For those tired of waiting in line to print off bag tags at the airport, Alaska Airlines has introduced a new solution. Recently, the airline started selling its electronic permanent bag tags to the general public. So what are these things all about — and will I be picking one up for myself?
I first came across this bagtag device recently while reading the blog View from the Wing — but apparently it’s been in the works for quite a while. Looking in the archives, it seems the airline first introduced them to a small number of their elites more than eight years ago! But, now they’ve come to the masses… if the masses are willing to pay $89 to buy one.
It’s true: these electronic bag tags aren’t cheap. However, on the bright side, they do include free shipping. More importantly, Alaska advertises that these specialty tags can help flyers save time at the airport.
So how do they work? The experience of loading your tag begins in the Alaska app. If your itinerary is eligible, you’ll be given the option to generate your electronic tag. Then, using the NFC and Bluetooth on your phone, it will send the info to your bag tag’s display. After your flight, you can then remove the bag tag by returning to the app to clear it.
The benefit to this (beyond just feeling fancy) is that you’ll be able to skip the regular bag tag printing and proceed directly to the bag drop-off. There, the agents will be able to scan your electronic bag tag just like a normal one.
As cool as I think this idea and contraption are, there are at least three major reasons why I won’t be buying one for myself. Ironically, the least of these issues is the price. At $89, the device is certainly expensive, but if you put it in the context of a time-saving service on par with the likes of CLEAR Plus or TSA Precheck, then perhaps it’s not so bad. Of course, you’d need to be a pretty frequent Alaska Airlines flyer — which is where issue two comes in.
Personally, I’ve only ever flown Alaska once in my life and that was over two decades ago (if you want to count pre-merger Virgin American flights, then I guess it’s more like a decade and change). Moreover, the airline doesn’t service my local airport, so I don’t see this changing anytime soon.
Finally, even if I did somehow start flying Alaska regularly, the fact is that I rarely check luggage — at least not by choice. If memory serves, the last time I did was in 2016 (and that gate check was mostly because the wheel on my wife’s luggage broke and so we quickly volunteered to check our planned carry-on). So, between this and the other two reasons, it’s clear that I am about as far from the target market as you can get when it comes to this electronic bag tag.
Having said all that, I would like to see this type of tech spread to other, non-affiliated carriers. Heck, if Delta offered one, I’d at least give it a shot (maybe not for $89, but who knows?). So, kudos to Alaska for thinking outside the box, continuing to develop this concept, and bringing something interesting to the travel industry.