I have a confession to make, and I’m really embarrassed. Let me just blurt it out — we don’t have any Apple AirTags in our household, and we now have a delayed checked bag, and we don’t know where it is.
I’ve made a living providing travel advice on the internet for over 15 years now, I’ve written stories about Apple AirTags saving the day for travelers many times, yet… somehow I didn’t actually buy Apple AirTags myself. If you decide after reading this post that I’m so incompetent that you should no longer read this blog, I understand. But my hope is that by sharing my idiocy, at least one other person won’t make the same mistake.
Apple AirTags are a must for travelers who check bags
Before I share our recent experience, let’s briefly talk about these travel essentials. Apple AirTags have become incredibly popular for travelers, especially those who check bags.
Apple AirTags are devices that make it easy to track virtually any belongings. They almost look like big coins (they have a diameter of 1.26 inches), and the idea is that you can place them in a checked bag, and then you can always remotely track the location of your bag.
Apple AirTags are so beyond handy, especially with how bad many airlines have gotten at handling checked bags. While some airlines will let you track your bags through their apps, that only gives you so much information — it might tell you if your bag has been loaded or offloaded, but nothing beyond that.
With Apple AirTags, you can constantly track the location of your bag, whether it’s on the plane, at baggage claim, or somewhere in between.
The most value from Apple AirTags comes when there are irregular operations. When your bag is delayed or lost, Apple AirTags will help you with always knowing where your bag is. This can be handy because airlines often have limited information on your bag’s location whether it’s at an airport or on a delivery truck to your destination.
There are uses for Apple AirTags even beyond that. They’re generally sold in sets of four, so you can always just throw one in a carry-on bag, or anything else you’re carrying, just in case it’s stolen or misplaced.
Let me say that I’ve finally purchased Apple AirTags, though go figure it was done after a checked bag has been delayed.
I’m not going to try to justify my horrible judgment in not buying Apple AirTags sooner. I’m not sure why I didn’t do it. To be honest, I’ve been intending to buy them for a long time, but for whatever reason, it was just never top-of-mind. I haven’t taken a trip in quite some time with a checked bag, so it just slipped my mind.
Well, Ford just took a trip to Europe on Lufthansa, and he had a checked bag. On the return portion of the trip to the United States, he had a two hour layover in Frankfurt. Even though both of his flights were on-time, somehow the bag didn’t make the connecting flight, and has been “delayed.”
Funny enough, a year ago we also had a delayed bag experience with Lufthansa, which should have been the push we needed to buy Apple AirTags. It was really only by luck that we got our bag back, because Lufthansa’s delayed baggage handling was terrible.
Hopefully the checked bag arrives at our home sooner rather than later. The issue with delayed bags isn’t even that they’re delayed, but rather the anxiety of wondering if they’ll ever be returned — will they just end up in a pile of 10,000 bags in Frankfurt, will the bag delivery person just drive it around in their van for weeks, or what? Apple AirTags alleviate all of those concerns.
Bottom line
If you travel with any frequency, and especially if you ever check bags, you need to have Apple AirTags. As airlines have become less reliable (in terms of irregular operations and delayed and lost bags), using Apple AirTags is the best thing you can do to manage any checked bags.
Stupidly I hadn’t actually purchased them up until now, though after having a checked bag delayed (or something) yet again, I’m seriously kicking myself for that, and immediately ordered them.
My hope is that others can learn from my mistake. If you’ve been thinking “oh Apple AirTags sound useful and I should get them,” just rip the band-aid off and do it, especially if you have upcoming summer travel plans.
Can anyone make me feel better by admitting that they see the value in Apple AirTags but haven’t purchased them up until now, for whatever reason? Or am I truly the last person? 😉
