Virgin Australia has announced the launch of a new baggage tracking tool. With this, it has become the first airline in Australia to offer this kind of a tool.
Virgin Australia has launched its new baggage tracking tool across more than two thirds of its domestic network, allowing passengers to know where their bag is at every step of the journey.
The airline says that the tool has been launched as lost baggage remains one of the pain points for travellers. The Aussie carrier adds that despite this, it “far outperforms the industry average for mishandled baggage, with a mishandled baggage rate of just 1.5 per 1,000 guests – five times better than the last recorded industry average”.
The first-to-market technology is set to free guests from the fear of losing their bags next time they fly, with Virgin Australia anticipating a rise in guests checking in baggage as a result of the new tracking tool.
The tool, which has been two years in the making, was initially piloted in May this year.
It’s our mission to be Australia’s most loved airline and that means we need to listen to our customers to ensure we are offering the services that are most important to them. It’s our mission to be Australia’s most loved airline and that means we need to listen to our customers to ensure we are offering the services that are most important to them. We are a business that intently listens to its people and customers, and we are excited to have many more announcements in the pipeline that we know will make our guests’ flying experience that touch more wonderful,
said Paul Jones, Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Virgin Australia.
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The baggage tracking tool is now available on select flights departing from the following airports:
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Brisbane
- Adelaide
- Gold Coast
- Canberra
- Newcastle
- Ballina Byron
- Sunshine Coast
- Hamilton Island
- Launceston
- Hobart
- Townsville
- Rockhampton
- Mackay
- Perth (will be available soon)
Passengers can track their checked baggage on select Virgin Australia services by following these three steps:
- Download the Virgin Australia app.
- Enable push notifications via app settings.
- Once enabled, a series of push notifications will be sent to the guest’s phone throughout the journey, including upon the bag being checked-in, transferred to an international partner airline, and available for collection at the final destination. The tool will also advise the guest which carousel the baggage is available for collection from.
Over the past two years, Virgin Australia has committed to investing over $400 million in customer experience improvements and new technology. To date, the airline has launched new websites, app upgrades, a new loyalty management system, new high-speed Lounge and onboard Wi-Fi, first-to-market technology and more.
As part of this investment, last month the airline announced a $110 million upgrade to the interior cabins of the airline’s existing Boeing B737 fleet to include new seats, in-flight Wi-Fi and in-seat power – some of the features most important to guests following a survey of Velocity Frequent Flyer members (Virgin Australia’s loyalty program).
Featured image by Virgin Australia
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