Flying Commercial out of WA? Use more than one Air tag

It's been several years since I've been on a commercial flight to anywhere. I think the last time was to Las Vegas for the CES show. (Yes, we had a great time) For that event I had two carry-on’s and one checked bag that was half full of CDs. Happily, we did not have any problem with our bags either coming or going. 

One of my strategies back in the day was to make sure that the Sky Caps took care of checking our bags and then tipped them generously. Back then it was a guarantee that our bags were going to get where they needed to go. 

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What's been going on? 

When COVID hit, the percentage of lost bags actually went up. Now airlines have finally gotten things a little more under control, but still, there's a shockingly high percentage of bags that are lost on an annual basis. In 2025, about 24 million pieces of luggage were mishandled at commercial airports, but compared to 2024, that was a 23% improvement. 

If you're flying international, you're about five times more likely to lose your baggage than if you fly domestically. 

What is an AirTag? 

Youtube / https://youtu.be/lXxWh2tkKgk?si=vgsdT0r2z-BBVjrz

An AirTag (Apple's brand) is a small plastic disc with a steel back that has a Bluetooth transmitter in it and you can sync it to your iPhone, (Sorry, iPhone only for the AirTag) and you can use it to find items, whether they're keys or your wallet or luggage it works. 

Now there are multiple types of AirTag products (trackers) that you can acquire that are not necessarily Apple dedicated, and you can find them on Amazon.  

So, what's new? 

Now Apple is allowing Apple AirTag users to share their AirTag information with certain airlines to help them find your baggage. This is really amazing news. 

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According to seattletimes.com,
‘Your tracker and the airline’s baggage system are finally getting introduced. Apple’s Share Item Location feature lets you send an AirTag’s location to participating airlines. In March, SITA added Google’s Find Hub to WorldTracer, the system more than 500 airlines and ground handlers use to trace delayed bags. SITA says the Apple integration cut permanently lost luggage by 90% in its first year and sped up delayed-bag recovery by 26%.’ 

The downside is that this system only works if the airline you're on is participating in this system. That means your Apple tracker needs to speak the right language and runs on the Apple or the Google network. 

What's the best way to track your bag? 

Screen shot / Amazon.com : airtag alternatives

One tracker is good, SO 2 trackers are better, right? But it's not just two trackers; it has to be two trackers using two different systems. This is called tracker stacking. So yes, you continue to use your AirTag, but you also go for redundancy and pick up a different system like a Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 with a tile for Android users. You have two different trackers using two different systems and as of right now, this is the closest thing to optimum you're going to get. 

Before you fly, you need to do this. 

Be sure to place one of your two trackers near the handle of your luggage and the second tracker deeper inside the luggage. Finally, before you hit the road, make sure that the batteries in each of the trackers are new. 

Having multiple trackers in your bags will not guarantee that your bags will not be lost, but they will be much easier to find.