Alaska Airlines will let flyers use digital bag tags to save time and paper

Image: Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is the first US-based airline to support electronic bag tags with e-paper displays that are designed to replace the paper tags currently in use. The first phase of the program will focus on San Jose airport in California. The airline will give away 2,500 tags for free to its frequent flyers from the airport in late 2022, and they will be available to purchase by Mileage Plan members next year, according to the report.

Alaska Airlines wants to reduce the amount of time its customers spend at the airport. They can use the mobile app to set up the electronic bag tag at home, rather than having to go to the store. Customers arriving at San Jose airport can use a self-service bag drop without having to print out a new tag. Alaska Airlines wants customers to cut the amount of time they spend at the airport in half.

The electronic tags used by other airlines outside of the US are manufactured by BagTag. The Flex model that Alaska Airlines appears to be using is programmed over Near Field Communication and can be used with either an iPad or a phone. In contrast to a previous version of the technology Alaska Airlines started testing in 2015, BagTag claims that it is battery-less and never needs to be charged.

Charu Jain, senior vice president of merchandising and innovation at Alaska said, "This technology allows our guests to tag their own bags in just seconds and makes the entire check in process almost all off-airport."

It is possible that the tags save on the paper that needs to be used to make traditional tags, but I think you would have to use one electronic tag hundreds of times to make it more resource efficient. They were tested by running luggage carts, catering trucks, and jet bridge wheels over them to make sure they wouldn't break.