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TiggerRPh
05-06-2005, 10:15 AM
Disney Begins New Service for Luggage

Resort guests praised the Magical Express program, which picks up and delivers bags at the airport.

By Jerry W. Jackson and Tamara Lytle
Sentinel Staff Writer

May 6, 2005

Walt Disney World's new luggage delivery service, which saves travelers the hassle of checking bags at the airport, is the wave of the future, travel industry experts say.

The system, which has the blessings of the new federal airport security watchdog agency, in essence extends the arm of the federal bag-checking system to hotel lobbies. It kicked off officially Thursday for hotel guests at the Disney resort.

Both the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Rep. John Mica, who chairs the House Aviation Subcommittee, support the concept of securing bags away from airports and having TSA-approved control of the bags to and from airports.

In the Disney program, called Magical Express, Disney resort guests take their bags to their hometown airport as usual for the flight to Orlando. Disney then picks up the bags at Orlando International Airport and hauls them directly to the guest's hotel room.

"It was fantastic. The luggage was in our room when we checked in and walked into our room," Sarah McKennedy said this week, while visiting Walt Disney World with her husband, Heath, and their two children.

When the family arrived at Orlando International on a flight from their home in Virginia, they bypassed baggage claim and went straight to a Disney shuttle van for a free ride to their Port Orleans resort. For the return trip, they will leave the bags at their hotel and won't have to worry about them until they get to their home airport.

"It's unbelievable customer service," Heath McKennedy said.

Industry specialists say such programs are spreading and if done right could improve airport security and ease congestion. But they also open the door to possible exploitation by terrorists, aviation experts say.

"There are avenues for manipulation, when humans are involved," said William Loh, an Orlando-area aviation industry consultant. Terrorists can always try to infiltrate the baggage-inspection network or spot other weaknesses in the hybrid system, Loh said. But on balance, he said, there are more opportunities for the system to actually improve airport security.

Loh, managing director of International Aviation Advisors, said he has used such baggage-handling services while traveling in Europe, where aviation security is more advanced than in the United States. "There's still a lot of work to do at the [U.S.] airports," Loh said.

Mica, a Republican from Winter Park, said secure bag-courier programs such as Disney's should be replicated across the country.

"Anything that can help expedite the smooth flow of bags [is good]," he said. Mica said the program will improve efficiency because bags won't arrive at airports in a last-minute "crush." Couriers can spread out the deliveries before passengers arrive to catch their flights.

Lauren Stover, TSA spokeswoman, agreed, adding that screeners will have more time to focus on bags. "This is providing a tremendous customer service for visitors to the Orlando area," she said. "It's also going to enable TSA to reduce congestion, which enhances the security."

She said bag-handling programs in Orlando and Miami have worked well and the agency is looking to expand the program. Baggage Airline Guest Services, or BAGS, a privately held Orlando company, launched a secure bag-handling service from Rosen hotels in 2003. A California company has a similar service.

But Mica said the TSA had too much red tape before approving Disney's program, and he said the agency should establish a protocol, or standard procedure, that other companies could follow to start programs elsewhere.

Stover said the concept is new, and the TSA took a little longer, "in the interests of making sure things went smoothly."

Disney had been quietly testing the program before its launch, and this week a top TSA official was in Orlando, keeping an eye on the debut. Jonathan Fleming, chief operating officer, was expected to meet with airline and airport officials to discuss the program.

Companies such as Disney will have to prove to travelers that the service will work smoothly, said Lalia Rach, associate dean of the Tisch Center for Hospitality at New York University.

"You really don't trust people with your baggage," Rach said. "That's why there's so much carry-on." But companies such as Disney, with a reputation for customer service and quality control, Rach said, have an advantage in the trust department. She said she thinks secured-courier bag handling, which typically carries a fee of a few dollars per bag, will spread because people want convenience.

"Who likes schlepping bags to the airport?" said Rach, who said she plans to use a bag-handling service for an upcoming golf vacation.

Disney's bag-handling program, which includes shuttle service to and from the airport from Disney hotels, will be free during an 18-month promotion.

pdrlkr
05-06-2005, 10:59 AM
Thanks for the article Ray! I just wish I was going to get my luggage tags before we leave. Due some printing error by the company that prints them, we have to collect our own bags then had them over to the shuttle service. graemlins/shakehead.gif

Maleficent for president
05-06-2005, 11:23 AM
I spoke to someone at central reservations who told me that, in the absence of luggage tags, I need to look for cast members with blue shirts, tan pants, and Mickey hands at the airport. I am to give them my resort reservation number and they'll collect our bags for us. We'll see tomorrow. graemlins/mickey.gif