United has officially announced the launch of a new U.S. Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) initiative, the International Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS), for connecting passengers with checked bags.
According to certain reports, the stated facility effectively eliminates re-checking bags on select international routes, all for the purpose of making the connecting experience easier and reducing potential missed connections. More on the same would reveal how this new process is currently available for United customers traveling on United’s daily service from Sydney, Australia (SYD) to San Francisco, California (SFO) with connecting flight to a final destination.
Markedly enough, during its early deployment, the initiative was used by a total of 160 passengers, and as for the result, they saw it achieving savings of up to 45 minutes in their connection journey,
“It’s great to see United Airlines trialing bag re-check elimination on the Sydney – San Francisco route, one of our busiest long-haul services,” said Scott Charlton, CEO of Sydney Airport. “It’s a win for passengers – saving valuable time, making connections easier, and showing how Sydney Airport and our airline partners are working together to deliver smoother, more seamless journeys.”
Taking a deeper view of how the whole thing is likely to work on a deeper level, travelers will start by usually checking off their bags with an agent at the check-in counter.
Next up, once they have reached SFO, passengers connecting on a flight to another destination must go to CBP for customs, immigration, and agriculture inspections before directly heading towards the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for security screening. This, like you might have noticed, effectively removes the step where these travelers have to pick-up checked bags at baggage claim and re-check them to their final destinations.
As the flight is heading to the United States from Sydney, United, CBP and TSA markedly work in conjunction to screen checked bags, and after the flight has reached its destination, the bags are loaded onto connecting flights. The stated process means travelers just have to pick-up their baggage from the baggage claim space at their final destination.
Markedly enough, the development in question actually builds upon United’s recent moves, each one geared towards improving the connecting experience for travelers. You see, earlier in the summer, the company launched new, personalized mobile app features for customers with connecting flights at United’s U.S. hub airports.
In case you weren’t aware, these features now make it possible for users to access a special section of the app which, on its part, includes a countdown to connecting flights, customized turn-by-turn directions to their connecting gate with estimated walk times, real-time flight status updates, tips for longer layovers, and notifications if United’s ConnectionSaver technology has been activated to hold the plane for them.
Since the initial launch, more than 3.5 million customers have already used these new features, achieving a 95% success rate in making their connection.
“We’re streamlining the international arrival process by eliminating extra steps for travelers to pick-up and re-check their bags on connecting flights,” said Jennifer Schwierzke, Vice President of Customer Operations Strategy and Execution at United. “Together with CBP, we’re testing this new process on routes between Sydney and San Francisco and plan to expand to additional international routes in the months ahead.”
