Lost luggage? You can now share your Apple AirTag with BA, Virgin, Iberia, Aer Lingus & more

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• SydneySwan says:

  21 Dec21 December 05:12

  Finally.

• TimM says:

  21 Dec21 December 05:39

  I always travel hand luggage-only to avoid all the scenarios mentioned in this article. I vary a regular packing list according to destination(s) but it is enough, with occasional laundry, to last forever.

  Sometimes the old fashioned methods work best.

  • TimT says:

    21 Dec21 December 06:23

    I still have an AirTag in my hand luggage just in case someone accidentally takes it, or I’m on a regional jet in the US where it still goes in the hold

    • James Wyatt says:

      21 Dec21 December 06:34

      100% worth. I walked off with someone else bag a while ago and it was all sorted very quickly. Embarrassing. Yes. Result. Perfect!

    • Bagoly says:

      21 Dec21 December 08:58

      or Spain

  • Qrfan says:

    21 Dec21 December 07:52

    Can you let me know how to fit 4 sets of skis in carry on please?

    • No longer Entitled says:

      21 Dec21 December 07:58

      Do you own a saw?

      • The Original Nick. says:

        21 Dec21 December 09:44

        Brilliant

    • TimM says:

      21 Dec21 December 08:11

      Why do you need 4 sets of skis for one person? I would recommend one set of foldable. Then again, skiing is very dangerous so perhaps better not to take them.

      • George says:

        21 Dec21 December 08:47

        “Then again, skiing is very dangerous so perhaps better not to take them.”

        It’s even more dangerous without skis

    • Stu_C says:

      21 Dec21 December 08:23

      Very good 👍

      • Stu_C says:

        21 Dec21 December 08:25

        Sorry, my “Very Good” was aimed at Qrfan.

  • Manya says:

    21 Dec21 December 08:01

    Hilarious. All the times you’ve done without whatever you may have packed in your checked luggage to safeguard against potentially avoid losing your suitcase and the inconvenience that would cause.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    21 Dec21 December 09:01

    Not going to work for everyone. I travel for leisure with a wife and two teenagish daughters. No matter how much of a fan of hand luggage only I am, it’s not happening for the foreseeable future. 🤣

  • StanTheMan says:

    21 Dec21 December 09:55

    Depriving yourself of a sensible selection of clothes and toiletries to last “forever” just in case the 1 in 1000 happens and a bag is delayed for 24 hours ?? Seems a tad dramatic, rather than old fashioned.

    • Barrel for Scraping says:

      21 Dec21 December 10:39

      I know many people here are travel part timers but when you’re a frequent flyer travelling with just hand baggage is sensible as the wait times for luggage can be annoying. It can also mean that you can be out the airport before those people waiting for their bags which at a small airport will make you to the front of the taxi queue.

      When you travel through an airport multiple times a month you don’t want any needless waiting and hanging around.

      Apparently in Switzerland Airportr can collect your bags and deliver them to your destination so no waiting by the belt. It means if you’re using a supported airline like BA or Swiss they can collect your bags from your home in London and the next you’ll see of them is your hotel in Zurich but in the other direction Airportr doesn’t yet support collecting your bags in Heathrow so you don’t get the true end to end service.

    • TimM says:

      21 Dec21 December 10:50

      No, the benefits multiply. Not having to wait at the luggage carousels nor check-in desks for a start, hence more time at the destination and less time at airports, not having to worry about missing baggage or damaged contents, reports, claims etc., only having enough clothes that you can completely unpack in a hotel and put the trolley case away and forget about it.

      Most people find they have taken too many clothes on their travels and regret it. Some can’t even carry their own luggage.

      Cabin baggage-only pays multiple rewards but extreme discipline and planning are required.

      • Nick says:

        21 Dec21 December 11:25

        I check in my bag on nearly every flight, even if it’s technically small enough to be hand luggage. That way I don’t have to carry it, can go through security quicker without worrying about liquids, and don’t need to be in the (often unpleasant) scrum for boarding either. I live in hope of it not being loaded so I can buy a new wardrobe at the airline’s expense… sadly it’s only happened once in 20 years of very regular flying!

        • Barrel for Scraping says:

          21 Dec21 December 11:44

          Although I’m mostly a fan of hand baggage only, I also see the point of view of Nick. So sometimes, if there’s no queue at the desks and the desks are close to security so I don’t make a detour to get there (the first wing at LHR is a good example) I might drop my bag off just to get rid of it for a while. Although I’d only do it if flying to a small airport where baggage reclaim is likely to be quicker and I’m not wanting to get a taxi and the flight is early enough that waiting for the bags isn’t going to cause me to miss my train/metro/bus.

      • Andy says:

        21 Dec21 December 11:25

        Yep, “extreme discipline and planning” always makes for a fun holiday with family….

        • Barrel for Scraping says:

          21 Dec21 December 11:38

          If you’re going on a holiday with family then it’s not going to matter having to wait a bit at the carousel for your bags. Unless you go on holiday every week that is!

          If you’re travelling every week then you don’t want to have to wait for bags all the time, you want to be the first off the plane and on your way to your destination.

          Shoes are the biggest waste of space in luggage so if I need different types of shoes I will likely have to check a bag. If I can get away with the shoes that I’m wearing I can normally pack a weeks worth of clothes in hand baggage.

        • StanTheMan says:

          21 Dec21 December 13:13

          Add to that the glamour of the same pair of shoes for a whole week. Tres chic

      • StanTheMan says:

        21 Dec21 December 13:05

        I suppose you need that extra saved time to do your laundry. On holiday !!! What a treat.

        • Barrel for Scraping says:

          21 Dec21 December 14:38

          Laundry goes in the bag provided by the hotel and then I let them deal with it! I then have everything clean and ironed by the time I return to the hotel in the evening.

  • cin4 says:

    22 Dec22 December 07:05

    Not much use if you want to go hiking, scuba diving, paragliding, rock climbing, skydiving, surfing, paramotoring, camping, etc. at any point in time during your trip…

• David says:

  21 Dec21 December 06:22

  Plus you can have fun playing detective when you’re bag doesn’t appear

  https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/lost-stolen-luggage/

• Gordon Paterson says:

  21 Dec21 December 06:46

  I connected via Heathrow on my way to Berlin last week and my bag decided to stay in Heathrow for an extra couple of days before arriving in Berlin. When I explained to BA there was an Airtag in the bag and I could share the location they didn’t want to know. So either it hasn’t been operationalised or awareness is low. So I wouldn’t be relying on it just yet.

• Himalayan Hiker says:

  21 Dec21 December 06:48

  I find them extremely useful when making tight connections (especially in the US). Always reassuring to confirm my checked luggage made the connection too.

  • Nick says:

    21 Dec21 December 11:16

    The US carriers put their luggage scans in your online booking record, so you can see without extra tags whether it’s been loaded.

    • Barrel for Scraping says:

      21 Dec21 December 11:28

      In theory BA does that too now (check in the app) but in reality I’ve not seen much detail. Usually just has your bag tag number

• Phillip says:

  21 Dec21 December 07:03

  Funny how Lufthansa has made a U-turn after originally trying to ban AirTags!

• Phillip says:

  21 Dec21 December 07:05

  I once landed at Heathrow from Vienna and wrongly received a message from Austrian saying that my luggage was left behind in Vienna. My AirTag was telling me otherwise; my suitcase made it safely to Heathrow!

• IanT says:

  21 Dec21 December 07:28

  I presume there’s an Android version of an Air Tag, but all the ones I see aren’t quite the same.

  • Qrfan says:

    21 Dec21 December 07:55

    Tile is similar but being an independent outfit they never got the press or support that AirTags have. The user base is big enough to find your stuff though.

    • John says:

      21 Dec21 December 08:07

      Yes, I’ve use Tile tags for a few years, works well.

      As the more open solution (works on both IOS and Android), it’s a shame that airlines aren’t adopting it also. Have to hope that changes soon.

    • Roy says:

      21 Dec21 December 19:45

      There’s also Samsung SmartTag for Samsung Galaxy devices.

  • TimM says:

    21 Dec21 December 08:13

    Look on Amazon. There are many similar devices that rely upon other people’s Bluetooth and GPS, Apple and non-Apple.

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