Bolstering Baggage Vendor Services

Myrtle Beach International Airport serves the part of South Carolina’s coast known as “The Grand Strand” — a tourism hub the sees more than 15 million visitors per year. With an ever-growing number of travelers arriving at its terminal, the airport handled more than 1 million bags in 2018.

To provide baggage service to its passengers, Myrtle Beach International Airport has several contracts in place with vendors who move bags from the aircraft to the terminal building.

Over time, management had come to doubt the effectiveness of these third-parties, having received complaints from travelers about wait times for bags. The service at baggage claim was especially bad during the busy summer season when nearly half of the airport’s 1.3 million annual deplanements occur.

Seeking a solution for the inconsistent delivery of baggage and longer than normal dwell times for passengers, management needed to create a system of checks and balances for its vendors.

Having already seen positive effects of A2 Analytics on the customer experience in its TSA screening area — where our technology led to added infrastructure and staffing — Myrtle Beach International Airport once again relied on Archetype SC to provide a solution.

This time, our staff deployed A2 Analytics technology in the baggage claim area to track the movements of arriving passengers using passive data from electronic devices including mobile phones, fitness trackers, Bluetooth headphones, and smartwatches. Here, our robust system of reinforced, secure sensors monitored thousands of data points, while our patented software and machine-learning algorithms turned this data into knowledge.

In the end, Archetype SC’s team of data experts was able to deliver in-depth reporting and analysis of how long passengers spent standing around waiting for their bags.

Following a review of wait time data gathered by A2 Analytics technology, the airport was able to prove that vendors were not meeting the terms of their contracts. Due to poor service and passenger experience issues, two baggage service vendors were replaced, as they did not perform up to agreed-upon contractual obligations.

Management also met with corporate representatives the poorly-performing airlines, offering the data as a resource for the companies to improve their efforts at the facility.

With a better knowledge of the facility’s baggage needs, thanks to the rich data provided by A2 Analytics, management is now able to provide accurate analytics on vendor performance. These numbers help provide a system of checks and balances for holding vendors to their contracts, improving customer experience, and reducing travelers' waits and dwell time throughout the baggage area.