United Airlines has tapped into tech to enhance its customer experience after becoming the first airline to team up with Apple’s “Find My” locator service.
During Thursday’s press release, the Chicago-based airline announced the new feature that’s aimed to provide quicker solutions to baggage loss.
“Customers can now securely share the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with United customer service agents through the United app for faster bag recovery and an even better overall travel experience,” United said.
Through these new capabilities, travelers who use AirTags or any other Apple “Find My” accessory will easily be able to share their item’s location with the airline’s customer service department. This will allow the agent to see the bag’s location on a real-time interactive map.
If the bag is delayed, customers can file a report through the United app. Those who have an AirTag or have a “Find My” accessory, can generate a “Share Item Location” link in Apple’s “Find My” app and add it to their delayed baggage report. Once submitted, United’s customer service agents will gain access to the luggage’s location. The interactive map will continuously update with the item’s current position with timestamps. For extra security, the shared link will automatically expire after seven days or can be manually disabled at any time by the customer. Additionally, the feature also includes end-to-end encryption to ensure no one outside of the authorized parties can access the location data.
Nonetheless, to use the feature, customers will need to make sure their devices are updated to the iOS 18.2 or later software and have the latest United version installed. Travelers without the app can still use the feature but will receive text notifications with updates instead.
