The tech aiming to prevent lost airline luggage:
Jenny Loucas scrolls through photos of her 40th birthday celebrations in Greece, knowing that much of the clothes and jewellery she had worn in the pictures are lost for good.
For while she had enjoyed a wonderful holiday, her luggage then disappeared after she had checked it in for the flight home to London Gatwick.
[...] Two months later and Easyjet has confirmed that her luggage has been permanently lost. "We are very sorry for the loss of Ms Loucas's bag, and we understand the frustration this will have caused," an Easyjet spokeswoman told the BBC.
As newspaper headlines and social media posts around the world have shown in recent months, Ms Loucas's case is far from unique, with some commentators calling it "the summer of lost luggage".
[...] And one insurance firm, Spain's Mapfre, said that the number of passengers reporting missing luggage this summer was 30% higher than in 2019, the last year of normal travel before the pandemic.
[...] To try to keep tabs on their items of luggage, a growing number of passengers are turning to technology.
Apple has reportedly seen a rise in sales of its AirTag tracking device. The AirTag works by sending out a secure Bluetooth signal that can be detected by nearby devices in the Find My network. These devices send the AirTag's location to the iCloud, allowing the user to go to the Find My app and see it on a map.
[...] Other travellers are attaching trackers that use GPS to their luggage.
[...] Yet while such tagging devices may give a passenger peace of mind, travel industry expert Eric Leopold says they don't solve the core issue - stopping the backlogs that prevent bags from catching the same flights as their owners.
[...] SeeTrue is one company that hopes to help airports and airlines get luggage onto planes more efficiently in the first place. The Israeli firm makes software that can do the security scans on check-in luggage much faster than human security staff.
"SeeTrue uses artificial intelligence and computer vision algorithms to discover prohibited items in bags," says chief executive Assaf Frenkel. "It connects to the existing X-ray and CT scanners, and detects in real-time, faster and more accurately than most human eyes, always on, and never getting tired or distracted.
[...] For UK tech firm AirPortr, its approach to tackling the problem is to remove the need for passengers to have to queue up at the airport to check in their luggage before their flight.
Instead passengers can use its app and website to arrange for their luggage to be taken door-to-door.
Currently available for British Airways and Swiss International Air Lines flights between London and Geneva, an AirPortr worker will pick up a person's suitcase from their home. This driver will then take it to the departure airport's luggage area in the bowels of the terminal building for check-in, rather than going into the departure lounge.
[...] Yet despite such technical solutions, passengers also want airlines to employ a few more customer care workers.
After airlines added checked bag fees, I know people who now FedEx/UPS their luggage. [hubie]
(Score: 2) by progo on Wednesday August 17 2022, @02:18PM (6 children)
How does more invasive scanning of luggage help with the problem that no one in the system is treating luggage like mail in the 2000s where it must go to its destination and any parcel out of place must be dealt with? AFAICT the problem is rules and policies and checklists never worked because the incentives don't stack up.
Also, Fedex no longer has much of a clue what they're doing. Delivering to the wrong address is common.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday August 17 2022, @02:26PM (5 children)
Any immediate needs that cannot be replaced at destination should be in carrion luggage. Examples would be prescription drugs -- which might be difficult to refill at your destination. Important electronic items.
If they lose your clothes, you can buy some clothes -- inconvenient and expensive as it might be.
The airline is not going to mess with carrion luggage.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 5, Funny) by progo on Wednesday August 17 2022, @02:28PM (2 children)
I know they let you take live animals in the cargo hold, but when did they start allowing carrion?
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Wednesday August 17 2022, @02:43PM
Zoidberg's helpful tips:
You don't put carrion luggage in the cargo hold where it can be lost.
You take carrion luggage with you on the plane. Put it in the overhead compartment already.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday August 18 2022, @01:25AM
I'll have you know that many of the major airlines that fly to smaller airports in Florida do so because there is significant profit in flying the coffins containing deceased snowbirds back to their families up north.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by legont on Thursday August 18 2022, @02:28AM
Since checked bags are paid, many people max their carry on. The result is that airlines force people to give up their carry on right at the boarding. My wife just lost her really viable possessions this way.
She actually thought stewardess was simply helping her to put her carry on bag in place while the bitch gave it to luggage people and it was lost.
When I board an airplane, I never ever separate from my bags, but she is a gentle kind.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by driverless on Thursday August 18 2022, @11:31AM
I always place several white candlesticks wired to an Arduino and a large LED display on top of any checked luggage. I find that my luggage typically gets carefully watched and escorted to its destination and returned to me by government gentlemen in dark suits. It's a very effective way of ensuring that your luggage doesn't get lost.
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Thursday August 18 2022, @12:18PM
... Involves imprisoning airline executives until the missing items are found, or, after a suitable elapse of time, a penalty of not less than twice the insured value.
That might get some action, and if not, well tough.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 3, Touché) by ChrisMaple on Friday August 19 2022, @04:37AM
Calling luggage that never gets to you "lost" is dishonest. It's not lost, it has been stolen.