Despite the US government shutdown, there’s some good news for Australians heading to the States: United Airlines has rolled out a new baggage process that saves travellers up to 45 minutes when connecting through San Francisco.
The initiative, called International Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS), is part of a partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and means passengers flying Sydney-San Francisco with onward connections no longer need to collect and re-check bags on arrival, removing a pain point for US-bound travellers.
Instead of heading to baggage claim, passengers in San Francisco simply clear customs and immigration before proceeding directly to security screening for their next flight.
Unless CBP flags bags for additional screening, they are automatically transferred to connecting flights.
“We’re streamlining the international arrival process by eliminating extra steps for travellers to pick-up and re-check their bags on connecting flights,” United’s Vice President of Customer Operations Strategy and Execution, Jennifer Schwierzke said.
“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.”
United Airlines collaborated with Sydney Airport, BagCheck and Brock Solutions to launch the initiative, which the carrier claims streamlines inspections while maintaining security standards.
“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,” Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton said.
“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.”
The move follows American Airlines’ introduction of a similar baggage process for flyers in April, which involves AA’s daily Sydney-Los Angeles service.
Earlier this year, United also launched mobile app features that give flyers personalised gate directions, connection countdowns and real-time flight updates.
For more info, visit www.united.com.
