He says to me, “We should look into purchasing a few AirTags for our suitcases before we travel to Paris.” I laugh, “Why? If my luggage ends up in Russia, what can I do about it?”

With the surge in travel recently, airlines have had a significant issue regarding lost, delayed and mishandled luggage, especially on connecting flights. As a result, the rise in carry-on vs checked baggage has increased exponentially. In fact, on both trips to Paris recently, I was offered to store my carry-on luggage below, in the cargo area, for free. Usually, there’s a hefty fee for additional checked baggage.

I’ve been fortunate

In all my years of travel, only once did my luggage not arrive with me. And yes, I’m touching wood as I write this. However, in this one instance, due to an impending snowstorm, my luggage was left behind at the departing terminal in New York City. I was notified by the airline immediately that my luggage would be put on a later flight. It was straightforward, and my suitcase was delivered to my home the following day. This was a perfect, worst-case scenario.

Air Tags?

So, back to those air tags that I quickly dismissed earlier. My immediate reaction was they’re gimmicky. But are they?

I travelled a week ahead of my guy to Paris in December. However, with no warning, Air France cancelled his flight on the morning of the departure. Initially, I thought he was joking. But instead, he was scrambling to have the airlines rebook his flight. It was a gong show!

He eventually made contact with a human, aka a booking agent. As a result, he was able to reschedule his flight. Unfortunately, not a direct flight. Instead, he would be departing on a red-eye to Toronto with a twelve-hour layover and arriving a day later in Paris than initially planned.

Not an ideal situation, but he was getting closer to Paris and closer to me 🙂 🙂

So, what you don’t know, is that three AirTags were a gift for my guy’s trip to Paris. One for his wallet, one for his keys and, yup, you guessed it! One for his suitcase. This was AirTag’s inaugural voyage.

“AirTag is an easy way to keep track of your stuff. Attach one to your keys, slip another one in your backpack. And just like that, they’re on your radar in the Find My app. AirTag has your back.”

Apple

With a twelve-hour layover in Toronto, what could go wrong?

As my guy boarded the plane in Toronto at Terminal 3 departing for Paris, he decided to check up on his AirTag, only to discover his luggage was still sitting at Terminal 1. WTF?!

It took eight days for his suitcase to be delivered to our apartment in Paris. But not without tireless effort on his end. Calling AirFrance numerous times and holding for over an hour at a time was frustrating.

However, pinpointing the AirTag’s exact location was super helpful. Telling the AirFrance agent, “Oui! But I know where my luggage is; you need someone to move it!”

Finally, lift off!

The suitcase arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport four days later. Excited to have his belongings in Paris and closer to him, he assumed the airlines would deliver the same day. Yes, but no. As he viewed in Find My app, there was no sign of movement. None.

Eventually

Like a live-stream video game, we watched my guy’s suitcase being driven around Paris via Find My app. A few times, it neared our apartment, only to be driven back to the airport. Unfortunately, he missed a late call, 11:30 to be exact; apparently, the courier was trying to deliver his suitcase. Naturally, we were asleep and not expecting a delivery late in the evening.

The next morning

Growing more frustrated, he made another call to Air France. At this point, the agent instructed him to be home between 4 and 11 pm. Great! Now he has to hang around and wait? No, however, being overly cautious and not wanting to miss his delivery, he did what the agent suggested.

AirTag is a super easy way to keep track of your stuff, tracking your lost items anywhere in the world. Read this again

So with the anticipation of his suitcase’s arrival, we watched again on the app while the courier made his deliveries, and eventually to our apartment at midnight on Dec 27.

Although this could have been a worse case of abandoned, lost or mishandled luggage story, thankfully, his had a happy ending. And yes, it was super inconvenient and frustrating. That said, I’m curious, and I wonder, how long would the recovery process have been if it weren’t for the AirTag?

Sometimes ignorance is bliss

I loathe a travel day, just thinking about checking in and dealing with the masses going through security. It’s enough to make me lose my mind!

Not to mention, it’s a gamble every time we place our luggage on the conveyor belt at the airport. Giving our belongings a wave and praying to the luggage gods it will arrive at our final destination. But, with this new little tracking device in our suitcases, how will the airlines and airports handle our luggage going forward?

It will be a nightmare for all customer service agents, who will undoubtedly be bombarded by anyone owning an AirTag.

“I know exactly where it is!”

Are we now responsible for tracking our bags? Too soon to tell? That said, these little AirTags pack a lot of punch! And at $39 for a one-pack and $129 for a four-pack, they’re reasonable. Moreover, we can now locate our “stuff” with the convenience of an app. Which is more than any airline or airport has ever achieved.

So, in the end, is the AirTag worthwhile?

Absolutely!

Will you be looking at your phone more often? Yes. Will it give you peace of mind? Yes. Will your luggage end up in Russia? Hopefully not, but you can see it from your house! 😉

Do you have a lost luggage story you would like to share?