Southwest's Load Planning System Improves Baggage Processes

(MoneyWatch)  When I visited Southwest's operation at Dallas/Love Field last month, it wasn't a normal day. It just happened to be the first day that the airline had launched its Load Planning System at Love and elsewhere in the system. This new system has the ability to really significantly improve Southwest's baggage handling.

The old system involved those on the ramp deciding the best way to load the plane. They made sure to distribute the weight properly, but time constraints probably made any larger customer service considerations difficult to manage. The goal, after all, is to get the airplane out on time with all the bags onboard. Other concerns are secondary in a time crunch.

With the Load Planning System, all information about a flight is loaded into the system, and it spits back where each bag should be loaded. Now, certain bins can be purposefully filled with connecting bags for certain destinations, making it easier to locate when the plane arrives at the next city. This should make running connecting bags a much faster process, and it should reduce the amount of time it takes to get local bags to the carousel as well.

It also makes calculating weight and balance a fairly simple process since it has actual bag weights.

Of course, this system doesn't have the final say in the loading process. Those working on the ramp will still determine exactly how the plane goes out, but this can give them some helpful guidance, to say the least. It should help save the rampers some time and speed up the process for everyone.