Air Tags

[RIHappyDiver]

There's no way they would stop a plane from taking off even if your luggage wasn't on board.

Yeah, kinda what I thought.

 

[O-ring]

That's why I always build in a couple or three days on the front end of a LOB trip. Gives me a chance to spend some time relaxing and sampling the local fare when things go right or, when they don't, a buffer to try like heck to get my bag before the boat leaves.

 

[Eric802]

+1 on smart tags. Delta lost my bag and I knew it even before we backed up from the gate since my phone didn't show the bag being near me. I was able to walk past the carousel and straight to the baggage office and report it rather than wait in vain for it to appear. After a couple of phone calls and me steering them toward the right concourse using the smart tag they finally produced the bag a day or two later.

When we flew back from Scotland, we were able to be the first people talking to the baggage agent (although he was useless, but whatever) because as we waited at the carousel, my wife looked up the Air Tags and said "Well, I think we have a problem...they're still in London". Better than standing around for an hour waiting in vain for bags that won't appear.

That was some kind of mess - B.A. not only left a ton of passenger luggage behind, but they had crew with luggage that didn't make the flight either. And the baggage agent was every bit as useless for the crew as he was for passengers - he kept saying "The bags will probably be on the next flight", and when one of the flight attendants asked when that was he said "Well, shouldn't you know that?"

 

[Marie13]

AirTags aren’t just for luggage! Keys, wallet, even one in the car!

 

[attack33]

The other day Southwest changed our flight departure time about 6 times and then within the last 30 minutes switched it back to the original time. Needless to say we were moving with a purpose through the airport to try and make the flight. The attendant wasn't going to let us check bags, saying they would not make it on the plane, but finally gave in. We somehow made it on the flight and I watched our bags moving through the airport and onto the plane before we pushed back because I threw a tag in the dive gear. Pretty cool stuff. It's not foolproof though, it has to be near a device that can report it's location, otherwise, no updates.

 

[tursiops]

it has to be near a device that can report it's location

And that device has to be running iOS, i.e. an iPhone. That is the importance of Google's entry for Android devices; this more than doubles the number of devices that can be tracked. Now to get Apple and Google to read each other's signals. But such cooperation would be unusual for Apple.

 

[attack33]

And that device has to be running iOS, i.e. an iPhone. That is the importance of Google's entry for Android devices; this more than doubles the number of devices that can be tracked. Now to get Apple and Google to read each other's signals. But such cooperation would be unusual for Apple.

Absolutely. I doubt Apple would cross pollinate on their own though given their historical anti-competitive behavior. However, things may change, governments are getting involved on a number of things recently where they're forcing Apple's hand. Can't wait for RCS support!

 

[Lorenzoid]

AirTags aren’t just for luggage! Keys, wallet, even one in the car!

I saw a notice tacked onto a phone pole about a lost cat with an AirTag.

 

[js1221]

This kind of leads to my question. Has anyone had an experience of knowing before takeoff that your bags weren’t in the plane, and were you able to take some type of action before the plane left?

Erik

Going to Cayman Brac we had to fly into Grand Cayman first and switch planes from a larger 737 to a Twin Otter. Once we boarded I could see that one of my bags was on the plane and the other wasn't. I let the flight attendant know and she said that was normal for people with two bags. I was able to see, on the following day that my bag was loaded and on a flight to Cayman Brac and that it was then put in my room.

 

[Joneill]

Going to Cayman Brac we had to fly into Grand Cayman first and switch planes from a larger 737 to a Twin Otter. Once we boarded I could see that one of my bags was on the plane and the other wasn't. I let the flight attendant know and she said that was normal for people with two bags. I was able to see, on the following day that my bag was loaded and on a flight to Cayman Brac and that it was then put in my room.

You can‘t always reliably go by AirTags to confirm that your baggage is on the plane as they only work if near an iPhone that “sees” them. I’ve had times where my checked bag looked like it was left behind but it was actually on the plane.

United’s app confirms when your baggage is checked in and again when loaded on the plane as does Singapore Airlines’ app (and others). I have more confidence in those - but AirTags are still quite useful to find lost luggage.