Alaska Airlines is introducing electronic baggage tags in an effort to speed up the airport check-in process for customers, the company said Tuesday.
The new option, which Alaska is touting as the first of its kind for a US airline, will allow customers to skip the step of printing baggage tags when checking in at an airport.
Instead, customers will be able to activate electronic bag tags through the Alaska Airlines mobile app up to 24 hours before a flight. After arriving at the airport, the customer simply taps the phone on the tag to display the flight information.
“This technology allows our guests to tag their own bags in just seconds and makes the entire check-in process almost entirely off-airport,” Charu Jain, Alaska’s senior vice president of merchandising and innovation, said in a statement.
The company hopes to reduce the time it takes to drop off luggage by nearly 40% and also free up employees to deal with other issues at the airport.
Availability will be limited to begin with. These programmable devices will be rolled out in phases, starting with San Jose International Airport in California.
Alaska Airlines also launched a bag drop system in March at San Jose airport, which will work with electronic tags to make the baggage check-in experience as convenient as possible.
The electronic tag option comes as airlines across the country face long lines and major delays thanks to pandemic-era travel highs, staff shortages and bad weather.
US airlines have canceled more than 100,000 flights this year, with 30,000 cancellations since Memorial Day weekend alone, according to data from flight tracking website FlightAware.
The airline said 2,500 Alaskan frequent flyers will be able to use the technology first, starting in late 2022. The devices will be made available to Mileage Plan members for purchase in early 2023.
Other airlines around the world have also started offering the option to digitize the baggage process. Companies like BagTag, One Bag Tag and eTag allow customers to use electronic tags on various European and Asian airlines.
Additional reporting by CNN’s Pete Muntean, Gregory Wallace and Marnie Hunter
Source: CNN Brasil
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