Thursday Buzz: Digitizing Bag Tags in Airports and Beyond

Imagine a bag tag that knows it’s on the right—or wrong—flight.

It’s not science fiction: New tracking tech is coming to baggage, and it could reduce the amount of lost luggage.

Airline Air France-KLM announced it will be adopting digital baggage-tag technology, releasing their own permanent tags later this year, the Wall Street Journal reports  (opens in a new tab).

The small attachable device latches onto luggage  (opens in a new tab) and displays electronic labeling of flight information. Owners can see where their stuff is going  (opens in a new tab) through smartphone updates. The tags will also automatically update as travelers’ itineraries change.

“Home-printed and electronic bag tags are the low-hanging fruit for U.S. airlines,” Stephanie Taylor of Airlines for America  (opens in a new tab) told the Journal.

“We’re expecting multiple carriers to adopt these solutions by the end of the year,” said Taylor, who specializes in passenger services issues.

Air France-KLM is joining Qantas Airways, which has already introduced digital bag tags. The Journal reports that Brussels Airlines is also getting in on the action, along with companies eyeing partnerships with airlines.

This effort aims to meet a June 2018 deadline  (opens in a new tab) set by the International Air Transport Association, which is pushing airlines to improve baggage tracking.

Admittedly, there are some worries: The advocacy group Travelers United  (opens in a new tab) suggested to the Journal that the tags could negatively affect airport and airline workers’ jobs and could stop working during power outages or other disruptions. On the other hand, the group acknowledged that the tags could streamline and shorten travelers’ time in airport lines.

Although it may take a while for the service to reach the United States, Air France-KLM says it is working with Delta Air Lines, a partner. Hang in there, America.

A New Resource for Event Pros

https://twitter.com/_BethanyNSmith/status/618892732183003136

Need ideas and inspiration as an event manager? The Event Manager Blog just published a book  (opens in a new tab), written by the site’s editor and downloadable for free.

Julius Solaris complied research and experience into a 107-page book on how to use event strategy to best engage organizations and attendees. Download it here  (opens in a new tab).

Other Links for Your Day

It’s Thursday. You’ve been putting off that dull, tedious assignment. It may be best to do it when you’re in a slump, Davis & Company CEO Alison Davis explains over at Inc  (opens in a new tab).

Want people to read your email? Make the subject line weird. Lifehacker‘s Eric Ravenscraft  (opens in a new tab) cites a Copyblogger piece  (opens in a new tab) on how an odd or crazy subject line may get the reader’s attention.

Your organization just snagged some success. But how do you share it? Association Executive Management’s David M. Patt  (opens in a new tab) discusses how to do that in a classy way, by focusing on services.

(Handout photo)