British Airways trialing digital bag tags updated by Windows Phone app

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British Airways, in partnership with Microsoft, is running a trial program that replaces the traditional paper bag tags (sticky loop-label with bar codes), used to ensure suitcase are correctly routed to their destinations, with an e-ink based digital equivalent. The digital tags, which stores flight and passenger details, can be updated using a customised version of the British Airways app for Windows Phone. A simple press of the "update digital bag tag" button within the British Airways app and an NFC tap is all that is required.

British Airways' Windows Phone app can already be used to create and store a digital version of a boarding card, so the addition of a digital bag tag is the next logical step. The app can also be used to monitor the progress of a bag through the airport, offering peace of mind that your bag is on the same aircraft as you.

Here's how Microsoft describe the trial:

With all travel information contained on the Digital Bag Tag it is then possible to check-in, select a seat and obtain a boarding pass with a swipe of a phone. Passengers who are trialling this system will use their Near-Field Communication enabled Windows Phone devices in London’s Heathrow Terminal 5.  Not only will they save valuable time by simply dropping their bag off at a dedicated desk but also be able to track their baggage as it boards the plan.

The digital tags can be used multiple times, with the users "programming" the tag before every flight using their Windows Phone device and the British Airways app. The tag has a battery life of five years (based on a frequent flyer travelling twice a week) and is designed to be robust so that it can survive the trip through the airport and into the aircraft hold. 

BA Bag

A demo of the technology in action can be see in this Telegraph video. The video shows how a Windows Phone device (Lumia 920) uses a customised version of the British Airways app and NFC technology to update the digital bag tag.

British Airways is currently testing 100 prototypes of the digital tags with Microsoft employees flying between London and Seattle. However, if the pilot program is successful, the intention is to make the tags more widely available. The underlying idea is to make the airport experience more convenient for frequent flyers, speeding up check-ine time and avoiding the mess and waste associated with the traditional bag tags. 

Additional details are available in this British Airways press release.

Source / Credit: Microsoft