British Airways is looking to give passengers a world-first experience of solving the problems that usually arise at their destination while they’re still in the air. Thousands of passengers have already been trialled as part of the new process for lost luggage and missed connections that start before their getaway does.
Passengers may trade their lengthy wait at the baggage carousel and a disgruntled discussion with lost luggage staff at the airport for a mid-flight interruption. People with connecting flights also might be able to avoid chaos at their layover airport when they’ve missed their connection.
According to the Daily Star, a software developed exclusively for BA by Microsoft will alert cabin crew mid-air if a bag has not been loaded onto the plane. The cabin crew will then be able to alert the affected passengers before reaching the destination.
They’ll take note of the address the passenger would like the bags to be couriered on to and could even offer on-the-spot compensation, a similar service to what passengers already receive from the lost luggage desk at airports. This could save plenty of time, not to mention ending the anxiety of not knowing whether your bag will ever appear on the heavily laden baggage carousels.
Additionally, more than 10,000 BA passengers have also been part of a trial for a similar process involving flight issues. The same software also alerts onboard staff if any passengers currently on the plane will be missing connecting flights by the time they land.
The crew will alert the passenger while still on the flight and discuss rebooking or other options to get them to their final destination. Much like the mid-air lost luggage procedure, passengers could be offered a “gesture of goodwill” payment too.
Sean Doyle, the airline’s chief executive, noted this advancement will be “a complete leapfrog from where we are today”. Doyle originally announced the development at the 2023 Airlines conference in London.
At the time, the chief executive noted that in-flight managers were “thrilled” with the technology. He also revealed that the airline would be working on accessibility issues too.
He highlighted another initiative trailing wheelchairs that, once secured onboard, turn into aircraft seats. He added: “We have made a lot of progress this year with our airport mobility providers.”
This year could also see passengers using Apple devices getting a head start on the lost luggage debacle. Over 15 airlines including the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have signed up to a system that will allow passengers to track their baggage through Apple AirTags.
The airlines will begin using Apple’s ‘Find My’ item locations this year according to The Mirror to help speed up the process of location and retrieving lost bags. The air transport technology company SITA is also planning to integrate the feature into their global baggage-tracking system which spans 2,800 airports and 500 airlines.