United Airlines Mobile App Now Offers AirTag Share Item Location Tool

United Airlines has announced that passengers on its flights can now access the Apple AirTag’s Share Item Location feature directly through the airline’s mobile app. The new feature will make tracking lost or delayed luggage easier, as customers can securely share their AirTag’s location with United Airlines Customer Service personnel. The share item location feature rolled out as part of the iOS 18.2, released earlier this week.

While the airline claims that nearly 99% of its passengers experience timely luggage delivery, the 1% with unexpected baggage issues can use the AirTag’s Share Item Location feature in its app to make baggage recovery more efficient.

This Limited-Time Microsoft Office Deal Gets You Lifetime Access for Just $39

Sick and tired of subscriptions? Get a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Home and Business 2021 at a great price!

David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer said in a post:

Apple’s new Share Item Location feature will help customers travel with even more confidence, knowing they have another way to access to their bag’s precise location with AirTag or their Find My accessory of choice. They can easily and securely share that with us in the United app, and our team can use the location information to find the bag and get it reunited with its owner much more quickly.

Here’s how the process works:

• If a bag doesn’t reach its intended destination, customers can file a delayed baggage report in the United app. Passengers that have placed an AirTag or another Find My network accessory can additionally create a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac and add that to the delayed baggage report in the United app.
• Authorized United customer service agents will then receive the Share Item Location link, allowing them to view the item’s location on an interactive map. The map will automatically update with a new location when it becomes available and also show a timestamp of the most recently updated location.
• United personnel will use the shared location information to find delayed bags more easily and get them to their owners.
• To protect customers’ privacy and security, the shared location is immediately disabled when a customer is reunited with their bag, and the customer can stop sharing at any time. The link will also automatically expire after seven days.

iPhone, iPad, and Mac users running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Recipients of the link will need to sign in with an Apple ID to prevent the feature from being misused, but once they’ve done so, they can view a website that shows the item’s location on an interactive map. The website will automatically update when a new location is available and will show a timestamp of the most recent update.

Hopefully, the new feature will end the frustration users feel when trying to deal with the airline over luggage locations. In November, a couple flying United Airlines was informed that one of their bags was missing, even though an AirTag the couple had placed in the bag showed it close by. A United Airlines representative told the company it didn’t accept AirTag tracking data for lost baggage. I guess the airline won’t be able to play that card anymore.

TechCrunch reports that United Airlines is also joined by Air Canada in launching the new Find My integration today, with nearly 20 other airlines expected to sign on in the coming months, including  Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Vueling.