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Better tracking means fewer lost bags

 

The good news is that improvements in airline tracking technology, being used by more airlines, is making a huge improvement in bag delivery globally.

The bad news is that if your bag has to be handed off between planes or airlines before your destination, well, not so much.

A report by SITA, an aviation tech company owned by a consortium of airlines, says that since many airlines began using trackable tagging, the improvement in bags getting onto the flight in the first place has been 38% to 66%, depending on how much tracking is in use.

It's also comforting to passengers, since many airlines now make it possible for passengers to check where their bags are—and it's nice to take off knowing they are in the hold beneath them.

But the handoff point is still an issue. While there has been improvement, it is still a weak point, and with the improvement in first loading, transfers now account for 46% of all lost baggage claims.

Overall results for the last decade are stunning: The number of mishandled bags dropped 47%. In numbers, 46.9 million bags were lost or delayed in 2007, but only 24.8 million in 2018 despite a huge growth in passengers. The airlines saved, too: the cost went from $4.22 billion to $2.4 billion.

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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