1.1 Introduction
Luggage invoicing or billing device is an instrument, which is used in determining the weight of object placed on its load cell. This device may be constructed in such a way that it could be connected to a computer system for direct weight transmission and the whole system may become computerized using an effective software system. The system consists of a strain-guage transducer on which the luggage is placed. The gauge voltage is proportional to weight placed on it. The voltage is fed directly to an ADC means (Analog-Digital converter) which in turn converts the signals to corresponding binary code and presents it via register. The binary coded data is usually received by the decoder as signals from the input lives of the internal expansion. Electronic luggage billing is a bill payment method in which a customer can pay bills electronically over the Internet to an entity or organization. It is widely accepted by many government entities and other organizations. Due to multiple benefits provided by electronic billing, it is one of the most preferred methods of bill payment.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
In science and technology, the desire for improvement is a constant subject which triggers advancements. This is visible in every ramification and the airline industry is not an exemption. Airline reservation systems were first introduced in the late 1950s as relatively simple standalone systems to control flight inventory, maintain flight schedules, seat assignments and aircraft loading. Today modern airline reservation systems are comprehensive suites of products to provide systems that assist with a variety of airline management tasks and service customer needs from the time of initial reservation through completion of the flight.
Sosoliso Airlines Limited was a scheduled, domestic, passenger airline. For much of its existence it had its head office in Ikeja, Lagos State (Sosoliso Airlines, 2009). It was established in 1994 and started operations in July 2000. The Nigerian government set a deadline of 30 April 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalise or be grounded, in an effort to ensure better services and safety. Seven airlines failed to meet the deadline and as a result would not be allowed to fly in Nigeria's airspace with effect from 30 April 2007. These were: ADC Airlines, Fresh Air, Sosoliso Airlines, Albarka Air, Chrome Air Service, Dasab Airlines and Space World Airline. The affected airlines would only fly when they satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s criteria in terms of re-capitalization and thus be re-registered for operation (Nigeria Direct, 2007).
The World Wide Web has become tremendously popular over the last four years, and currently most of the airlines have made provision for online reservation of their flights. The Internet has become a major resource for people looking for making reservations online without the hassle of meeting travel agents by implementing an online reservation system this ensures that reservation are not only generated by the airline own staff but also by any travel agent using a Global Distribution system or other airlines that have a multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement with the airline.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Investigation revealed that the existing system is manual, this system is slow, time consuming and it is very difficult for each person to process luggage bills and to verify an individual's airline transport ticket through office agents. Users inquire about the airline luggage bills through phones and it is very difficult for the user to remember all the details that they received through phones. It is very difficult to calculate how many people registered and how many seats on a particular plane are vacant. This requires quite a lot of time and wastage of money as it requires quite lot of manpower to execute.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to Design and Implement an Automated Luggage Invoicing System for an Airline. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to design and develop an application software that will:
- Keep luggage billing records of all incoming and outgoing immigrants;
- Verify and give accurate bill for airline passenger luggage through the use of an internet accessible device;
- Minimize cost of maintenance instead of spending more money in purchasing of new equipment, the money can be used in the maintenance of the faulty equipment;
- Reduce the number of manpower (staff) with the introduction of the computer network (computerized); and
- Handle any luggage weighing objects and consequently requires the bill of airline passenger’s weight luggage.
1.5 Significance of Study
The knowledge of proposed system in an air line enables the computer and software based luggage billing department to know the type of luggage, contents, check the security of the luggage, number of luggage, owner of the luggage etc. The study will help to determine whether the company meets its target & service level in luggage billing system. Specifically the study will be remarkable in that it will help in:
- Checking exact content of the luggage so as to avoid transportation of dangerous and bad goods.
- Extending a small (domestic) air line to a very large air-line to a very large air-line (international)
- Having a good luggage checking for a good turn over and operation; and
- Making an important contribution to the overall success in an air-line.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of this research focuses on the Design and Implementation of an Automated Luggage Invoicing System for an Airline using Sosoliso Airline in Enugu State s as a case study.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Billing: This is the process of preparing or sending invoices.
Weighing Device: It is an instrument used in determining the weight of an object placed on its load cell.
E-payment: E-payment can be simply defined as paying for goods or services on the internet. It includes all financial operations using electronic devices, such as computers, smartphones or tablets. It comes with various methods, like credit or debit card payments or bank transfers.
