Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
United Airlines has announced the adoption of a new US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiative known International Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS). It’s aimed at making international connections smoother and faster for travelers with checked bags. American has been doing this for some time with its flights between Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). American and Delta also have programs where you can skip the normal immigration and security processes and head right to your gate on select flights.
The program, now live on United’s daily Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) flight, eliminates the need for passengers to collect and re-check their bags when connecting to another US flight. Since its rollout, more than 160 passengers per flight have already taken advantage of the streamlined process while saving up to 45 minutes each and reducing the stress of potentially missing connecting flights.
How the New Process Works
The IRBS system simplifies the baggage journey for international travelers:
- Check Bags at Departure Airport: Passengers flying from Sydney check their bags with an agent as usual before departure.
- Arrive in San Francisco: Upon arrival, travelers clear customs, immigration, and agricultural inspections but no longer need to claim their bags or re-check them. Bags are automatically screened by CBP and TSA in coordination with United and directly routed to connecting flights.
- Final Destination Pick-Up: Customers retrieve their baggage at their final destination’s baggage claim, skipping the extra step at the connection point.
Bags are only pulled aside for additional screening if CBP specifically requires it.
United’s IRBS rollout builds on the airline’s broader efforts to simplify the connecting journey. Earlier this year, United introduced personalized mobile app features designed to assist customers navigating large hub airports. These include a countdown timer to connecting flights, turn-by-turn walking directions, real-time flight updates and gate changes, and notifications about ConnectionSaver (United’s technology that can hold connecting flights for delayed passengers).
Since its launch, more than 3.5 million travelers have used these tools, with a 95% connection success rate.
Jennifer Schwierzke, United’s Vice President of Customer Operations Strategy and Execution, said:
We’re streamlining the international arrival process by eliminating extra steps for travelers to pick-up and re-check their bags on connecting flights. 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.”
Anthony’s Take: I generally do not check bags under any circumstances, but I understand that arriving on an international flight, clearing passport control, and then collecting and rechecking bags before going through security again is a big hassle. This program will hopefully eliminate some of that pain.
(Featured Image Credit: Tennessee Witney via iStock.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
