need exists to provide the traveling public with improved services that permit convenient and secure interim baggage storage, remote passenger and baggage check-in, and timely transfer of baggage from a remote property to a common carrier point of departure.

Services are known in the art for advance pickup of passenger baggage from a remote property and direct delivery to an airport for check-in. However, such prior services typically require long lead times, such as for example, up to 12 to 24 hours, before airline departure time, permitting baggage screening during off-peak periods. In addition, boarding passes are not issued in advance.

Prior attempts have been made to improve remote baggage processing. For example, Certified Airline Passenger Services (CAPS) of Las Vegas, Nev., attempted to provide remote passenger and baggage processing from 1998 until 2001. CAPS used hotels as a point of remote baggage check-in, providing a third party check-in counter in hotel lobbies. The CAPS service was not integrated into hotel operations. Instead, these check-in counters and related staff members were made available to hotel guests as a clearly separate service being offered by a third party other than the hotel. Hotel guests could check their baggage and pick up boarding passes at a hotel lobby station, thus avoiding both activities at the airport.

The CAPS approach suffered from several limitations and eventually the company was unable economically to continue its service. For example, the CAPS approach used CAPS employees whose sole function was baggage and passenger processing. Such staffing proved costly. Employees were occupied for only limited times (when customers were checking bags) but needed to be available for long periods of time (whenever customers might request the service) and the service would only be used by passengers if the fee charged were minimal (e.g., $6.00 per passenger). Some economies of scale could be achieved at mega-hotels (e.g., 4000+ rooms), but the number of such hotels are limited and larger hotels require more employees to support times when many guests want to check bags at the same time.

Another example of an attempt to improve common carrier baggage processing systems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,512,964 entitled Baggage Transportation System and listing Quackenbush, et al. as inventors. The Quackenbush patent describes using the Internet to capture travel information from a user including an origin location and a destination location. The baggage is collected from the origin location, taken to an origin airport where it placed on a correct flight, and delivered from a destination airport to the destination location.

The Quackenbush patent fails to provide important teachings that may ultimately determine the viability of the service when implemented, if ever. The Quackenbush patent indicates that a Ground Delivery Operator (GDO) picks up baggage from an origin location and takes it to an origin airport. However, there is no teaching of how customers check in baggage. It is not clear if the passenger has to wait for a GDO to travel to where the customer is or, if a GDO is located at the remote property, how staffing issues are addressed. Indeed, there is nothing in the Quackenbush patent that helps solve the staffing problems faced by known remote baggage processing systems, such as the CAPS service.

Thus, there is a need for an improved common carrier passenger and baggage processing system. Further, there is a need for a remote common carrier passenger and baggage processing system that cross-utilizes employees at the remote property. Even further, there is a need for baggage and passenger check-in kiosks for such remotely located common carrier passenger and baggage processing systems.

A representative embodiment is directed to a system and method for delivering integrated services for remote passenger baggage handling and check-in. In at least one embodiment, these services are implemented by fully integrating with existing operations and staff at remote properties. In this way, remote baggage check-in and boarding pass issuance may be handled in the course of guest departures at the remote property. The integration with existing operations can be accomplished through the use of an arrangement between a remote baggage check-in service provider and the remote properties.

For a fee, the service provider supplies and manages trained and FAA approved staff for bellhop, valet, and parking garage positions (collectively, “attendants”) at the remote property. In addition to their customary roles, the attendants handle remote baggage check-in, baggage temporary storage, boarding pass issuance, and secure transportation of baggage from the remote property to common carriers\' points of departure. The system and method provide passengers with a seamless and transparent interface to remote baggage check-in services. Economic and operational advantages derive from using the same integrated staff for remote property and remote baggage check-in services. High labor costs inherent in the use of separate and dedicated staff to provide similar services are avoided.

Since the same attendant performs the traditional bellhop, valet, or parking garage duties, as well as the remote baggage check-in services, the cost burden of the remote baggage handling inactivity is substantially subsidized. Thus, greater work capacity is provided during peak periods of guest departures at the remote properties. At the same time, the incremental operating cost for such services over the conventional operating costs for bellhop, valet and parking garage attendants is quite small.

Briefly, one representative embodiment relates to a method for remotely arranging the transportation of baggage for passengers of a common carrier. The method includes receiving travel information for a passenger via a communications network, identifying passenger baggage to be transported, and cross-utilizing employees of a remote property to obtain possession of the identified passenger baggage and manage transportation of the passenger baggage from the remote property to a common carrier origin identified in the received travel information.

Another representative embodiment relates to a computer-based baggage transportation system. The system includes a server computer, a client computer, and an attendant. The server computer includes travel information for a plurality of common carriers. The client computer is coupled via a network to the server computer and is configured to check in baggage and passengers from a property that is remote from a common carrier departure location. The attendant is cross-utilized with the remote property. That is, the attendant performs remote common carrier check-in services as well as remote property services. The attendant has met federal agency approval standards for common carrier check-in services.

Yet another representative embodiment relates to a method in a remote baggage and passenger check-in system. The method includes obtaining passenger identification information for a passenger, using the passenger identification information to retrieve travel information for the passenger from a server computer, printing a boarding pass for the passenger based on the retrieved travel information, printing a baggage identification label for passenger baggage at a property remote from a common carrier departure location, transferring possession of the passenger baggage from the passenger to an attendant at the remote property, securely transporting the passenger baggage from the remote property to the common carrier departure location, and transferring possession of the passenger baggage to the common carrier. The attendant at the remote property has remote property responsibilities and baggage management responsibilities and the attendant is qualified to obtain possession of the passenger baggage.

Other principle features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following drawings, the detailed description, and the appended claims.