Keeping tabs on lost luggage

Last updated at 15:49 31 July 2002


The fear of losing luggage is a traveller's nightmare - and something airlines are especially keen to avoid.

An IT application designed by SITA to track luggage is already used by 335 airlines - including British Airways, Ryanair, easyjet and Virgin - with a 99% success rate.

Little heard of by the consumer until now, it has just been adopted by Star Alliance - which means passengers on a further 14 airlines, including United, Air Canada, bmi British Midland, Lufthansa German Airlines and Thai Airways International can take advantage of it.

The system allows airlines - and passengers, via the Internet - to monitor the progress of their lost luggage as it wends its way back to them.

When you lose a bag you fill out a description of the missing luggage at the airport which is then fed into the system.

Upon filing your report you are given a reference number that you can type into the WorldTracer webpage to get instant updates as to the status of your bag on its return journey.

And if you were too flustered at the time to give an accurate report of what your bag looks like, you can go back into the system and correct your description on the website at a later date - to help speed up the inevitable happy reunion.

In an assessment by IATA (International Air Transport Association) this spring, it was found that six in every 1,000 bags are 'misdirected' - ie sent on a different holiday - at an average cost to the airline of $200 per bag.

With 895,000,000 passengers travelling in the USA in 2000 alone, baggage loss can cost the industry up to $1 billion a year.

To find out more about the tracking system, visit www.worldtracer.com

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