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I didn't read tfa but for long unclaimed bags this has been SOP forever. Once the bags are recorded with baggage service and they've been in the federated data

I didn't read tfa but for long unclaimed bags this has been SOP forever. Once the bags are recorded with baggage service and they've been in the federated database for so long, if the owners do not claim, the contents are donated where appropriate. The bags themselves sometimes are set aside as ad hoc replacements for anyone who has a bag badly damaged in handling or other mishap.

ezfe 4y ago
Making it SOP to donate unclaimed bags is fine, but clearly that's not the case here
- burnte 4y ago
  Yeah, when your passengers know where the bags are, let them take them, don't pretend they're "lost" because the airline doesn't want to pay for delivery.
  - RegnisGnaw 4y ago
    They don't know where they are 100%. I think that's the issue. They have a warehouse of 1000s of luggage where the tags are likely torn off or missing. Are you going to allow them to search the entire warehouse? What's to prevent them from taking someone else's luggage? How are you going to ensure they only take their bag? If not, are you liable if they take someone else's bag which contain PII and do identity fraud? When its donated the charity, there is an agreement that the charity will remove any PII or personalized stuff before selling the rest.
    - kjkjadksj 4y ago
      I can’t imagine tearing a tag is very common. Even if it affected a few passengers on a plane, process of elimination can lead to these people getting their bags if the airline tried at all.
    - altairprime 4y ago
      They could have scanned the beeping AirTag with a compatible device, which would have at least identified the owner - and likely matched a phone number to a reservation ticket. They certainly do not want to do so, but the capability existed and they declined to exercise it.
      - RegnisGnaw 4y ago
        So you need to get Apple agree to this?
        ezfe 4y ago
        Apple doesn't need to do anything, AirTags broadcast an NFC link that provides contact info if the owner puts it in lost mode.
        altairprime 4y ago
        No, that would be horrendously inefficient. Once the owner’s put it in Lost Mode, which all of those beeping bags were in, then you just visit the link it gives you when you scan it (it can do NFC, it doesn’t even require an Apple device) and the owner’s contact information is shown. The airline’s behavior instead resembles: “We couldn’t see any contact information in the outside and maybe we checked a zipper pocket for a piece of paper but ultimately we would rather give up and pay you a lost bag fee, than have to employ a human being to put more than thirty seconds of effort into each bag.”
    - peeters 4y ago
      > They have a warehouse of 1000s of luggage where the tags are likely torn off or missing. Are you going to allow them to search the entire warehouse? Sure, why not? Let them in and have staff on hand with them requiring them to prove ownership by identifying the contents. Would that cost a lot to the airline? You bet, which is why they don't make the effort. But airlines never make an effort to help passengers unless the government tells them they must. So either make it mandatory or impose punitive damages when airlines lose bags (far above the cost of the luggage). Maybe the airline would make an honest effort not to lose baggage if they were actually held accountable.
    - rom-antics 4y ago
      > Are you going to allow them to search the entire warehouse? Yes. Especially when you can make your bag beep by tapping a button on your phone. When you grab a bag from baggage claim, nobody cross-checks your ID against the bag. We already trust people not to steal. If you steal from a warehouse, the same thing would happen as if you stole from a baggage claim.
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      >How are you going to ensure they only take their bag? Take a photo of yourself, the bag, and visible luggage tag prior to checking it in.
- ninth_ant 4y ago
  How is that clear? Nowhere in the blog post does it say that the bags had tag or PII information to identify the owners. From the perspective of the airline they were unclaimed — likely the tags had torn off and the airline had no idea who to connect the bag to. Maybe it would be a nice service to incorporate AirTag tracing for unclaimed luggage, especially if the tracing was based on a standard and not specific to a single luxury brand. But regardless that would be a new SOP and isn’t part of the current one.
  - bfgoodrich 4y ago
    [dead]
  - CogitoCogito 4y ago
    > From the perspective of the airline they were unclaimed — likely the tags had torn off and the airline had no idea who to connect the bag to. How did you reach the conclusion that it's "likely" the tags had torn off?
    - rhino369 4y ago
      If the bag had a readable tag and the database wasn't wrong, then it wouldn't be unclaimed, presumably. Not for certain of course, but you gotta imagine the most common error is that the bag lost its tag and now its impossible to find the owner.
      - CogitoCogito 4y ago
        > If the bag had a readable tag and the database wasn't wrong, then it wouldn't be unclaimed, presumably. Not for certain of course, but you gotta imagine the most common error is that the bag lost its tag and now its impossible to find the owner. I don't think any of your assumptions are founded. If the airline decides the cost to pay out is cheaper than the cost to return, then paying out would be a totally reasonable business decision. Frankly without any more detailed (internal) information, I don't think you should presume such things.
kjkjadksj 4y ago
They really replace your bag sometimes? Is that like a service they offer or do they do it without telling you and hope you recognize a strange looking bag as yours? I feel like it would almost be simpler to hand you store credit for the in airport luggage store.

ezfe 4y ago

Making it SOP to donate unclaimed bags is fine, but clearly that's not the case here

burnte 4y ago
Yeah, when your passengers know where the bags are, let them take them, don't pretend they're "lost" because the airline doesn't want to pay for delivery.
- RegnisGnaw 4y ago
  They don't know where they are 100%. I think that's the issue. They have a warehouse of 1000s of luggage where the tags are likely torn off or missing. Are you going to allow them to search the entire warehouse? What's to prevent them from taking someone else's luggage? How are you going to ensure they only take their bag? If not, are you liable if they take someone else's bag which contain PII and do identity fraud? When its donated the charity, there is an agreement that the charity will remove any PII or personalized stuff before selling the rest.
  - kjkjadksj 4y ago
    I can’t imagine tearing a tag is very common. Even if it affected a few passengers on a plane, process of elimination can lead to these people getting their bags if the airline tried at all.
  - altairprime 4y ago
    They could have scanned the beeping AirTag with a compatible device, which would have at least identified the owner - and likely matched a phone number to a reservation ticket. They certainly do not want to do so, but the capability existed and they declined to exercise it.
    - RegnisGnaw 4y ago
      So you need to get Apple agree to this?
      - ezfe 4y ago
        Apple doesn't need to do anything, AirTags broadcast an NFC link that provides contact info if the owner puts it in lost mode.
      - altairprime 4y ago
        No, that would be horrendously inefficient. Once the owner’s put it in Lost Mode, which all of those beeping bags were in, then you just visit the link it gives you when you scan it (it can do NFC, it doesn’t even require an Apple device) and the owner’s contact information is shown. The airline’s behavior instead resembles: “We couldn’t see any contact information in the outside and maybe we checked a zipper pocket for a piece of paper but ultimately we would rather give up and pay you a lost bag fee, than have to employ a human being to put more than thirty seconds of effort into each bag.”
  - peeters 4y ago
    > They have a warehouse of 1000s of luggage where the tags are likely torn off or missing. Are you going to allow them to search the entire warehouse? Sure, why not? Let them in and have staff on hand with them requiring them to prove ownership by identifying the contents. Would that cost a lot to the airline? You bet, which is why they don't make the effort. But airlines never make an effort to help passengers unless the government tells them they must. So either make it mandatory or impose punitive damages when airlines lose bags (far above the cost of the luggage). Maybe the airline would make an honest effort not to lose baggage if they were actually held accountable.
  - rom-antics 4y ago
    > Are you going to allow them to search the entire warehouse? Yes. Especially when you can make your bag beep by tapping a button on your phone. When you grab a bag from baggage claim, nobody cross-checks your ID against the bag. We already trust people not to steal. If you steal from a warehouse, the same thing would happen as if you stole from a baggage claim.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    >How are you going to ensure they only take their bag? Take a photo of yourself, the bag, and visible luggage tag prior to checking it in.
ninth_ant 4y ago
How is that clear? Nowhere in the blog post does it say that the bags had tag or PII information to identify the owners. From the perspective of the airline they were unclaimed — likely the tags had torn off and the airline had no idea who to connect the bag to. Maybe it would be a nice service to incorporate AirTag tracing for unclaimed luggage, especially if the tracing was based on a standard and not specific to a single luxury brand. But regardless that would be a new SOP and isn’t part of the current one.
- bfgoodrich 4y ago
  [dead]
- CogitoCogito 4y ago
  > From the perspective of the airline they were unclaimed — likely the tags had torn off and the airline had no idea who to connect the bag to. How did you reach the conclusion that it's "likely" the tags had torn off?
  - rhino369 4y ago
    If the bag had a readable tag and the database wasn't wrong, then it wouldn't be unclaimed, presumably. Not for certain of course, but you gotta imagine the most common error is that the bag lost its tag and now its impossible to find the owner.
    - CogitoCogito 4y ago
      > If the bag had a readable tag and the database wasn't wrong, then it wouldn't be unclaimed, presumably. Not for certain of course, but you gotta imagine the most common error is that the bag lost its tag and now its impossible to find the owner. I don't think any of your assumptions are founded. If the airline decides the cost to pay out is cheaper than the cost to return, then paying out would be a totally reasonable business decision. Frankly without any more detailed (internal) information, I don't think you should presume such things.

kjkjadksj 4y ago

They really replace your bag sometimes? Is that like a service they offer or do they do it without telling you and hope you recognize a strange looking bag as yours? I feel like it would almost be simpler to hand you store credit for the in airport luggage store.