If you ever worry about (not) reuniting with your checked bags when you travel (and who hasn’t had that thought after waiting an inordinate amount of time at a baggage carousel?), a new app by Virgin Australia should help put your mind at ease.
Virgin Australia has just launched Australia’s first airline baggage-tracking tool, which is now available across two-thirds of its domestic network.
While the app can’t prevent your baggage from being misplaced, it will at least allow flyers to know where their bag is at every step of a journey.
With the rollout of the new tool, the carrier also expects more passengers to check in baggage for their journey.
Two years in the making, the new tool is available on most domestic routes between major Aussie airports, including flights departing from:
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Brisbane
- Adelaide
- Gold Coast
- Canberra
- Newcastle
- Ballina Byron
- Sunshine Coast
- Hamilton Island
- Launceston
- Hobart
- Townsville
- Rockhampton
- Mackay
VA says baggage tracking will be available across the rest of its network, including on Western Australian flights, soon.
According to Virgin Australia, the airline has a mishandled baggage rate that is five times better than the last recorded industry average.
So how does it work?
To track your luggage, simply download the Virgin Australia app and enable push notifications via app settings. Once enabled, push notifications will be sent to the guest’s phone throughout a journey including at check-in, when bags are transferred to an international partner airline, and when they’re available for collection at the final destination and at which carousel.
VA says it has spent more than $400 million on customer experience enhancements and new technology in the past two years, including launching a new website, app upgrades, a new loyalty management system, and new high-speed lounge and onboard wi-fi, among other advancements.
Last month, Virgin Australia also unveiled the new business and economy cabin interiors that will set the standard for its entire Boeing fleet.
“Extra comfort”
“It’s our mission to be Australia’s most loved airline and that means we need to listen to our customers to ensure we are offering the services that are most important to them,” Virgin Australia Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer Paul Jones said.
“We know the potential of lost baggage is a concern for travellers globally and anticipate this announcement will give many guests that extra level of comfort knowing where their bag is at every step of the journey.
“We’re also proud to be able to launch this new feature while having some of the lowest figures in the market when it comes to mishandled or lost bags, with a mishandled baggage rate of just 1.5 per 1,000 guests – five times better than the last recorded industry average.
“We are a business that intently listens to its people and customers, and we are excited to have many more announcements in the pipeline that we know will make our guests’ flying experience that touch more wonderful.”
Earlier this year, Virgin Australia took delivery of its first Boeing 737-8 MAX plane, the latest generation aircraft in the MAX family.
