How Japan Airlines is using AI to avoid flight delays this Christmas

NEC and Japan Airlines are harnessing artificial intelligence to check carry-on luggage size and weight compliance to ensure “smooth boarding” and avoid flight delays.

The Japanese electronics behemoth completed a trial with Japan Airlines (JAL) at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, using AI to analyse footage from cameras installed at boarding gates.

The system was designed to classify baggage into predefined categories and estimate the space each item would occupy in overhead bins in real time. It would trigger an alert if a passenger’s luggage breached the “preset threshold” of the estimated storage capacity.

NEC and JAL said the system could be used to “develop concrete measures” to prevent flight departure delays.

“Excess cabin baggage can lead to congestion in the aisles as passengers spend extra time storing their items in the overhead bins. It may also result in baggage being transferred to the cargo compartment after boarding has commenced, thereby increasing boarding time and potentially causing flight delays,” NEC and JAL said in a joint statement.

The trial was held from April to September 2024 at Boarding Gate 13 in Terminal 1 at Haneda airport. “The trial involved evaluating the solution’s analysis accuracy – detection and classification accuracy – and its alert timing for exceeding overhead storage limits to determine its effectiveness.

“Going forward, JAL will continue using digital technology to ensure smoother boarding, improve punctuality, and optimise the overall customer experience.”

Airlines have different systems to ensure compliance with carry-on luggage rules. Jetstar forces customers to queue and have their luggage weighed at a boarding or departure gate, with a staff member marking a compliant bag with orange tape.

Qantas staff sometimes check bags at gates. US airlines often ask customers to check their luggage at the gate after storage bins fill up, leading to delays.

The NEC-JAL partnership follows Apple partnering with 15 global airlines, including Qantas, to cut the time it takes to find lost luggage using the iPhone maker’s AirTags and Find My technology.

Qantas chief customer and digital officer Catrion Larritt said the airline had attempted to ramp up its efforts to reduce the amount baggage going missing but had more to do.

“Over the past 12 months, as part of our significant investments in improving the customer experience, we’ve seen a material improvement in the time it takes to recover mishandled bags, but we know there’s more work to do,” she said. “In the coming months, we’ll be able to locate customer bags faster by using Apple’s Find My feature.”

Both Qantas and Virgin have attempted to ease tension with customers via the rollout of baggage tracking features in their mobile apps, which notify passengers when their baggage arrives at the airport.

This article first appeared in The Australian.