German Airline Lufthansa Not Banning AirTags After All

[bn-7bc]

Well, if having an AirTag in his bag is the „only way“ to travel, i just wonder how he traveled when AirTags didn’t exist. AirTags got released in 2021, April.

Ok not to put words into OPs mouth, but he/she/(whatever noun the person prefers) might just have meant that now that airtags are available and OP has become used to using them, OP can't imagine going back to not using then. What did or did not happen before 2011 is thus irrelevant as OP was used to another situation. Could it have been expressed better? Certainly, but the comment was just that, a quick comment on a forum, not a well considered contribution to a srious debate where making absolutly shore your point gets across the way you want it is apoha and omega

 

[Macusercom]

I suspect that they didn't want people to know where there luggage is:

I mean if they forgot your luggage or it arrived at the wrong airport, I guess people could hold them accountable because they can see what the issue is. If the airline says something like "it needs to be checked" or "it will arrive with the next plane" probably is better for the airline than admitting they've send your luggage to the wrong continent.

 

[RickDEGH]

"Ban first, think later" philosophy still going strong there

Run amok first, stop later to think.

 

[ian87w]

Has signal interference caused any plane crashes in the last 20 years? When they ask people to switch to airplane mode, there are almost certainly people that just ignore the request, and the jets still seem to survive.

It might be an issue way back when before proper shielding etc, but the regulation stuck around. And also I doubt anybody would want to change it as if there's something happened, no matter how irrelevant, that person will be the scapegoat.

 

[ian87w]

I believe thanks to this, more people would actually be aware of the Airtags and use them. 😆

 

[darngooddesign]

The PR damage is already done.

Oh please, most people have already forgotten.

If there is PR damage, it's to people still reading this thread.

 

[The Cappy]

Did nobody at the airline think to double check why no other major airlines have done this if it's in any way an issue? Aren't planes literally always full of devices with lithium batteries and radio signals etc...

Either you haven't flown on a plane, or you refused to pay attention to all the safety & warning signs that are pretty much everywhere in an airport. But no, airplane cargo compartments are NOT always full of lithium batteries. Airlines explicitly forbid you to pack batteries in your checked baggage. There's a difference between having a battery with you inside the passenger space and having a battery in your checked luggage. The luggage compartment is neither pressurized nor temperature controlled, and lithium batteries can rupture.

 

[jsalda]

Anybody that tried it (putting airtags on checked luggages), how did you guys do it? Did you just drop the airtags inside the luggage, or use one of those accessories to attach it externally? And how good does it work?

They work great! I usually can see if the bag has made it on/off the plane and at times, depending on my seating location and the distance to my bag, I can track it in flight. When I’m able to track it in flight, I’m essentially tracking my own location on Apple Maps, which is more accurate the flight tracking of the airline itself

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

When I read this at around 6 this morning I thought 'Oh here we go🙄😧🤦🏻‍♂️'...

I mean, yikes... Does Lufthansa have a baggage problem they want to ignore? Sure, AirTags *could*, but then so could smart watches, smart media players, heck, smart ANYTHING!! Hysteria, paranoia, ignorance?

So now AirTags are safe from being ejected from their planes at least. (Images of their employees strolling the pre-departure baggage area with wire cutters, Bluetooth scanners, flashed through my mind) Wow, what a freaky overreaction. 'An AirTag can bring down a plane'? That opens a door that no one should ever choose to open, ever for on the other side if that door exists forcing people to surrender their iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Pixels, Nooks, and on and on... Whoa to those carriers that try to carry through on that. Wow...

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Either you haven't flown on a plane, or you refused to pay attention to all the safety & warning signs that are pretty much everywhere in an airport. But no, airplane cargo compartments are NOT always full of lithium batteries. Airlines explicitly forbid you to pack batteries in your checked baggage. There's a difference between having a battery with you inside the passenger space and having a battery in your checked luggage. The luggage compartment is neither pressurized nor temperature controlled, and lithium batteries can rupture.

Most new planes have pressurized baggage holds from what I've read. Most (all?) commercial passenger planes have fire suppression in the baggage holds but they are not able to control a lithium ion thermal overrun fed fire consuming everything. Larger transcontinental planes also *usually* have their baggage in containers that are heavily constructed, but in the worst case aren't likely to contain any fire of that type. I've heard of people who have been called to the ticket counter, or baggage office to claim batteries that the packed, and I'm sure people have landed and found their foolishly packed batteries removed from their luggage. But AirTags? Wow... Thank Ford sanity ensued.

 

[bwillwall]

Either you haven't flown on a plane, or you refused to pay attention to all the safety & warning signs that are pretty much everywhere in an airport. But no, airplane cargo compartments are NOT always full of lithium batteries. Airlines explicitly forbid you to pack batteries in your checked baggage. There's a difference between having a battery with you inside the passenger space and having a battery in your checked luggage. The luggage compartment is neither pressurized nor temperature controlled, and lithium batteries can rupture.

You're right. I purposely REFUSED to pay attention to ALL the safety and warning signs that are pretty much EVERYWHERE in an airport!

 

[DanteHicks79]

Really wouldn't expect Apple to design a product that wasn't compliant to all the standards and regulations.

Just like how they comply with the EU regulation of USB-C on all smart phones, right? 😉

 

[DanteHicks79]

Either you haven't flown on a plane, or you refused to pay attention to all the safety & warning signs that are pretty much everywhere in an airport. But no, airplane cargo compartments are NOT always full of lithium batteries. Airlines explicitly forbid you to pack batteries in your checked baggage. There's a difference between having a battery with you inside the passenger space and having a battery in your checked luggage. The luggage compartment is neither pressurized nor temperature controlled, and lithium batteries can rupture.

My shaver and trimmer both have LiIon batteries in them. Never once have they been removed from my checked bag, ever.

Also, the cargo compartment of an aircraft has far less oxygen (required for combustion per the fire triangle) than the overly oxygen-saturated passenger compartment.

 

[Clingpeach]

The previous ban was BS.

Anyway, i see no benefit tracking a bag on a flight, if it’s lost it’s lost, they won’t allow you to enter any secured places, where you think it might be. Nor would i call to a foreign country, trying to get someone there on the phone to go hunt my bag across the airport. If it’s not on your flight, all you can do is look dumb on FindMy and cry.

Filing a support ticket and be patient is all you can do anyway to get your bag back.

uhm no. I was able to notify the authorities that my bag found its way to their airport. They conveniently forgot to mention this to me. Saw it was there and went to pick it up

 

[canyonblue737]

The previous ban was BS.

Anyway, i see no benefit tracking a bag on a flight, if it’s lost it’s lost, they won’t allow you to enter any secured places, where you think it might be. Nor would i call to a foreign country, trying to get someone there on the phone to go hunt my bag across the airport. If it’s not on your flight, all you can do is look dumb on FindMy and cry.

Filing a support ticket and be patient is all you can do anyway to get your bag back.

airlines who lose your bag will often themselves sometimes have issues recognizing where it is. often time it ends up in some baggage office in some random airport and if the staff there doesn't properly scan it due to human or other error it won't match up with the person who is missing the bag. this results in days or weeks in delay "finding" the bag or worse it never being returned and disposed of. while it is totally true you can't access secure areas of the airport, being able to walk into a baggage office and tell the staff you know exactly where the bag is when they don't have record of it, makes it far more likely they will find and reunite you quickly with the bag as it is hard to say it is lost when you can show them exactly where the bag is.

 

[canyonblue737]

Either you haven't flown on a plane, or you refused to pay attention to all the safety & warning signs that are pretty much everywhere in an airport. But no, airplane cargo compartments are NOT always full of lithium batteries. Airlines explicitly forbid you to pack batteries in your checked baggage. There's a difference between having a battery with you inside the passenger space and having a battery in your checked luggage. The luggage compartment is neither pressurized nor temperature controlled, and lithium batteries can rupture.

this is false. batteries, including lithium batteries, that are legal to take in carry bags are allowed in checked luggage AS LONG AS THEY ARE INSTALLED INTO THE DEVICE THAT USES THEM, you simply can't bring spare lithium batteries in checked luggage (you can as a carry on, but there are limits and unique requirements of how they are packed.) also the luggage compartment is BOTH PRESSURIZED AND TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED on all common large airline aircraft such as those from Boeing or Airbus. (I'm a major airline pilot.)

 

[canyonblue737]

Most new planes have pressurized baggage holds from what I've read. Most (all?) commercial passenger planes have fire suppression in the baggage holds but they are not able to control a lithium ion thermal overrun fed fire consuming everything. Larger transcontinental planes also *usually* have their baggage in containers that are heavily constructed, but in the worst case aren't likely to contain any fire of that type. I've heard of people who have been called to the ticket counter, or baggage office to claim batteries that the packed, and I'm sure people have landed and found their foolishly packed batteries removed from their luggage. But AirTags? Wow... Thank Ford sanity ensued.

it's not new airplanes either, its all the airline aircraft designed since the 1960s in terms of pressurized and temp controlled cargo compartments.

 

[7149041]

results in days or weeks in delay "finding" the bag or worse it never being returned and disposed of

I fly intercontinental all the time. Never had a suitcase lost, but was always obsessed it might happen. So I have a business card with my name, email and phone number attached to my checked baggage. If it gets so lost even the scanning won't help, they might reach out with a good old fashioned phone call.

 

[canyonblue737]

I fly intercontinental all the time. Never had a suitcase lost, but was always obsessed it might happen. So I have a business card with my name, email and phone number attached to my checked baggage. If it gets so lost even the scanning won't help, they might reach out with a good old fashioned phone call.

and that's a great idea without a doubt! I think in general airlines do a better than people expect job at not losing suitcases, and when they do they tend to find and return them quickly... that said it only takes one instance of bad luck to cause all kinds of issues and if an AirTag can help speed a reunion along, I find it worth it.

 

[chabig]

Also, the cargo compartment of an aircraft has far less oxygen (required for combustion per the fire triangle) than the overly oxygen-saturated passenger compartment.

This is false. It's filled with the same pressurized air as the passenger cabin, which is taken from ordinary atmosphere outside the airplane.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

it's not new airplanes either, its all the airline aircraft designed since the 1960s in terms of pressurized and temp controlled cargo compartments.

No, actually it depends on the type. DC9 and MD80's were available with fire supression and smoke detectors in the baggage hold, but it wasn't required so many carriers didn't pay for it. Sadly. And when the lack of same was the cause of a fatal accident, some carriers still refused to upgrade until required to (not sure if it was ever required). Some planes also have unpressurized holds, and caged pets are sometimes 'mistakenly' placed in them. Some airlines 'mistakenly' kill quite a few animals that they transport. But, yeah... ANYONE flying an animal needs to know what planes they will be traveling on, and make sure that they are placed in the proper location. It should be criminal that so many loved and loving pets have been either frozen to death, suffocated, or both.

 

[canyonblue737]

No, actually it depends on the type. DC9 and MD80's were available with fire supression and smoke detectors in the baggage hold, but it wasn't required so many carriers didn't pay for it. Sadly. And when the lack of same was the cause of a fatal accident, some carriers still refused to upgrade until required to (not sure if it was ever required). Some planes also have unpressurized holds, and caged pets are sometimes 'mistakenly' placed in them. Some airlines 'mistakenly' kill quite a few animals that they transport. But, yeah... ANYONE flying an animal needs to know what planes they will be traveling on, and make sure that they are placed in the proper location. It should be criminal that so many loved and loving pets have been either frozen to death, suffocated, or both.

my quote wasn't about fire suppression or smoke detectors, although those are required in the USA now on airline aircraft even if they didn't originally have them. That rule has been in place for 21 years now. as for unpressurized and non-temperature controlled cargo holds I am unaware of any flying airline aircraft from a 737 and larger that has an unpressurized hold of any kind and for example the 737 was designed in the 60s. modern aircraft cargo holds are climate controlled although I can't claim that wasn't an option decades ago, I don't know that. bottom line is if you put your bag in a cargo hold of any large aircraft flying today you should expect the bag to be in an area that is both pressurized, climate controlled and with both thermal detection and protection.

 

[chabig]

I too, am a professional pilot--45 years as a pilot, 40 years as a professional, 25 years with an airline, current Captain. Canyonblue is right. There is not, nor has there ever been an airplane with a pressurized passenger cabin and an unpressurized cargo hold. The entire fuselage structure is a pressure vessel, and has to be that way (try to imagine a balloon with an unpressurized half!). Now some airplanes may have a small compartment in the very front of very back that is outside the pressure vessel, but I don't think PinkyMacGodess is arguing that.

Passengers, their bags, and pets do indeed always fly in pressurized, temperature controlled compartments. What some cargo compartments lack, is air circulation. By keeping fresh air out, older airplanes complied with fire safety standards of the day–were a fire to occur it would quickly consume the available oxygen and suffocate itself. Modern airplanes circulate air in the cargo compartments, and are equipped with smoke detection and extinguishing systems. It's very important for airlines to not put pets in the older style compartments, and we have multiple checks and balances to prevent that. But I can't argue that it hasn't happened in the past. I don't know of any airliners of that kind that are still in service.

 

[canyonblue737]

I too, am a professional pilot--45 years as a pilot, 40 years as a professional, 25 years with an airline, current Captain. Canyonblue is right. There is not, nor has there ever been an airplane with a pressurized passenger cabin and an unpressurized cargo hold. The entire fuselage structure is a pressure vessel, and has to be that way (try to imagine a balloon with an unpressurized half!). Now some airplanes may have a small compartment in the very front of very back that is outside the pressure vessel, but I don't think PinkyMacGodess is arguing that.

Passengers, their bags, and pets do indeed always fly in pressurized, temperature controlled compartments. What some cargo compartments lack, is air circulation. By keeping fresh air out, older airplanes complied with fire safety standards of the day–were a fire to occur it would quickly consume the available oxygen and suffocate itself. Modern airplanes circulate air in the cargo compartments, and are equipped with smoke detection and extinguishing systems. It's very important for airlines to not put pets in the older style compartments, and we have multiple checks and balances to prevent that. But I can't argue that it hasn't happened in the past. I don't know of any airliners of that kind that are still in service.

Absolutely, I’m also a 24 year airline pilot and current Captain at a major US airline. All of my various comments stemmed from an early post that claimed batteries were not allowed in checked luggage because they might rupture since cargo holds are unpressurized and not temperature controlled. As we know that isn’t true as they are pressurized, they are temperature controlled, and any battery that is legal to bring into the cabin is legal to also put in checked luggage so long as it is installed in the product it is designed for. However spare batteries not installed must be carried into the cabin subject to specific limits on types, quantity and methods of storage. Thanks.

 

[0924487]

I am a frequent international flyer, and my bags were never lost or late. I, however, never booked budget airlines.