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On Wednesday, Australian airline Qantas announced the launch of the Next Generation boarding system, which introduces RFID technology in check-in, boarding and baggage tracking.

This system will first be implemented at Perth Airport. In the first phase of its application, Qantas will provide more than 100,000 regular passengers of platinum, gold, silver and bronze aircraft with passive high-frequency RFID inlays (Qantas). Called “Smart Q Chip”) new membership card. According to the airline, customers can use the new membership card for self-registration and baggage registration. The card can also be used as a permanent boarding pass to replace the existing frequent flyer card.

According to Qantas, passengers can flick the card on an RFID reader-the Q Card reader-to complete the registration within 5 seconds and receive a confirmation message on the phone within 15 seconds. This will replace the traditional more time-consuming check-in methods, such as online, airport kiosks and check-in counters, which require manual input of flight information.

Qantas frequent flyers only need to swipe their membership card in front of the Q Card reader to complete the registration

The new system was first announced in November 2009 and is the result of two years of cooperative development of several companies such as IBM, Unisys, Fujitsu, New Media Innovations, Amadeus, Telstra and Satyam. The new system is expected to speed up registration and reduce airport congestion.

Flight delays and long queues have always been a “pain point” for passengers, according to a Qantas spokesperson. Using RFID to replace the existing registration method that requires manual information input can speed up passenger boarding and improve customer flight experience.

With the new system, if Qantas passengers have not registered on the Internet or on their mobile phones when they arrive at the airport, they can flick their membership card in front of an RFID reader. Within 5 seconds, the system will automatically register the passenger; within 15 seconds, the system will send a confirmation message to the passenger’s mobile phone. Passengers can also scan the card Q chip in a baggage check-in service kiosk, weigh the baggage, self-print the baggage label, and paste the label on the baggage, and can also pay for the excess baggage fee or modify the reservation information.

Passengers can also scan the card Q chip in a baggage check-in service kiosk, weigh their baggage, and print baggage tags by themselves

Starting in November 2010, passengers at Sydney Airport will be able to use their RFID membership card to register their luggage at the new automatic bag drop point. The system uses pressure pads to automatically weigh the luggage, and uses lasers to measure the size of the luggage. Then, each passenger will receive a reusable Q Bag tag with passive UHF EPC Gen 2 RFID inlay. Information, including personal name, destination and luggage transfer instructions will be written in the inlay. The Q Bag label will replace the traditional printed luggage label. The system forwards this information to the airline's database, where it is synchronized with the membership card data. Qantas employees can also use handheld readers to track and locate specific luggage.

When boarding the plane, passengers flick their frequent flyer card at the entrance and receive the boarding slip with the seat number printed on it

Qantas said the company has also issued an emergency manual registration plan to prevent the automatic registration system from not working properly and causing flight delays.

The Next Generation registration system will enhance the passenger's flight experience. According to a Qantas spokesperson, after two years of development, the RFID inlay and Q Bag tag of the new membership card meets all standards required by the Australian government and the International Aviation Organization IATA.

Qantas plans to implement the Next Generation registration system at airports in all major Australian cities in the second half of 2011, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra.

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