Air New Zealand is rolling out its baggage tracking feature to a larger customer base after a successful initial trial run. The airline is keeping up with a global trend of baggage tracking, especially after the tricky months last summer when several international airlines suffered from a high rate of misplaced baggage.

Expanding the test run

Encouraged by a successful pilot program of its baggage tracking feature, Air New Zealand is now expanding the test run and offering the service to 25% of its app users for domestic travel and 5% for international short-haul travel.

Air New Zealand explains that the feature allows passengers to view the last recorded status of their bag(s) in the Air NZ app. It added that after completing the bag drop, 'Check status' will appear on the baggage card on the flight details screen in the app.

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With the help of this feature, passengers can know the progress of their luggage throughout their journey – from check-in, onboard, to when it arrives at their destination. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar, commented,

“Customers can track the journey of their bag and receive guidance on what to do if their bag has taken a detour. In an upcoming release, customers will also be able to report and monitor mishandled baggage via the app.

"Piloting the features gives us the opportunity to trial and test among a small group of passengers to troubleshoot any challenges, which will allow a more seamless rollout to all app users towards the middle of this year.”

Other airlines allow baggage tracking, too

Air New Zealand’s baggage tracking service will likely be popular with its customers, but it’s not the only airline offering this feature. The big three US airlines all offer this service, with the system adding the bags to a passenger’s reservation when dropping them off at the counter and updating them every time the tag is scanned.

In 2020, Korean Air also introduced a feature for flights departing from Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), which would confirm that a passenger's bags were successfully loaded onto the flight. China Eastern reportedly started a similar service on select domestic routes in the country in 2019. The app is integrated into WeChat and allows for real-time updates throughout the journey.

Global problem

The problem of lost or misplaced baggage is faced by all global airlines. The issue became particularly severe last summer, as airlines coped with staff shortages and passengers waiting for days and weeks to get back their luggage.

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According to IT service provider SITA, as the airline industry began to recover from COVID-19, the global mishandled baggage rate spiked by 24% to 4.35 bags per thousand passengers in 2021. While things are not as bad as they were a year or two ago, the trend of baggage tracking by passengers and airlines is here to say.

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• 

  Air New Zealand

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  NZ/ANZ

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Auckland Airport, Christchurch Airport, Wellington Airport

  Year Founded:

  1965

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Greg Foran

  Country:

  New Zealand

  Region:

  Oceania