Why You Should Travel with Apple AirTags
Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash
AirTags are brilliant little tracking devices a little bigger than a quarter, which integrate easily with Apple’s Find My App. Every piece of luggage you travel with – including your skis – should have one, to tell you exactly where it has been left behind by an airline, tour bus, forgotten by you, or even stolen.
Recently, I was on a tour bus in Europe when a fellow passenger screamed out, “Stop, stop. There’s luggage falling out of the bus.” By the time the driver could pull off the highway, my fellow traveler advised that, “You just lost my bag and it’s a half-mile behind us!”
How did she know? There was an Apple AirTag inside it. The driver, who apparently had not properly secured the latch on one of the luggage bays, ran back to retrieve her bag, surely cursed by drivers who nearly hit it. Score one for AirTags.
On the way home, due to a missed connection, my own bags didn’t make it onto my flight, and were left behind. How did I know? Yes, AirTags again.
These efficient little devices can track any item for you, including pets, when within range of any Apple device, even if the AirTag and its owner are thousands of miles apart, even internationally, as mine were.
In fact, the same woman whose bag fell out of the bus said she was also tracking her cat back home in the USA. I tracked the two-day trip my bags took home and delivery to my house.
United Airlines recently became the first major carrier to integrate AirTags into their app. Star Alliance partner Lufthansa has joined them. Customers can now securely share the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with customer service agents for faster bag recovery and an even better overall travel experience, the airline stated in a press release.
United says it expects the integration to drive a “much-improved customer service experience for the fewer than 1% of customers whose bags arrive on a later flight.” By sharing AirTag information, United and partner Lufthansa say they will be able to find delayed bags and reunite them with customers more quickly – including because the AirTag owner can track every movement every moment.
Additional domestic and international airlines are expected to join the AirTag program.
AirTag lithium batteries meet the low threshold airlines require for use in baggage, so no worries about putting them in checked luggage. Each AirTag is powered by a CR2032 coin cell battery, commonly found in many auto key fobs, which is user-replaceable and lasts about a year.
A four-piece set of Apple AirTags can be found on sale for about $70. It’s a very cost-effective way for individuals to benefit from a reliable tracking solution. Or, get a secure waterproof AirTag stick-on to attach directly to your skis for under $15, far less than the price of replacing lost or stolen skis.
However, AirTags are not without flaws. Privacy concerns, limited functionality for non-Apple users, and potential misuse are significant drawbacks that warrant consideration.
There are similar products available for Android devices.
What are your experiences with delayed or lost baggage, especially ski equipment? We welcome your comments.
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Thank you. I fly United and had no idea they are using Apple AirTags. I recently started using them for my suitcase and will add one to my skis. If you use a tube I wonder if you just tape it inside to the hard plastic? I’ll try it.
Just got back from my annual ski trip out West, and I’ve been using AirTags, on my skis. On Amazon you can find these little round plastic AirTag holders which stick to your skis, $30 for 4, ie 2prs of skis. Not only can you track your ski bag, you can also track your skis when they’re on a rack and you’re having lunch, or apres. And, I realize they might also come in handy if you’re in heavy powder and lose a ski under the snow. Very useful.
On my big ski trip to Val Gardena, Italy in March ‘25, I put an Air Tag in my pocket and my wife could track me. (She does not ski, and being the wonderful woman she is, stuck out 7 days so I could live a dream I had!)