JetBlue offering Apple AirTag luggage tracking service
JetBlue introduces AirTag sharing to help locate and return misplaced luggage. Credit: Jeff Bachner
Got an Apple AirTag? JetBlue Airways has launched a program to allow flyers who place an AirTag — or any other accessory supported by Apple’s Find My network — into their luggage to share the location with JetBlue if their bag doesn’t make it to their destination.
Flyers whose luggage doesn’t arrive at the carousel would then use Find My’s "share" option to authorize JetBlue to see the information. Crew members would only have access to the location until that bag is found and then sharing will be disabled, a JetBlue spokesperson said Tuesday.
Crew members will be able to pinpoint the bag via the same Find My service the flyer has, the spokesperson said. A crew member would be able to see exactly where the luggage is in the airport facility and forward it to the owner, the spokesman said.
Travel adviser Linh Trieu, owner of Patchogue-based Truescapes, praised the plan. "Especially in this day and age, when it’s so easy to lose your luggage, why don’t we use all the technology available to us to avoid any issues? Travel is already difficult enough," she said.
Only Apple device users would have access to this program at this time, but JetBlue is looking into options for other Bluetooth tracker brands, according to the company spokesperson.
JetBlue has also added the ability for flyers to track their luggage in real time as it is checked through various locations on the way to their destination. Previously, this information was shared with flyers via email alerts, but it will now also be accessible in the JetBlue app, the spokesperson said.
Both of these services are included with ticket purchases at no extra cost, the spokesman added.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
