Tag, You're It

American Airlines, Delta, and Air Canada are petitioning the TSA to allow passengers to “tag” their own checked luggage. In addition to printing your own boarding pass, the airlines want to let the customers also print out and affix their own bar coded luggage tags.

Currently, some foreign carriers allow passengers to do this but none in the U.S. The airlines claim it cuts down on time and cost. Really? After affixing the tag, the passenger still has to get on a line, albeit a dedicated one, so an airline agent can check your ID, scan the tag to make sure it’s correct, and put in on the conveyor belt. All they’re not doing is printing out and affixing the tag.

I’ll stick to my one carry-on bag. It makes life so much easier.

Airlines may test do-it-yourself traveler bag tagging

(Frank II)

Comments

[Brad]

Tagging your own bag does seem to run counter to heightened security concerns.

[Monte]

It does run counter to security concerns, and knowing the vagaries of the human mind there will be tags on any available place the owner wishes, mindlessly, to stick them. As many of us know some of our fellow travelers blank out reality when they stand in line to do most anything. Oh, I'll stick it here, oh, I'll just stick it there. Whomever has to scan the tags is going to have a difficult time bacause of the lack of uniformity in their placement on the various bags. Good luck on that you lazy airlines bosses.

[Liz]

On the other hand, improperly tagged luggage (for the wrong airport) is one of the main causes for lost luggage. So I would be pleased to do this on the few occasions I need to check a bag.

[Jim]

Some are going even further.

Qantas are introducing RFID tags for luggage for frequent flyer elites.

http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/q-bag-tag/global/en

Part of NGCI
http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/next-generation-checkin/global/en?int_cam=au:info:promo:nextGenCheckin:lang:en#/intro

BTW I think it was Air New Zealand who were first with this.