If you’ve ever dealt with missing luggage when traveling, you know how frustrating it can be! I’m surprised with current technology and the revenue airlines are generating from baggage fees that there hasn’t been more advancement in airline luggage tracking.

A few years ago we discovered these luggage tracking devices from Trakdot.

You put the tracker in your suitcase, and then it uses cellular networks to notify you (via text or email) when your suitcase arrives at an airport. Fortunately most of the time your luggage will be where you expect it to be, and it just gives you that added peace of mind from when your plane lands until you have your bag from the luggage carousel.

But it is most helpful when your luggage is lost or delayed. We recently flew from Miami to Seattle connecting through Denver. Our suitcases did not arrive with us in Seattle. The airline had no idea where our bags were – but we knew they were in Denver because Trakdot had notified us. The following afternoon I called to check with the airline on the status, and they said they still had no idea where our bags were. Fortunately Trakdot had texted us 2 hours earlier that the bags had arrived in Seattle. I looked up the flight number for a flight on that airline arriving from Denver to Seattle at around that time – and was able to tell the airline what flight number the bags came in on. They sent someone to check and sure enough found our bags!

I think in most instances the airline will eventually find your luggage and get them to you, but Trakdot can help make that quicker and also give you reassurance while you wait. We did have one time years ago that a set of checked golf clubs was never found, and I wonder if the outcome would have been different if we’d had one of these trackers in the bag?