Lost luggage: Air New Zealand boosts bag tracking today

Travellers will have more peace of mind about where their luggage is.

Air New Zealand has gone live with Apple’s Find My Share Item Location feature to help locate wayward bags.

From today, travellers who put an AirTag or other ‘Find My’ network accessory in their bag can use the Find My app to generate and share a live location link with Air New Zealand’s customer service team if their luggage is delayed or mishandled, enabling both the customer and the airline to track the bag via the app.

Fourteen other airlines have introduced the new feature, following an Apple iOS update that will let travellers share their AirTags location with the carriers.

Sharing the information avoids situations where passengers with lost bags knew more about them than their airline and sometimes struggled to get their carrier to take action.

Air New Zealand says the new feature offers an additional layer of reassurance.

Staff will be able to see not only where the bag was last scanned at the airport but also its recent location, thanks to the ‘Find My’ capability.

How it works

Users can generate a location link directly from the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

For Air New Zealand passengers, a new option to “Add AirTag location to existing report” is available within the “delayed or damaged bags” section of the Air NZ app. Once submitted, this information is securely shared with the airline’s baggage tracing team.

Staff can access a dedicated webpage featuring an interactive map that displays the AirTag’s location. The map updates automatically whenever the AirTag’s position changes and includes a timestamp of the most recent update. To experience the new Share Item Location feature, customers should verify that their Apple device is running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, or macOS 15.2 or later.

Cutting travel stress

Air New Zealand chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar said the initiative builds on the airline’s ongoing efforts to make travel as stress-free as possible for its customers.

In September 2023, the airline launched its own baggage tracking feature providing customers with updates on the whereabouts of their luggage throughout their journey.

“This was a significant step forward, and now Apple’s Share Item Location feature takes it to the next level,“ he said.

“For those travellers who use AirTags or other Find My network accessories, this new feature means that if their bag takes an unexpected detour, they can share a location link with our team.

“Combined with the data from the airline’s own systems, this gives us a comprehensive view of where the bag is.

“Launching this ahead of the holiday season is ideal. We’re preparing to carry three million customers over the summer period, which means a lot of luggage on the move. This added visibility will give travellers greater peace of mind during their journey.“

Ravishankar suggests that an AirTag (which retail for close to $200 for a pack of four) could be a thoughtful Christmas gift for any friends or whānau planning to travel.

Air New Zealand worked closely with Apple to ensure customer data is handled securely and that the airline’s systems can safely accept Share Item Location links.

For customers’ privacy and security, location sharing will automatically end as soon as a customer is reunited with their bag, can be stopped by the customer at any time, and will automatically expire after seven days.

Share Item Location is built on the Apple Find My network, a crowdsourced network of over one billion Apple devices that use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect missing devices or items nearby, and report their approximate location back to the owner.

Air NZ says the entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple or Find My Network accessory manufacturers, can view an item’s location or information.

Customers can start sharing their luggage’s live location with Air New Zealand’s customer service teams at airports worldwide.

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.