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APRIL 2014 • AviationPros.com 11 The past 10 years have seen passen- ger numbers grow by 67 percent, from 1.89 billion in 2003. In the same period the aviation industry has weathered a tough economic cycle as profts were heavily dented by global recession after the boom of 2007. Despite this considerable challenge, the total number of bags mishandled reduced by 12.5 percent across the 10 years and the total bag mishandling cost to the indus- try was cut by 6 percent. The economic pressures are clearly refected in the long- term bag handling trends. In the frst fve years there was a rapid rise in the number of mishandled bags, with a year-on-year increase of 4 percent in 2004 growing to a year-on-year rise of 32 percent in 2007. The total bag mishandling cost to the industry followed a similar pattern, rising 4 percent in 2004 to a year-on-year rise of 32 percent in 2007. In that year the total number of mishandled bags peaked at 46.9 million and the total mishandling cost to the in- dustry topped out at $4.22 billion. The number of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers also reached a 10-year high of 18.88. However, as recession tightened its grip throughout 2008 and 2009, the aviation industry tackled costs, and worked to improve the passenger experience, by addressing baggage mis- handling issues. A number of technical innovations, plus an industry initiative supported these improvements. In 2008, for example, the International Air Trans- port Association launched its Baggage Improvement Program, an industry-wide action plan, which ran until 2012, to help airports and airlines identify areas where they could reduce bag mishandling. The aim was to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the mishandled bag rate. TRANSFER BAGS The report highlights the adoption of "pull technology", which can be used to build fights more intelligently. "Early bags are stored and then called forward by the system, along with on- time bags to a make-up area, where all the bags for the fight arrive within a specifc time period," the report says. "Instead of bags arriving over a period of one or more hours, all bags arrive at the baggage make-up area within a much shorter time, here baggage staff or robots quickly build the containers for a fight." However, at the other end of the spec- trum lies the challenge of the transfer bags. "The transformation in transfer bag performance over the past eight years has been helped by greater messaging reliability, enabling bags with short con- nection times to be identifed before they arrive at the airport," the report states. "This allows 'runners' to be dispatched to the aircraft to fnd and separate out any 'short connect' bags." The way bags are segregated in the aircraft has also been improved, the re- port adds, with smart bag systems build- ing the load to ensure "hot bags" with a 45-minute turn around can be off-loaded frst, while those bags with more than a MODEL MT65P21 "EXPRESS HEAT" DEICER Tel - 7 15-7 35-6440, www.premier-deicers.com MO DEL MT65P21 " EXPRESS HEAT" DEICER Simple, Dependable and Affordable "Express Heat" reliability, easy access maintenance, extend reach capabilities, and lowest cost of operation is why we are the "Premier" deicer manufacturer. The "Premier" Model MT65P21 "Express Heat" Deicer utilizes the Versalift Extended Reach Model VST6000 Aerial lift, providing 65' of working height. More important, the MT65P21 incorporates the Premier boom forward design to provide the maximum amount of reach off the front of the vehicle utilizing the rapid deploy down riggers. During mobile operations, side reach of 34' and vertical reach of 46' can easily be accomplished. AviationPros.com/company/10117675 gsm_10-13_International_V5.indd 11 4/9/14 3:52 PM