ALASKA Airlines has announced they will debut an electronic bag tagging device that will streamline the flight check-in and boarding experience.
The devices are compatible with an app and have a limited release scheduled for this fall.
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Boarding a plane in the US is far from frictionless, but Alaska Airlines’ electronic tags could modernize one of the stressors that passengers endure.
A press contact told The Sun that electronic bag tags are expected to reduce time spent checking-in luggage by 40%.
“This technology allows our guests to tag their own bags in just seconds and makes the entire check-in process almost all off-airport,” an executive for Alaska Airlines said in a press release posted on the company’s site.
2,500 Alaska Airlines travelers with MVP Elite status will be the first to test the new tags later this year.
Electronic bag tag users can activate their device at any time before check-in and deposit their cargo at self-bag drop without printing a tag.
The tag has an antenna and e-paper face for receiving and displaying information from the passenger’s self phone.
Simply touch a phone with the mobile app to the tag to activate, and head to the airport for a 21st-century boarding experience.
The same press statement shared with The US Sun said that the new system will enable passengers to go from the sidewalk to bag drop to security in “as little as three minutes”.
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Electronic bag tags are also part of Alaska Airlines’ sustainability initiative.
They will reduce the amount of paper used for traditional tags and the devices, which “are expected to last a lifetime”, do not need batteries.
The airline, which flew more than 32million passengers in 2021, is using the San Jose International Airport as a test site for its seamless travel products.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will be able to purchase an electronic bag tag next year.
Air travel has faced difficult waves of employee dissatisfaction, enforcing COVID-19 protocol compliance, and a spike in interpersonal violence on planes.
But electronic bag tags aim to reduce some of the pains that come with flying in today’s challenging environment.
