Did your luggage make the flight? Now you'll know for sure. (iStock)
American Airlines has rolled out a new service to help combat every traveler’s worst nightmare: a lost piece of checked luggage.
Free baggage tracking is now available for customers to follow their bag from the check-in counter to the luggage carosel for pickup in real time.
"It's something our customers have been asking for a really long time, and we're excited to make this available to them," American Airlines spokeswoman Laura Nedbal told the Chicago Tribune.
Whether you are an over protective bag-checker-- or in the off chance that your bag was flown to Myanmar instead of Miami-- the new service will allow passengers to know right away where their bags really are at all times.
To use the service, fliers can go to AA.com/baggage, click on "Track your bags" and enter passenger information. A record locator or bag-tag number is also required. Then customers will be presented with a virtual map containing six bag-scan touch points including ticket counter, aircraft loading and baggage claim.
The service is not yet available through the American Airlines app but you can access it through the mobile version of the company’s website.
The feature quietly launched Aug. 21 but the airline wanted to work out any bugs before announcing the product.
"We wanted to make sure everything was ready to go before we started communicating about it," Nedbal said.
The service is also available on US Airways flights—which recently merged with American-- and Delta Air Lines. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, American lost almost four bags per 1,000 passengers in 2014, ranking ninth out of 13 domestic carriers most likely to use your luggage.
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