A company that sells lost airplane luggage(thehustle.co)
thehustle.co
A company that sells lost airplane luggage
https://thehustle.co/the-lucrative-business-of-lost-airplane-luggage/
140 comments
I was at a convention once listening to an FBI agent talk about contacting companies that had been hacked. They would not reply to emails or even open letters labeled "FBI". The likelihood of a scam was just too high. So they asked the room what it would take for us to believe that an unsolicited communication came from the real FBI. In short, the room wanted Mulder and Scully at the front door, in suits, with badges/guns, and even then many calls would be make before believing a believe a word. That is what the constant stream of online scams has done to people.
I was forced to deal with an FBI agent last year. I authenticated him by calling the local FBI office and asking the person who answered to authenticate the agent. I got the number of the FBI office off way back machine.
> off way back machine.
+1 for practical paranoia!
+1 for practical paranoia!
wayback machine? why not the regular official website? sorry, I don't understand.
Respectfully, if you call any law enforcement agency, and totally make up a claim about someone at your door, they will claim that person works for them and is official.
Operators lie.
Operators lie.
What? This seems hard to believe. What incentive do operators have to support law enforcement impersonators?
I can not understand the motives of a 911 operator.
I am speaking from experience. I have tested this, and always got the same answer.
I am speaking from experience. I have tested this, and always got the same answer.
I wonder how many field office numbers have changed…
Reminds me of a story about an allied sabateur working in occupied France during WWII. They were trying to convince someone that they were indeed the "real deal" and nothing was working until they agreed on a coded phrase to be played on the BBC radio. Only after hearing the message on the radio the next night was their identity trusted.
I would find it unlikely that a low level guy would have the connections to slip a phrase into the BBC and would think they have to be a spy with high level connections.
Perhaps his boss told him the secret in advance?
He didn't corrupt the BBC announcers, they just both worked for the government.
He didn't corrupt the BBC announcers, they just both worked for the government.
It was pretty well organized: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Londres
But if I have actually lost my baggage, and I receive an email about lost baggage..? Scam is not going to be front of mind?
(..so also excellent time to scam me.. please don't. But also maybe more fruitful just to steal the baggage if you have access to that information.)
(..so also excellent time to scam me.. please don't. But also maybe more fruitful just to steal the baggage if you have access to that information.)
Not a lot of money in stolen baggage. But using stolen baggage as an in to socially engineer someone into sending you Target gift cards? That seems like the kind of scam that might happen.
You get the average bag value from every bag though (on average!), you socially engineer someone into sending you more than that in Target gift cards some tiny fraction of the time. And in this scenario you have to know about their lost baggage anyway.
I think if you somehow have access to the lost baggage at a given airport, theft is going to me profitable than scamming. Aaanyway!
I think if you somehow have access to the lost baggage at a given airport, theft is going to me profitable than scamming. Aaanyway!
The average bag contains approximately one goodwill donation's worth of clothing and a selection of used toiletries.
Yep, try running a marketing contest sometime and then trying to notify people by phone or email that they have won the grand prize.
Mitchell and Webb have that scenario wonderfully covered (2 min sketch)
https://youtu.be/xsYoeoEE3ww?si=ZMhfesAPXNFb_hnS
https://youtu.be/xsYoeoEE3ww?si=ZMhfesAPXNFb_hnS
The German spy who came off a U-Boat and wanted to hand their team in wasn't believed on the phone and had to show up in person at FBI headquarters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_John_Dasch presumably?
Tragic story
Tragic story
And if you do finally get through to them, they can still be kinda jerks.
When I briefly was interested in precious metals, I found that a popular gold&silver bullion retailer had a breach, with attacker having customer contact info, and also able to email as the retailer.
This seemed like a situation with higher-stakes risks than the usual applications of consumer data breaches.[1]
So I felt obligated to alert them.
When I talked my way through the company's main phone number, the IT/security people came off as skeptical of me, and kinda doing a tough-guy thing (like they might be dealing with an attacker trying to social them, and didn't want to show weakness or look stupid), before they acknowledged/claimed that they knew about the compromise.
Then, when they realized I was legitimately alerting them, not trying to trick them, nor to otherwise get anything from them, they still sounded like I was a jerk for bothering them about this compromise they already knew about. (Though I don't think they disclosed it to affected customers.)
I suppose I should be understanding, that they might get BS calls all the time, but, even as a ordinary citizen trying to be helpful, the tone was annoying. I guess the FBI would be rolling their eyes even harder at companies that not only can't do their job of securing sensitive data and systems, but then act like jerks when you try to help them salvage the inevitable fudge-up.
[1] This was a vendor to the "if you don't hold it, you don't own it" physical gold&silver buyers fad at the time. If attacker also got the shipping addresses, it's a high-value burglary target list, of homes with high probability of untraceable stores-of-wealth, including ones that could easily be liquidated for (today) around $2,000 per troy ounce. Or the worse variant: target list for home invasion, where badguy threatens/tortures occupants until confident that the victim told them all the hiding locations, not just the decoy safe. Maybe a harder list to sell for that purpose, but more dangerous if it got used for that purpose (rather than, or in addition to, an email scam gold-for-Bitcoin special offer that appeared to be from the retailer and got past spam filters).
When I briefly was interested in precious metals, I found that a popular gold&silver bullion retailer had a breach, with attacker having customer contact info, and also able to email as the retailer.
This seemed like a situation with higher-stakes risks than the usual applications of consumer data breaches.[1]
So I felt obligated to alert them.
When I talked my way through the company's main phone number, the IT/security people came off as skeptical of me, and kinda doing a tough-guy thing (like they might be dealing with an attacker trying to social them, and didn't want to show weakness or look stupid), before they acknowledged/claimed that they knew about the compromise.
Then, when they realized I was legitimately alerting them, not trying to trick them, nor to otherwise get anything from them, they still sounded like I was a jerk for bothering them about this compromise they already knew about. (Though I don't think they disclosed it to affected customers.)
I suppose I should be understanding, that they might get BS calls all the time, but, even as a ordinary citizen trying to be helpful, the tone was annoying. I guess the FBI would be rolling their eyes even harder at companies that not only can't do their job of securing sensitive data and systems, but then act like jerks when you try to help them salvage the inevitable fudge-up.
[1] This was a vendor to the "if you don't hold it, you don't own it" physical gold&silver buyers fad at the time. If attacker also got the shipping addresses, it's a high-value burglary target list, of homes with high probability of untraceable stores-of-wealth, including ones that could easily be liquidated for (today) around $2,000 per troy ounce. Or the worse variant: target list for home invasion, where badguy threatens/tortures occupants until confident that the victim told them all the hiding locations, not just the decoy safe. Maybe a harder list to sell for that purpose, but more dangerous if it got used for that purpose (rather than, or in addition to, an email scam gold-for-Bitcoin special offer that appeared to be from the retailer and got past spam filters).
My question would be “is this good or bad?” To a certain degree, I feel like it’s good that people are learning to question this stuff.
Prime example: everyone at my company received an email about some mandatory training and it was from an unusual source (compared to previous mandatory trainings). The VP that set it all up sent a follow-up email telling us that he was very proud of us for being “diligent,” but that the training was legit and indeed still mandatory.
Prime example: everyone at my company received an email about some mandatory training and it was from an unusual source (compared to previous mandatory trainings). The VP that set it all up sent a follow-up email telling us that he was very proud of us for being “diligent,” but that the training was legit and indeed still mandatory.
I think I’d blame it more on entertainment media. How many tv shows and movies have there been with fake FBI communications and agents?
>> How many tv shows and movies have there been with fake FBI communications and agents?
Technically? All of them. The FBI rarely allows its agents to appear on TV shows.
Technically? All of them. The FBI rarely allows its agents to appear on TV shows.
This is why we should be arresting scammers that we can arrest, and targeting the rest for air strikes.
This is a consequences of every communication medium becoming saturated with advertising. How many airlines refrain from ever using customer contact information for marketing purposes? And even if a few do, they exist in the context of a society where such behavior is pervasive. People who want to go about their lives without being hounded constantly to engage in unwanted economic transactions are often unable to fight back any other way other than ignoring communication attempts from entities with an economic desire to engage in commerce with everyone as much as possible.
Yep!
Most of my email? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Most of my physical mail? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Most of my cell phone calls? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Many of my SMS messages? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Why won't he answer his phone? Or respond to an email email or a letter? Because the government has completely failed at maintaining a trusted and not overrrun by spam communication channel of any kind in our society.
Most of my email? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Most of my physical mail? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Most of my cell phone calls? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Many of my SMS messages? Junk and spam that I didn't sign up for.
Why won't he answer his phone? Or respond to an email email or a letter? Because the government has completely failed at maintaining a trusted and not overrrun by spam communication channel of any kind in our society.
I guess you live in US. In my country (Turkiye) every commercial SMS sender needs your permission to send advertising SMS. This usually happens when you sign up for a website/app, an optional checkbox to allow commercial communication via SMS and email. There's a second (mandatory) checkbox for an agreement regarding our version of GDPR.
Every advertising SMS includes a shortened link or something like "text DENY to 1234" to be able to opt-out of them at any time. To date I've seen only one vendor which still sent SMSs after I opted out, which I promptly sent a complaint about to our presidency. No more texts after that. Every email is the same, with an unsubscribe link. I've encountered only one brand which didn't comply and I blocked them in the Mail app.
Even when it is this simple to block spam most people I know still don't do it. They are in a rush, stressed, commuting, with kids running around, doing something else simultaneously. Too busy with life, checking all the boxes in a hurry, scrolling past all the advertising spam to find the one message/mail from their contact. For many, it needs to be literally zero effort, fully automatic.
There are those SMS scams from foreign numbers which go like "Thanks for signing up for our job offer, please send your card details to get the $1000/day payment". But they are rare, once a fortnight at most IME.
We don't get physical advertising mail. Maybe cultural? Not economical? No one bothers.
Everyone gets calls from a fiber high speed internet company every once in a while. Since people are able to recognize the recorded voice so fast and close the call, now they added a several seconds delay before playing it. I don't know what makes fiber internet vendors special, since I only ever get those calls. Telecom-ISPs intentionally not blocking them?
And those WhatsApp calls from third world numbers. Once a month maybe, but this is Meta's problem.
Every advertising SMS includes a shortened link or something like "text DENY to 1234" to be able to opt-out of them at any time. To date I've seen only one vendor which still sent SMSs after I opted out, which I promptly sent a complaint about to our presidency. No more texts after that. Every email is the same, with an unsubscribe link. I've encountered only one brand which didn't comply and I blocked them in the Mail app.
Even when it is this simple to block spam most people I know still don't do it. They are in a rush, stressed, commuting, with kids running around, doing something else simultaneously. Too busy with life, checking all the boxes in a hurry, scrolling past all the advertising spam to find the one message/mail from their contact. For many, it needs to be literally zero effort, fully automatic.
There are those SMS scams from foreign numbers which go like "Thanks for signing up for our job offer, please send your card details to get the $1000/day payment". But they are rare, once a fortnight at most IME.
We don't get physical advertising mail. Maybe cultural? Not economical? No one bothers.
Everyone gets calls from a fiber high speed internet company every once in a while. Since people are able to recognize the recorded voice so fast and close the call, now they added a several seconds delay before playing it. I don't know what makes fiber internet vendors special, since I only ever get those calls. Telecom-ISPs intentionally not blocking them?
And those WhatsApp calls from third world numbers. Once a month maybe, but this is Meta's problem.
> I guess you live in US.
I do!
> In my country (Turkiye) every commercial SMS sender needs your permission to send advertising SMS
Mine too! I report each violation to the FCC (the responsible governmental agency), but I still get lots of unsolicited SMS spam.
In fact, you'll note that SMS was the only one that broke my pattern and was "many" instead of "most".
SMS is the one medium where the rules are OK, but the enforcement is lacking.
I do!
> In my country (Turkiye) every commercial SMS sender needs your permission to send advertising SMS
Mine too! I report each violation to the FCC (the responsible governmental agency), but I still get lots of unsolicited SMS spam.
In fact, you'll note that SMS was the only one that broke my pattern and was "many" instead of "most".
SMS is the one medium where the rules are OK, but the enforcement is lacking.
What I find amusing as the owner of several vanity numbers (NPA)777-0000, 888-0001 and similar is that I receive no spam calls or texts. I wonder if the spamming/robocalling software has a restriction on these numbers because they seem fake.
Statistically, a small portion of those customers may have died shortly after their flight...
And a slightly higher percentage may have been arrested prior to retrieving their luggage.
too bad they force you to hand them your luggages
In a related note, some canadian passengers found their Air Maroc luggage at a liquidation center in Québec, Canada in even 3 weeks after being lost this month.
https://www.bladi.net/colere-royal-air-maroc-perte-bagages,1...
https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2024/01/28/saga-des-valises-egar...
https://www.bladi.net/colere-royal-air-maroc-perte-bagages,1...
https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2024/01/28/saga-des-valises-egar...
So basically, we're at the point where we need to uniquely mark our luggage and then if our luggage is "lost" have an agent who shows up at the liquidation center, identifies it, and then seizes the luggage?
Or you could just put an airtag into it.
I put AirTags into my luggage and it just made me stressed for both legs of my trip. One of my family’s three bags didn’t appear to be moved to the next plane and I just had to sit there and hope that the AirTag wasn’t picked up for some reason. Everything made it to my destination and back home without issue, thankfully.
> Some say the store has an ethical duty to reunite people with their lost luggage — especially highly personal items, like jewelry inscribed with names and dates, or electronics with identifiable information.
But historically, the store has maintained it has a business to run.
I’m quite surprised by the opposition here, I’d assume that the high sentimental value could be converted in a much higher price than its off-the-shelf value.
Now would it be more ethical than not contacting them? That’s up to debate, but at least the owners would have a choice.
I’m quite surprised by the opposition here, I’d assume that the high sentimental value could be converted in a much higher price than its off-the-shelf value.
Now would it be more ethical than not contacting them? That’s up to debate, but at least the owners would have a choice.
> Now would it be more ethical than not contacting them? That’s up to debate, but at least the owners would have a choice.
There's the rub: luggage ends up at UnclaimedBaggage after the airline has exhausted all other avenues to try and find the owner. (this particular article doesn't focus on that aspect. Here's another I quickly found that does: https://www.afar.com/magazine/what-happens-to-airline-passen...)
There are no contactable owners, so the ethical dilemna solves itself.
This is why it's always good to put contact information inside the luggage, where it can't get ripped off in handling.
There's the rub: luggage ends up at UnclaimedBaggage after the airline has exhausted all other avenues to try and find the owner. (this particular article doesn't focus on that aspect. Here's another I quickly found that does: https://www.afar.com/magazine/what-happens-to-airline-passen...)
There are no contactable owners, so the ethical dilemna solves itself.
This is why it's always good to put contact information inside the luggage, where it can't get ripped off in handling.
> There's the rub: luggage ends up at UnclaimedBaggage after the airline has exhausted all other avenues to try and find the owner.
> There are no contactable owners, so the ethical dilemna solves itself.
Er, that's a very... convenient excuse for absolving people of ethical responsibility. Geez, there's no contact info on it, how could I possibly reunite it with its owner?? It's not like we have any clue who's lost their bags or what those bags looked like, right??
The owners are still able to describe and recognize their bags and their contents... the fact that an airline doesn't provide adequate means to search through lost bags doesn't mean it's somehow impossible to pair some of the owners and bags correctly.
> There are no contactable owners, so the ethical dilemna solves itself.
Er, that's a very... convenient excuse for absolving people of ethical responsibility. Geez, there's no contact info on it, how could I possibly reunite it with its owner?? It's not like we have any clue who's lost their bags or what those bags looked like, right??
The owners are still able to describe and recognize their bags and their contents... the fact that an airline doesn't provide adequate means to search through lost bags doesn't mean it's somehow impossible to pair some of the owners and bags correctly.
I don't think it's worth cherry picking what they said.
They also said that it ends up there once the airline has exhausted all avenues for contacting them. Once an airline does that and a large period of time has passed, what else can they do?
Surely, there is a shared level of responsibility for the owner of the lost bags to at the very least to try retrieve them. It's not hard for anyone to contact an airline or an airport to query lost bags.
Now if someone has been contacting the airline and the bags cannot be found and the airline continues to sell those bags whilst the customer has been attempting to retrieve them then that's a problem.
They also said that it ends up there once the airline has exhausted all avenues for contacting them. Once an airline does that and a large period of time has passed, what else can they do?
Surely, there is a shared level of responsibility for the owner of the lost bags to at the very least to try retrieve them. It's not hard for anyone to contact an airline or an airport to query lost bags.
Now if someone has been contacting the airline and the bags cannot be found and the airline continues to sell those bags whilst the customer has been attempting to retrieve them then that's a problem.
> Now if someone has been contacting the airline and the bags cannot be found and the airline continues to sell those bags whilst the customer has been attempting to retrieve them then that's a problem.
I would assume that this is the case for a non-zero amount of the bags sold. The article talks abot specific items where the owner was known but the item was not returned.
I would assume that this is the case for a non-zero amount of the bags sold. The article talks abot specific items where the owner was known but the item was not returned.
Exactly as per my earlier point, because the owner may have been known and the airline may have exhausted their avenues to contact them. In which case after a period of time, what is the airline to do but get rid of the bags
Do companies have a true incentive to do the work?
Or can they provide limited token compensation minus the sale of the lost luggage, and come out ahead vs doing a good job at not losing luggage and returning it when found?
If government/contracts limits compensation liability, then cut costs as much as possible and bring in some revenue selling luggage?
Or can they provide limited token compensation minus the sale of the lost luggage, and come out ahead vs doing a good job at not losing luggage and returning it when found?
If government/contracts limits compensation liability, then cut costs as much as possible and bring in some revenue selling luggage?
> Do companies have a true incentive to do the work?
The article states "When they can’t find your bag, they are liable to compensate you for your loss (up to $3,500 for domestic flights and $1,780 for international)."
The article states "When they can’t find your bag, they are liable to compensate you for your loss (up to $3,500 for domestic flights and $1,780 for international)."
It's pretty important to note that those aren't per bag payouts but per bag liability limits, after you provide documentation for the value of the contents of the bag.
Thus allowing a company to buy "lost" bags directly decreases the incentive the airlines have to find the owner of the bag.
Thus allowing a company to buy "lost" bags directly decreases the incentive the airlines have to find the owner of the bag.
What is the cost to improve the system so that it is an exceedingly rare occurrence?
It could be cheaper to pay the fines.
It could be cheaper to pay the fines.
That’s because airlines don’t open the luggage. If you find a ring with Ms xxx written on it, is it difficult to find it?
> I’d assume that the high sentimental value could be converted in a much higher price than its off-the-shelf value
The PR nightmare from ransoming luggage back to the rightful owner would be catastrophic. Airlines would immediately stop working with this company.
The PR nightmare from ransoming luggage back to the rightful owner would be catastrophic. Airlines would immediately stop working with this company.
A point is high value items, investment grade diamonds, expensive watches could reunite with their owner trivially because their sales are tracked. The point being insurance and compensation has been paid. So the closing ethical concern is perhaps overstated. It's the more personal effects, a treasured family memento, letters which beg questions.
If they didn't exist, the headline would be "The company that dumps your lost airplane luggage into a landfill."
Or the bags could be donated to charity. Allowing profiteer off other people's misfortune is unethical and creates perverse incentives.
[deleted]
I've been to Unclaimed Baggage in Alabama, just once, and it was no nicer than the nicest thrift stores in my hometown. An interesting concept, but it seems that the best items are priced-out.
I'm a sucker for found antique/goods types of shows and bought & watched a few seasons of "Baggage Battles" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baggage_Battles) on Amazon Prime. It was OK but they very rarely discovered valuable stuff and even those were kind of meh.
Still the art of the selection (should you go for the expensive bag, the heavy one, or the well-used one) was exciting. If I had the money I'd see myself attending baggage auctions just for the entertainment value; but doing it for flipping is not profitable I think.
Still the art of the selection (should you go for the expensive bag, the heavy one, or the well-used one) was exciting. If I had the money I'd see myself attending baggage auctions just for the entertainment value; but doing it for flipping is not profitable I think.
I suspect a show for entertainment would script it a bit and add some high end stuff. So the fact that even after watching you say it's rare to find good stuff tells me it's even worse than the show lets on.
Surely someone in the chain goes through these bags for obvious expensive things beforehand. Why would that not happen?
When it was founded 50 Yeats ago _maybe_ it made sense because technology was not that advanced.
Now I'd say it's a company selling stolen goods.
Airlines know who is the owner of that luggage. They have the sticker with flight, booking number, they have the contact details of the owner, and most owners put a tag with their contact info on the luggage.
They were hired to provide the sole service of transporting the luggage and owner from A to B. It's their only job. And they fail and steal your belongings and sell it for a profit, to a fence
Now I'd say it's a company selling stolen goods.
Airlines know who is the owner of that luggage. They have the sticker with flight, booking number, they have the contact details of the owner, and most owners put a tag with their contact info on the luggage.
They were hired to provide the sole service of transporting the luggage and owner from A to B. It's their only job. And they fail and steal your belongings and sell it for a profit, to a fence
The current top comment says:
"I guarantee you over half of those luggages do have identified owners who simply aren't contactable because they will not answer the phone, check a voicemail, read their email, or open any letter addressed to them."
"I guarantee you over half of those luggages do have identified owners who simply aren't contactable because they will not answer the phone, check a voicemail, read their email, or open any letter addressed to them."
Mail the luggage to their address
Please read the article...
First off, this sort of comment is against HN rules.
Second, as others have noticed, airlines have been caught dumping bags at clearance houses days after they were lost. I guarantee some actuary at the airline has figured out the cost of selling the luggage vs risk (zero, even though it's outright theft) vs cost of figuring out who the bag belongs to.
Third, "we can't figure out who it belongs to" is feigned helplessness.
Some airports and airlines are much worse than others, demonstrating that good tracking and low loss is perfectly possible. Nobody is holding them responsible, so of course they don't care.
The industry dragged its feet adopting RFID which is more reliable than barcodes for sorting and tracking. And really, the only reason airline are improving is because airtags and the like helped customers catch airlines out in lies.
From listening to a NPR finance show, the airlines now even know, automatically, when a bag isn't on a plane with a passenger.
Second, as others have noticed, airlines have been caught dumping bags at clearance houses days after they were lost. I guarantee some actuary at the airline has figured out the cost of selling the luggage vs risk (zero, even though it's outright theft) vs cost of figuring out who the bag belongs to.
Third, "we can't figure out who it belongs to" is feigned helplessness.
Some airports and airlines are much worse than others, demonstrating that good tracking and low loss is perfectly possible. Nobody is holding them responsible, so of course they don't care.
The industry dragged its feet adopting RFID which is more reliable than barcodes for sorting and tracking. And really, the only reason airline are improving is because airtags and the like helped customers catch airlines out in lies.
From listening to a NPR finance show, the airlines now even know, automatically, when a bag isn't on a plane with a passenger.
I did. Are you saying 25m bags have absolutely no information on them? Absolutely zero?
I read the article as well, as there is no info on this at all. After some searching I did find the information in a different article about Canadian airlines:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/what-happens-to-unclaimed-lug...
Air Canada and Westjet both open the bags to look for identifying information so they can contact the owner. Then they donate the bags to charity or dispose of them if they can't locate the owner.
I think the moral of the story is to make sure your bag is well tagged. We have been putting an airtag in my bag for the last few flights, and it works really well. It's a pity there is no Android equivalent, as I have no way of locating my tags on my phone. (I just use an ipad).
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/what-happens-to-unclaimed-lug...
Air Canada and Westjet both open the bags to look for identifying information so they can contact the owner. Then they donate the bags to charity or dispose of them if they can't locate the owner.
I think the moral of the story is to make sure your bag is well tagged. We have been putting an airtag in my bag for the last few flights, and it works really well. It's a pity there is no Android equivalent, as I have no way of locating my tags on my phone. (I just use an ipad).
Will an air tag help the airline to identify you? That would be rather bad in a privacy sense. I don't think it is easy for you to call the airline and say my bag is in this building etc please give it back to me. my point is that the airline needs to be able to contact you.
Actually, yes -- if you enabled Lost Mode. I have some experience with this situation directly.
On the way home from a trip in December, I dropped an AirTag in the pocket my 3-year-old's stroller and forgot to attach it securely before I gate checked the stroller.
I got the stroller back when we arrived but realized a day later that the AirTag slipped out. I could see it at the AirPort but an ~hour of time trying to recover it wasn't worth it.
I put it in Lost Mode mostly for kicks and when you place it in lost mode you can give people a way to contact you. I left my number.
I watched the AirTag go from my home airport to Scottsboro, Alabama and I knew the lost luggage store was there, so I was confused.
A week or so later I got a call from a service company that handles lost and found for Southwest Airlines. There were able to use an iDevice (presumably) to get my contact information since I had placed the AirTag in Lost Mode. They mailed it back to me for the cost of shipped. I assume if they don't find the owner it goes to the lost luggage store mentioned in the article.
On the way home from a trip in December, I dropped an AirTag in the pocket my 3-year-old's stroller and forgot to attach it securely before I gate checked the stroller.
I got the stroller back when we arrived but realized a day later that the AirTag slipped out. I could see it at the AirPort but an ~hour of time trying to recover it wasn't worth it.
I put it in Lost Mode mostly for kicks and when you place it in lost mode you can give people a way to contact you. I left my number.
I watched the AirTag go from my home airport to Scottsboro, Alabama and I knew the lost luggage store was there, so I was confused.
A week or so later I got a call from a service company that handles lost and found for Southwest Airlines. There were able to use an iDevice (presumably) to get my contact information since I had placed the AirTag in Lost Mode. They mailed it back to me for the cost of shipped. I assume if they don't find the owner it goes to the lost luggage store mentioned in the article.
I've just stuck with a single printed page, placed inside the bag and it's outside pockets, with my flight and multiple sets of contact details. However, I haven't lost a bag over hundreds of flights while doing this, so am unsure of the effectiveness.... guess at least the ritual has been working in terms of heading off a loss proactively!
>Will an air tag help the airline to identify you? That would be rather bad in a privacy sense
Apple is pretty careful about preventing that, unless you put the airtag in lost mode and enter your phone number.
There are some news stories about people who have had success getting their bags back using airtags. Yes, the airline does give them the runaround, but with a little persistence, and finding local phone numbers for the baggage office at the airport in question, people have had success.
I think it's just useful for extra peace of mind or information when your bag does go missing.
I see Air Canada has launched a feature on their app which actually tells you where your bag is (based on scanning the regular barcode tags). It's really just the info that the airline has, but I think they did that in response to so many people putting airtags in their luggage. Strangely, passengers like to know where their bag is when it goes missing, and quite often the airline's staff aren't that helpful.
I should say that the only time my bag went missing, it was simply because our connecting flight had been cancelled, and the rampies were slow getting the bags off, so we had to wait for an hour and it eventually came out. I only fly about 5 times a year, so I guess people who fly a lot might experience it more often (or, they just have carry-on bags).
Apple is pretty careful about preventing that, unless you put the airtag in lost mode and enter your phone number.
There are some news stories about people who have had success getting their bags back using airtags. Yes, the airline does give them the runaround, but with a little persistence, and finding local phone numbers for the baggage office at the airport in question, people have had success.
I think it's just useful for extra peace of mind or information when your bag does go missing.
I see Air Canada has launched a feature on their app which actually tells you where your bag is (based on scanning the regular barcode tags). It's really just the info that the airline has, but I think they did that in response to so many people putting airtags in their luggage. Strangely, passengers like to know where their bag is when it goes missing, and quite often the airline's staff aren't that helpful.
I should say that the only time my bag went missing, it was simply because our connecting flight had been cancelled, and the rampies were slow getting the bags off, so we had to wait for an hour and it eventually came out. I only fly about 5 times a year, so I guess people who fly a lot might experience it more often (or, they just have carry-on bags).
I use Tile for this purpose and they work well. Not as good as airtag, but I don't have an iphone.
The problem is they have a much smaller network than airtags, as much fewer people have a Tile than an iPhone, so I'm not sure how useful it is at actually tracking. What are the chances of a rampie or baggage office employee owning a Tile vs having an iPhone in their pocket?
At airports there is never a problem. I also have recovered my stolen wallet (stashed in the garbage a few blocks away, with IDs still in it) using it. An airtag would always be better, but I really do think Tile is not too bad. Far better than nothing, if you aren't in the Apple ecosystem.
Tile does display the number of users in your area in the app. Not sure how reliable those numbers are but it's regularly in the hundreds in places like busy airports.
Tile does display the number of users in your area in the app. Not sure how reliable those numbers are but it's regularly in the hundreds in places like busy airports.
Samsung makes a nice tag (https://amzn.to/47Wrlcz) for their Android phones.
It comes with a hole, whereas AirTags require you to purchase an additional case accessory for that feature.
It has a button that can be used to find your phone (makes it ring, even if silenced) or launch custom routines (SmartHome actions like turning on lights, etc.).
They're cheaper than AirTags.
They don't seem to update their location quite as often as AirTags, maybe because there are less Samsung devices walking around, compared to iOS devices.
It comes with a hole, whereas AirTags require you to purchase an additional case accessory for that feature.
It has a button that can be used to find your phone (makes it ring, even if silenced) or launch custom routines (SmartHome actions like turning on lights, etc.).
They're cheaper than AirTags.
They don't seem to update their location quite as often as AirTags, maybe because there are less Samsung devices walking around, compared to iOS devices.
Seems to only work for Galaxy phones, and I have a Pixel 8. I see Samsung's market share is 16% and dropping. It would be nice to have a pan-android version of airtags, and there are rumours of it happening:
https://www.techradar.com/news/google-airtags
https://www.techradar.com/news/google-airtags
Tile? I think they were even around before Apple's one.
Did you read the sentence right after that one?
"Around 25m of them (5.7 per 1k bags checked) end up lost or misdirected. The 0.03% of bags that are still not reunited with their owners after 90 days are sold by the airline."
0.03% of 25m, and it's only after 90 days.
"Around 25m of them (5.7 per 1k bags checked) end up lost or misdirected. The 0.03% of bags that are still not reunited with their owners after 90 days are sold by the airline."
0.03% of 25m, and it's only after 90 days.
I'm pretty sure that's a mistake. 1.3M are never claimed according to the figures early on, that's 0.003% of the total figure.
Actually it's 0.03% but the mistake is elsewhere. The correct figures are that 1.3M out of 4.36B checked bags (so 0.03%) are lost and never claimed. The infographic incorrectly states "43.6B" (should be 4.36B, to be consistent with the text that see states "4.3B").
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Yes, although that doesn't seem correct. That would be 7500 a year.
When they say the founder was buying 3k a month, either the RF ids are great at reducing the losses worldwide, or something is wrong with those numbers.
When they say the founder was buying 3k a month, either the RF ids are great at reducing the losses worldwide, or something is wrong with those numbers.
But it doesn't explain why they can't use the tags to locate the owners. I did find the answer (see my other comment), but it wasn't from this article.
0.03% of 25m. And yes, why is that so hard to believe?
What if they didn't want it back?
> Now I'd say it's a company selling stolen goods.
"Imagine this: An airline loses your checked bag. After an extensive search, customer support comes up empty-handed. They compensate you and life goes on."
It seems bizarre to call this stolen goods when the airline has tried to resolve this for 90 days AND compensated you for your loss
"Imagine this: An airline loses your checked bag. After an extensive search, customer support comes up empty-handed. They compensate you and life goes on."
It seems bizarre to call this stolen goods when the airline has tried to resolve this for 90 days AND compensated you for your loss
Exactly, but the issue is that a person might be willing to pay that compensation fee for the original bag back.
Some bags had valuable artifacts, a camera used by NASA, etc. I’m sure the airlines didn’t compensate for this sort of items.
Regardless, the company selling this is not at fault for selling “stolen” items. They believe the airline has done its due diligence in trying to find the owner and are now reducing waste by giving the items a 2nd home.
Some bags had valuable artifacts, a camera used by NASA, etc. I’m sure the airlines didn’t compensate for this sort of items.
Regardless, the company selling this is not at fault for selling “stolen” items. They believe the airline has done its due diligence in trying to find the owner and are now reducing waste by giving the items a 2nd home.
> Some say the store has an ethical duty to reunite people with their lost luggage — especially highly personal items, like jewelry inscribed with names and dates, or electronics with identifiable information.
> But historically, the store has maintained it has a business to run.
"I see this iPad or this laptop has your info, and I could contact you but hey... Tough luck"
> But historically, the store has maintained it has a business to run.
"I see this iPad or this laptop has your info, and I could contact you but hey... Tough luck"
The airline can compensate you, and they can sell your bag, but they can't put two and two together and give you your bag back?
Airlines know EXACTLY who was on every plane. It isn't unknowable how a particular bag wound up somewhere.
Airlines know EXACTLY who was on every plane. It isn't unknowable how a particular bag wound up somewhere.
I have never successfully received compensation for lost or damaged bags.
It's not that it's impossible. It's that the hoops required were always more than the compensation.
It's theft.
It's not that it's impossible. It's that the hoops required were always more than the compensation.
It's theft.
I did get compensation. It was so low… I had a couple of expensive university books in there, so I'm fairly sure it just got stolen.
If the contents of the bag are worth $500 the airline isn't spending >$500 worth of effort to track it down and return it to its owner. It makes sense to just reimburse them and move on.
Now the question is what happens to the bag floating in the ether. Option 1 is sending it to a landfill. Option 2 is cracking it open and reselling/reusing the stuff in it. There are plenty of ethical arguments in either one's favor, but it isn't as obvious as everyone is making it seem.
Now the question is what happens to the bag floating in the ether. Option 1 is sending it to a landfill. Option 2 is cracking it open and reselling/reusing the stuff in it. There are plenty of ethical arguments in either one's favor, but it isn't as obvious as everyone is making it seem.
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I once had my check bag lost and it arrived a couple of months later via a courier. This was in ‘08
Okay? The article is talking about bags that weren't found in over 3 months.
Yeah, I was responding to the point about cost. A courier driving for 4 hours to get to me probably cost them at least 500$
Luggage is fairly expensive and easy to reuse - sizing isn’t personal, and most designs are fairly bland. I’m surprised that the bags themselves aren’t a substantial source of income.
You can get a new suitcase at Ross for $50 if you dig around at a few locations. Why buy a used one?
Probably comes down to how difficult it is to gain access, and whether that's destructive.
You can put whatever locks you want on your bags, but the TSA can and will cut anything they can't easily open.
https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2014/02/18/tsa-travel-tips-tuesday-...
https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2014/02/18/tsa-travel-tips-tuesday-...
Mind that "TSA approved" locks are trivially easy to open too. You can just buy the TSA keys for most of those.
I absolutely get that. But this private company is not the TSA, either.
Right, but in order to lose your bag, it has to first pass through the TSA. I doubt a bag would make it all the way Unclaimed Baggage with the locks intact.
The TSA has X-ray, to assess a bag contents.
This company can't sell bag contents without gaining entry into the bag.
This company can't sell bag contents without gaining entry into the bag.
To quote the man interviewed in BBC who was sorting "lost luggage" after Heathrow's Terminal 5 fuckup
"don't you feel bad that it's someone's else possesion?"
"no, that's why it's such a good stuff"
"don't you feel bad that it's someone's else possesion?"
"no, that's why it's such a good stuff"
Their online store has iPhones. How do they get around the protections that are supposed to stop others from using a lost or stolen phone?
I would imagine the really good stuff is sorted through and sold via different methods. What makes it to the store is left over crap?
I had a bag stolen a while back and was surprised to learn that SFO has no real security after you drop a bag off. The 9/11 crunch focused on bags going in, so they didn’t even have cameras in the baggage processing facilities and since the airline terms of service limit payouts to like $3/pound they don’t care, either. Everyone involved was very casual about theft being routine and expected, so I would be somewhat surprised if the lost luggage didn’t have a similar fate.
How does luggage ever get lost when they slap so many stickers on it?
> so many stickers on it
I travel 30-40 times/yr and I can't recall ever putting more than one sticker on a checked bag...
I travel 30-40 times/yr and I can't recall ever putting more than one sticker on a checked bag...
Maybe it depends on the airline, but all of them I've gotten recently print the one long strip that has a receipt stub you keep at one end along with multiple separate copies of the barcode as detachable adhesive segments. The baggage check staff typically move at least one of the extra barcodes elsewhere on the bag. (I presume to make it easier to scan from different orientations if the strip through the handle isn't easily accessible.)
They often don't. Most of the time my bag only has one sticker and many people don't put other contact info on there.
I've been told by people who work at Delta, if they lose your bag, tell them the bag contained the cremated remains of a family member. They will go the extra mile to find that bag instead of compensating you for it.
Enough people do this and they won't go the extra mile anymore, I suppose.
It's weird that air carriers can sell lost luggage, but if you find someones stuff and sell it, it's typically illegal.
People report their missing luggage, definitionally air carriers know the passengers. Without explicit consent to sell the luggage why is this allowed? If an airline loses my luggage, and "compensates" me, they still have no right to sell it. It could include all kinds of personal information, or things of personal value, etc.
People report their missing luggage, definitionally air carriers know the passengers. Without explicit consent to sell the luggage why is this allowed? If an airline loses my luggage, and "compensates" me, they still have no right to sell it. It could include all kinds of personal information, or things of personal value, etc.
In those days of ubiquitous information, these kind of stops have lost all interest, because the prices are not better than the average second hand item.
Years ago I read some advice from a cruise company: don't trust your luggage to the airline, get it FedeXed to the ship. Cruise passengers are old. They are going away for many weeks or even months. So their luggage often contains large amounts of pills, which are easily identified by xray. So in order to avoid the gangs operating at airports, have your luggage sent by courier to the ship.
I suggest we ask everyone to put a piece of paper with their name, phone number, email, and street address in every piece of luggage. Then, after some period of time (maybe 7 days) of being unclaimed, an airline person could crack it open and ship it to the address inside, with a notification to the email and phone number.
I wonder how they handle this in Japan. Does lost luggage get handled through the Police lost & found?
If anyone in your life needs secondhand used underwear from unclaimed baggage, you can buy the "10 pc mystery underwear bag" or "women's lingerie mystery bag" online: https://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/collections/mystery-bags
It's advertised in a creepy way and it's sold out. People will never stop being sketchy lol
It's absolutely missing dildos and erotic toys mystery bag, or the people opening suitcases take these for themselves together with more precious stuff?
It’s explained in TFA. They don’t sell those.
Speaking of unclaimed property, do any of you Texans know of a way to use this absolutely trash website to look for something more specific than your First/Last?
https://www.claimittexas.gov/
I have a fairly common first name and there are literally 50 pages of results and "Your search returned 1000 unclaimed properties."
One of my financial apps (mint/ck not sure) told me I had unclaimed money and I have no way to find my name on this without cdlicking through 50 pages.
You can't even sort the rows.
https://www.claimittexas.gov/
I have a fairly common first name and there are literally 50 pages of results and "Your search returned 1000 unclaimed properties."
One of my financial apps (mint/ck not sure) told me I had unclaimed money and I have no way to find my name on this without cdlicking through 50 pages.
You can't even sort the rows.
From the FAQ page. Providing your SIN/DOB etc will likely help.
What can I do if I can’t find the funds I’m looking for on your website?
If you are unable to locate your unclaimed property on the website, fill out our search form. Our Research Department will try to locate the property for you. Also see our Finding Money page for more information on unclaimed property not held with the Texas Comptroller.
What can I do if I can’t find the funds I’m looking for on your website?
If you are unable to locate your unclaimed property on the website, fill out our search form. Our Research Department will try to locate the property for you. Also see our Finding Money page for more information on unclaimed property not held with the Texas Comptroller.
It takes two to tango and nobody knows how to dance.