Virgin rolls out bag-tracking tech, Qantas to follow
The airline apps aim to let you know where your bags are at every step of the journey.
By David Flynn, September 14 2023
Virgin Australia is today rolling out its app-based baggage tracking system “across more than two thirds of its domestic network,” the airline says, following a successful pilot of the program in May 2023,
Passengers on almost 70% of the airline’s domestic flights will be able to track the status of their checked baggage via the Virgin Australia app “on select flights” departing from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Launceston.
Those stand alongside other key regional destinations including Newcastle, Ballina Byron, the Sunshine Coast and Hamilton Island, Townsville, Rockhampton and Mackay.
And while WA is not on the map right now, the airline promises “baggage tracking will be available on select flights departing Perth soon.”
Virgin believes more passengers will check their bags as a result of the app-based ticking.
Many international airlines – including Emirates, Swiss, Delta, United, Qatar Airways and most recently Air New Zealand – offer bag tracking to varying degrees, but Virgin is the first Australian carrier to make this move.
Push notifications via the Virgin Australia app will alert flyers once their luggage has been successfully checked in for your flight – and, where relevant, transferred to an international partner airline – and also confirm the bag is ready for collection, and at which baggage carousel.
The Virgin Australia app now support checked luggage tracking on more than 70% of domestic flights.
However, unlike the popular Apple AirTags which deliver (mostly) accurate geo-positioning of a bag, Virgin’s offering will not provide live ‘real-time’ tracking, relying instead on physical scanning of the bags at each airport.
But the in-app bag isn’t just about giving travellers a dose of the feel-goods: Virgin sees it as key to having more passengers check their bags rather than carry them onto the plane.
“We know the potential of lost baggage is a concern for travellers globally and anticipate today’s announcement will give many guests that extra level of comfort knowing where their bag is at every step of the journey,” says Paul Jones, Virgin Australia Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer, with Virgin “anticipating a rise in guests checking in baggage as a result of the new tracking tool.”
Qantas in-app bag tracking
Qantas says it won’t be far behind in letting travellers keep track of their luggage and know where their checked bags are at every stage of the flight.
Earlier this year the airline confirmed baggage tracking would be added to the Qantas app “towards the end of 2023.”
Ironically, Qantas was initially well ahead of the curve on this, launching its RFID-enabled Q Bag Tags in 2010 as part of a streamlined domestic Next Generation Check-in initiative.
Qantas launched its smart Q Bag Tag 'coasters' in 2010.
Each of the Q Bag Tags – coloured coded to a frequent flyer’s status – contains an RFID chip which synchronises the traveller’s flight details with their baggage, and then lets the bag be tracked by Qantas using RFID scanners and a ‘baggage reconciliation system’.
However, there’s currently no way for the traveller to access that system and receive assurance that their bags have been loaded onto the plane or are headed for the luggage belt.
Baggage tracking apps and smart tags such as the Apple AirTag have become an increasingly common part of the modern traveller’s arsenal, with lost luggage woes fuelling the desire to keep a closer eye on the whereabouts of your precious belongings.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 933
Be interesting to know if they are adding extra scanning to the current process; I can see some irate baggage handlers if they have to add a task to the process.
P1 and P's I know at QF don't like putting their scanner tags on their bags, they say the bags go missing but when they put a paper tag on the bag they never have a problem.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1192
It doesn't sound like it. It sounds like you will receive a message when the bag is checked in. You will then receive a second message on arrival when the bag is unloaded and placed on belt where an existing scanner will sort the luggage between that which is transit and that which goes for collection in the baggage hall. There doesn't appear to be any scans done as luggage is loaded or unloaded which probably makes retaining the Air Tag (or Samsung equivalent) a worthwhile back up solution.
I frequently travel into Asia and have discovered an issue with the Air tag solution. In poorer parts of Asia such as Indonesia and Thailand, iPhones are comparatively rare compared with much cheaper Android alternatives. This means your luggage is often loaded and unloaded without it coming close enough to an iPhone for the NFC function of the Air tag to trigger and update. This means you can go a long time between updates. I recently came back from DPS and didn't get an update from the time the luggage was checked in until it popped out in the MEL baggage hall.
You don't have to be P or P1 to get a scanner tag at QF. Anyone above Silver gets one. Having said that, I don't trust it and have never used it though I have seen loaders out the window of my plane scanning the bags with scanner tags as bags are loaded to check they are at the right plane.
09 May 2020
Total posts 554
Sounds like not many baggage handlers carry recent model iPhone at MEL international unless they are switched off
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 933
@Reeves35 I agree about not all baggage handlers having iPhone, last year I was 100% sure they left my bags in Malta and it wasn't until we landed in Amsterdam and waiting for the luggage to come out did the tags start working again (lucky they where in Amsterdam).
The other point about P1 and P's some people think it could be on purpose their bags go missing............
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Mar 2012
Total posts 213
I have never had a problem with the RFID tags. I prefer them as I don't need to print paper every flight. It's set and forget with the RFID tag.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 372
I’d be happier if they offered platinum, gold and business class passengers lounges when flying internationally 🤣.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Jan 2018
Total posts 642
Nailed it, MR, nailed it.
07 May 2015
Total posts 42
A great innovation by VA at least in the Australian airline space. You'd think Qantas would already be doing this, the way it always talks about being such a technology innovator. Let's face it, Virgin has delivered a lot of good passenger innovations over the years, and this is what competition is all about.
03 Aug 2020
Total posts 21
Hate to break it to you but Qantas and many other airlines have been using a system for years called First Bag which is run by a UK based company called Zafire. It does exactly what Virgin are just starting to do now. Introduce a aystem that tracks the backs although First Bag doesn't send notifications to the customer. Whilst its great that Virgin are trialing this not its not a new concept
Qantas
02 May 2016
Total posts 62
Delta have been doing this for 6-8 years and is extremely effective, no notifications but on the app you can see bag checked in, bag loaded on plane, bag offloaded, bag transferred etc etc…..it’s very helpful particularly on transfers through their hubs, always some relief when you can see that your bag made it to the plane. Both QF and VA are miles behind here but is certainly pleasing to see progress.
09 May 2020
Total posts 554
Not a baggage handler and I don’t claim I run an airline or Australian airport
But I doubt the app is going to be accurate beyond being loaded onto a trolley to be loaded on to your departing plane, as the bar code scanners in the airport generally AFAIK scans the luggage to get them to the correct loading dock for the correct plane. I am not aware they are individually scanned as they are being loaded into the plane coming off the conveyor belt at the tarmac, nor when they are being offloaded from the new arrived plane, or before being placed at the baggage carousel for collection (either scanned by hand or airport installed scanner which requires an investment into capital works that I don’t think exists)
So it may seem accurate until someone’s luggage doesn’t turn up when the app says it arrive
30 Jun 2020
Total posts 7
I got a big splash screen notification that baggage tracking was available on my flight Syd-Bri and then Bri-Syd last week. Was a bit excited as the tracking on several airlines in Europe in Jan/Feb was incredibly informative, handy and accurate with multiple checkpoints along the way. Sadly Virgins new system seems embryonic at best. For both trips, some time after watching my bags trundle away on the conveyor, I got a notification something along the lines of 'we're tracking your bag and will net you know when it's arrived'. Then waiting at the carousel at destination a second message along the lines of 'your bags are available for collection' moments before they trundled out. Might be handy if you went for a drink on arrival I guess!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Jan 2018
Total posts 642
For this to work reliably and consistently, much will depend of the thermal luggage tags and labels put on the item. On international flights, most check-in counter staff will put all 3 of the smaller bar code stickers on at least 3 sides of the item, in addition to the tag itself. On domestic flights in Oz maybe 1 in 2 will put one (1) additional sticker on the item in addition to the tag itself. It's these additional stickers that are needed to register a hit at automated scanning points (i.e.not a handheld scanner by a Baggage Handler).
This is a great idea, just depends heavily on the implementation. Hope it works as well as the United Airlines system within USA.
15 Mar 2018
Total posts 86
I'll stick with my Tiles and Samsung. Gives great tracking and visibility, even if some of the bag activities and side trips around the terminal are confusing.
03 May 2013
Total posts 668
Great initiative but what happens when you connect from QF to another airline such as AY or RJ etc?
I wont be giving up my air tag just yet.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Sep 2012
Total posts 386
Any positive effort to improve the experience through better tech has to be a bonus. As per a lot of comments, the link gets broken when the tech is not properly supported throughout all the locations that Qantas (and other carriers) but when it works I'm sure it will be/is a good feature in the APP that customers really grow to value. I'd like to see the paper baggage receipt move to the APP as soon as your checked bag gets swept into the belt.
10 Dec 2019
Total posts 16
QANTAS are so far behind when it comes to baggage tracking. United Airlines has had this for ages. I get a text message right after checkin. I can then use the app to confirm my bag was loaded onto the aircraft, was unloaded, and when it's on the way to baggage claim.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 Apr 2023
Total posts 3
Re the Q tags I have been asked multiple times to remove for international travel with connection to other airlines as only works with Qantas. My latest nightmare of a trip American Airlines promised me my luggage would be on my flight after a missed connection but as soon as landed in Sydney my AirTag said it was still in LAX so I didn’t wait for it which meant I made my connection to Adelaide whereas if I had waited would have missed.
This process may have some theoretical value but not true tracking yet.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer - Chairmans Lounge
01 Sep 2011
Total posts 416
wonder if this will also be the case if its a QF flight number on a code share flight with for example emirates.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Nov 2018
Total posts 6
Certainly don't trust Qantas baggage handing capabilities, even as Platinum. Started using Apple Air Tags a couple of years ago and have been able to monitor my bags at any time on three recent world travels. Twice QF lost my bags domestically over the last year and continually stalled me by saying they were calling various offices. I was able to show them exactly where they were located by using my air tags, but still took 48+ hours to recover. Lesson Learned.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
11 Dec 2016
Total posts 72
Considering that their codeshare partners as mentioned already do this and the app will now have the functionality.
Does that mean that the Qatar/United etc.. codeshare flights will also integrate with the bag tracking? Would be useful if it's added in the future at some point.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Aug 2023
Total posts 4
Good innovation, but VA really playing catch up with the likes of Delta and United who have had this in their own apps for ages.
Great to see VA catching up on their tech stack (this and self service rebook during disrupts) after years of neglect and COVID-induced voluntary administration.
06 Sep 2019
Total posts 30
I had never worried about bag tracking as I had never had an incident of lost or delayed baggage. That changed a couple of weeks ago when my baggage got left behind in both directions transiting through Changi.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Sep 2021
Total posts 11
I no longer use the Q Bag Tags, after a change connection SYD, BNE, TSV. I was in TSV, my bag was in BNE. However I was re-united some hours later. I take the Q bag tags off for domestic flights and leave them on for International in the hope that if they do get lost, that somehow they will be identified.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Aug 2015
Total posts 28
Delta have been doing this for years works well, ill still keep a Samsung SmartTag in each bag though as i dont trust the underpaid help beneath the plane...
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
20 Jul 2012
Total posts 15
I have used it a few times recently but it's pretty basic.
You get an update a minute or so after you check your bag in telling you that it's been checked in.
Then as you see your bag come out on the carousel, another update to advise that it's on the carousel.
Probably helps if you are seriously vision impaired, but if your eyes work fine then it doesn't tell you anything you can't already see.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Virgin rolls out bag-tracking tech, Qantas to follow