RFID Baggage Tagging For US Airline Industry

Finances pure and simple are apparently the reason the US airline industry has not implemented RFID baggage tagging. That and the fact that such tags end up being disposable and are currently expensive enough to cut into already small profits. But weighed against the fact that US airlines lose track of about 10,000 bags each day and typically compensate passengers, baggage tagging costs begin to look more attractive. The prediction is that as more airlines start to implement radio frequency technology for baggage tagging, the cost of tags and readers will drop, which in turn will likely encourage more US airlines to follow suit.

One possibility for raising funds to pay for the RFD technology is a head tax, but in the US, it's mostly the airlines and not the airports that usually handle baggage. So such a tax is less likely. That leaves higher ticket prices, which may not fly, so to speak, with passengers because of the competitive market. But it is expected that baggage tagging use will increase, with related revenues to the RFID industry to double by 2011. Other issues to be worked out, other than tag costs: the infrastructure and the tags themselves. One reader of this site commented that "a more feasible solution would be... multi-use tags..." and to "charge $10 and offer greater insurance against lost baggage."

[sources: PR Minds]