How To Locate Lost Travel Bags

[PeterRS]

There’s an interesting story on the CNN website. A passenger travelling from Baltimore to her home in Denver via Chicago had her one checked bag fail to turn up. She had had the sense (have any of us done this, I wonder?) to purchase an AirTag, Apple’s tracking device for luggage. Although United Airlines kept advising that the bag would turn up, she knew that the bag was actually at O’Hare. She also saw it was eventually moved 50 yards. 

After days United still denied any knowledge of the bag suggesting instead she just register a claim for financial compensation. But the content of the bag was very important to her. So she finally spent 30,000 air miles and flew herself to Chicago where she quickly found her bag! United eventually refunded her 30,000 miles.

As air travel has increased dramatically, so have the number of lost bags. In this case, the problem had occurred because the bag had been wrongly tagged. To me the moral is pretty simple. Always check that your bag has been correctly tagged (which I do) and attach it to an Air Tag (which I am now about to buy). These can be purchased in Thailand and from amazon and are cheap. I’m not sure how effective those for US$10 are, but the first pair of waterproof ones developed by Elevation Lab for Apple for $30 get almost exclusively extremely good reviews.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/airtag-lost-luggage-flight/index.html

https://www.amazon.com/TagVault-Waterproof-Keychain-Ultra-Durable-Elevation/dp/B09CC4T49N/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?adgrpid=82658710798&content-id=amzn1.sym.1c86ab1a-a73c-4131-85f1-15bd92ae152d%3Aamzn1.sym.1c86ab1a-a73c-4131-85f1-15bd92ae152d&cv_ct_cx=airtags%2B2%2Bpack&hvadid=585475089740&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1012728&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=16817201679711258651&hvtargid=kwd-1263104292419&hydadcr=744_1014988874&keywords=airtags%2B2%2Bpack&pd_rd_i=B09CC4T49N&pd_rd_r=3a526715-a932-4320-a600-297acbd5160b&pd_rd_w=nfTLA&pd_rd_wg=kRa0D&pf_rd_p=1c86ab1a-a73c-4131-85f1-15bd92ae152d&pf_rd_r=XYMH5CFTRWQE1RGX3J97&qid=1691386006&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-3-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

[Mavica]

Some popular uses of the air tags:  

• Keep track of your car keys, wallet, purse, backpack, or other personal items.
• Remember where you parked your car or track your luggage while traveling.
• Track a runaway dog or cat, or find a lost child or elderly loved one.
• Track your tools, instruments, or other valuable items that might remain in your vehicle or elsewhere.

[10tazione]

There was i bit of discussion whether Air Tags are allowed in checked luggage or not, because they emit signals and because they contain lithium batteries, but now seem to be allowed by most airlines.

[vinapu]

Easy fix is not to put anything you are not prepared to lose, including spare underwear, in your checked luggage. 

Shortly we will be recommending glasses track to find our glasses misplaced in the kitchen or living room. 

 

[dscrtsldnbi]

First of all, many thanks for the useful hint.

I might have got it wrong but the Amazon link in @PeterRS original post leads to AirTags' (waterproof) CASES, not AirTags themselves. So, if you buy the cases (and they look very well-made and are certainly worth buying, in my opinion), you'll still need to buy AirTags separately to put into them.

[forky123]

3 hours ago, vinapu said:

Easy fix is not to put anything you are not prepared to lose, including spare underwear, in your checked luggage. 

Shortly we will be recommending glasses track to find our glasses misplaced in the kitchen or living room. 

 

+1

I never put anything I can't afford to lose in checked baggage. Typically only clothes and toiletries will be in checked.

 

[KeepItReal]

On 8/7/2023 at 1:54 AM, PeterRS said:

There’s an interesting story on the CNN website. A passenger travelling from Baltimore to her home in Denver via Chicago had her one checked bag fail to turn up. She had had the sense (have any of us done this, I wonder?) to purchase an AirTag, Apple’s tracking device for luggage. Although United Airlines kept advising that the bag would turn up, she knew that the bag was actually at O’Hare. She also saw it was eventually moved 50 yards. 

After days United still denied any knowledge of the bag suggesting instead she just register a claim for financial compensation. But the content of the bag was very important to her. So she finally spent 30,000 air miles and flew herself to Chicago where she quickly found her bag! United eventually refunded her 30,000 miles.

As air travel has increased dramatically, so have the number of lost bags. In this case, the problem had occurred because the bag had been wrongly tagged. To me the moral is pretty simple. Always check that your bag has been correctly tagged (which I do) and attach it to an Air Tag (which I am now about to buy). These can be purchased in Thailand and from amazon and are cheap. I’m not sure how effective those for US$10 are, but the first pair of waterproof ones developed by Elevation Lab for Apple for $30 get almost exclusively extremely good 

That is fascinating. But my understanding is that it depends on apple devices to be close by to detect/transmit the tag's location via Bluetooth. So if the bag is left someplace where no Apple device is within 30 ft or so, it will go undetected.  There are locations where Apple devices are just not that common. For example, on a recent trip to India I found that the vast majority of people use Samsung/Android devices as Apple devices are far too expensive for them to afford.  In that case, an android based device like Tile trackers may work better. 

[KeepItReal]

On 8/9/2023 at 5:33 AM, forky123 said:

+1

I never put anything I can't afford to lose in checked baggage. Typically only clothes and toiletries will be in checked.

 

I am very attached to my Avengers themed dildo set. Can't put them in my carry on and this fan boy will be heart broken if my Hulk dildo gets lost! 😆

[PeterRS]

Thanks for bringing up the point about the devices having to be around 33 ft from an Apple device.