My bag-tracking double whammy

I love technology.

I feel naked when I’m not wearing my Apple Watch. If Google Calendar and Tasks weren’t working, I wouldn’t be, either. I love playing with virtual-reality headsets and generative AI.

But sometimes, technology betrays us. So I’ll amend my first statement: I love technology … when it works.

In May, I checked two bags on my United Airlines flight to Dallas to attend the ASTA Travel Advisor Conference. One held my clothes and the other, podcasting equipment. 

United hypes its in-app bag tracking. On its website, it states, “We’ll let you know when your bags are loaded, unloaded and ready to be picked up at baggage claim.”

When I boarded my flight, I popped the app open and saw my bags had, in fact, made it onto the plane with me. But things took a turn when I landed in Dallas and opened the app while waiting at baggage claim.

A screenshot of United’s app showing the rerouted bag messaging on the author’s EWR-DFW flight.

Both bags had an icon on the tracking screen that no one wants to see: A yellow triangle with an exclamation point in the middle. 

The app told me my bags had been rerouted and would arrive in Dallas “on a later flight.” It suggested I use the app to “set up complimentary bag delivery.”

To call me “concerned” at that point would be an understatement. I had a press conference to attend in just a few hours, and I didn’t think joggers and sneakers would make the dress code cut (I know, I know — shame on me for checking something I needed that day). I also had multiple podcast recordings lined up the next day.

I went straight to the baggage counter.

The agent told me she had just seen a number of similar alerts, but she guessed it was an error and suggested I wait it out. (Contacted for this report, a United representative said, “I’ve shared this bag-tracking feedback with the appropriate team, and they are looking into this further.”)

My spirits fell with every bag that dropped onto the carousel that wasn’t mine. I also had mild heart palpitations.

But in about 10 minutes, my bags appeared, and the palpitations stopped. I was properly clad for the press conference and recorded the podcasts without a hitch.

A screenshot of United’s app showing the rerouted bag messaging on the author’s DFW-EWR flight.

Then, three days later upon my return to New Jersey, the same exact thing happened.

United’s bag-tracking function told me both bags had been rerouted and would arrive on a later flight, but they ended up showing up a few minutes after the carousel started turning. 

Luckily for my heart, I suspected they might this time around.

Errors happen. No technology is infallible. But the same error occurred on both legs of the trip. If bag tracking was still in its testing phase, that would be a different story. But it’s not, so to me, what happened was unacceptable.

I fly out of Newark Airport, so United is my de facto airline. I use its app a lot and, generally speaking, I like it.

It’s as up to date as gate agents (though it’s always worth it to get their insights), and it’s pretty easy to navigate and use. Even in a pinch, when a flight is severely delayed or canceled, I’ve had good experiences finding another flight.

Not surprisingly, though, I’m not a fan of the bag-tracking feature.

I’m in a long-term relationship with technology, but I guess you could say I’m in a situationship with United’s bag tracking.