Maps are an integral part of travel, but for those flying with checked bags, being able to see a piece of luggage and its journey through the airport and from one plane to the next has been lacking. Delta Air Lines now offers customers a mapped view of their bag’s last scanned location. This week, baggage tracking information on the Fly Delta mobile app, allowing passengers to view the whereabouts of their belongings in real time.
The new map enhancement builds on Delta’s industry-first, system-wide launch of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) bag tags and the roll out of RFID tracking technology at 84 airports in the U.S. All domestic stations now offer a map view of the bag’s journey. International stations will receive this technology in the coming months.
“We’re the first carrier to offer this level of visibility,” said Bill Lentsch, Delta’s senior vice president of airline operations and airport customer service for Delta. “From the moment our customers drop off their bag, we want them to know we’re looking out for it every step of the way and working to take the stress out of flying one innovation at a time.”
When a customer wants to see the location of their bag on the map, the display starts by showing a zoomed out map of the U.S. as the bag travels from one airport to the next. The map then automatically zooms to airport view. Users can follow their bag along its journey via pins, with the last known location identified by a suitcase icon. Tapping any of the pins or the icon will provide additional text information about the location of the bag.
Push notifications will sync with the app later this year and offer Delta customers down-to–the-minute updates on their checked baggage. It will also automatically update as flight details change.
