American Airlines Adds Real-Time Bag Tracking
Recently, American Airlines has added a way for customers to track their luggage. American Airlines will allow its customers to use the free real-time online luggage tracking tool for their checked bags. This means customers who use American Airlines will be able to determine where their checked bags are, right from the check-in counter to the carousel pickup.
Everyone who uses American Airlines will find this service useful, especially those who have checked luggage that hasn’t arrived at their destination. According to the Chicago Tribune, American Airlines customers will know right away if their luggage is on the wrong plane, and they won’t have to wait around in baggage claim for long periods of time in order to find out if their luggage will be arriving. Customers will know whether or not their luggage was sent somewhere else, and they can get help from the lost-bag department if needed.
Laura Nedbal, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, said this is something that American Airlines customers have been wanting for a long time. Nedbal added that American Airlines was excited to make this new tool available to them.
Nedbal said that American Airlines did use baggage tracking data, but previously it was only used internally.
People who choose to fly with American Airlines will be able to go to American Airlines’ website and click on the “track your bags” link. American Airlines will then ask for a last name, as well as a record locator or a bag-tag number. American Airlines will then return information on six-bag scan touch points, including ticket counter check-in and loading on and off the aircraft.
American Airlines has also made the tracking feature available on the mobile version of its website. However, as of now, the tracking tool is not available on the American Airlines mobile app.
According to the Consumerist, American Airlines created the service as part of the merger between American Airlines and US Airways. In the past, American Airlines only scanned bags while they were being loaded onto the plane. US Airways did things a little differently than American Airlines, as they scan bags as they are loaded onto the plane and when they are taken off of the plane.
The new tracking service won’t change the current tracing system that American Airlines has in place, which is where customers can track their lost bags after they have reported them missing.
American Airlines isn’t the first airlines to offer customers a way to track their baggage online. According to MSN, Delta and US Airways, which is part of American Airlines, were among the first airlines to let customers track their bag.
Air France-KLM also has a way for customers to track bags. The airline developed a bag tracking solution with permanent tags that are affixed inside the bag, as well as outside the bag. These tags are electronic and they are reusable.
Passengers can use their smartphones in order to track their luggage in real time. This is thanks to GSM, GPS, and Bluetooth technology.
A few weeks, Tumi Holdings announced that its Tumi Global Locator tracking device will be hitting the market before the year ends. It is a smartphone app that allows people to keep track of their bag, regardless of if they are flying with American Airlines, Delta, US Airways, or any other airline.
The hardware and patented technology for the device is supported by LugTrack, a technology company that is based in New Jersey. According to Business Wire, the TUMI Global Locator device and mobile application will be sold at TUMI collection stores, as well as on TUMI’s website.
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