Apple AirTag to work with 15 airlines including British Airways
You can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Recipients of a link will be able to view a website that shows a location of the item 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.
“We’ve worked closely with Apple to incorporate Share Item Location into our baggage recovery process and are excited to make this feature available to our customers soon,” said David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer. “We know many of our customers are already traveling with AirTag in their checked bags, and this feature will soon make it easier for them to share location information with us safely and securely, helping our customer service agents work more efficiently and giving our customers added peace of mind. We plan to accept Find My item locations in select airports initially, with the goal of introducing the service systemwide in early 2025.”
“By accepting Find My item locations, we’ll be able to offer additional peace of mind to customers who travel with AirTag in their luggage,” said Annalisa Gigante, head of innovation at IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL. “We’re always testing innovative solutions and enhancing our systems to ensure that checked bags reach their intended destination as quickly as possible, and we look forward to incorporating this solution into our lost baggage processes beginning later this year.”
“As the leading industry provider for end-to-end baggage management solutions, and with global passenger traffic set to double by 2040, airports and airlines worldwide will face important challenges. This collaboration with Apple will make it easy for airlines that use our industry-leading WorldTracer solution to implement Share Item Location for more efficient baggage management, and will be a huge benefit for passengers,” said Nicole Hogg, SITA’s director of Baggage.
Virgin Red 5000 Point bonus
Virgin Red is rewarding members with another Clubcard auto-convert bonus. You can get 5,000 bonus Virgin Points when you sign up to auto-exchange Tesco Clubcard points into Virgin Points for the first time until 23 January 2025. This means Tesco Clubcard points are automatically converted into Virgin Points with each quarterly Clubcard statement. You will need either a Virgin Flying Club or Virgin Red account.
I am a fan of Virgin points because of their versatility. Not only can you redeem on Skyteam flights as well as Virgin, but they also have a range of interesting partner airlines. Plus, you can also spend them on a cruise as I did recently or on concert tickets. There are also a lot of smaller cost options too.
Virgin Red members who turn Tesco Clubcard points into Virgin Points will get 2x the points. All Clubcard members need to do is log in to Virgin Red and follow the instructions to sign up to auto-exchange. Members must have 250 Clubcard points in their account on 23 January 2025 to qualify for the bonus points.
You can find out more here or download the Virgin Red app on your phone.
Finnair sale
Finnair has announced a new sale, which includes a number of the airline’s most popular destinations for travel from the UK. Although it is mainly economy, there are some decent deals in business class too. Finnair use their long haul aircraft on two flights a day from London and with the distance to Helsinki being classed as short haul+ by BA you get double the usual short haul tier points i.e. 160 return on London to Helsinki in business class. You can even get 280 tier points between Helsinki and Lisbon or Malaga in business.
Don’t forget to check the fare type in business class as the cheapest fares are usually Lite fares which do not include all the usual perks unless you have status.
Economy
London to
- Helsinki £178
- Rovaniemi, the Official Hometown of Santa Claus £238
- Hong Kong £499
- Singapore £507
- Seoul £568.
- Delhi £438
Business class
London to
- Hong Kong £2117
- Singapore £2476
- Bangkok £1940
- Seoul £1768
- Delhi £1566
Finnair will offer customers six daily flights from Heathrow to Helsinki this winter, twice daily flights from Manchester and seven weekly flights from Edinburgh.
