Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, Air New Zealand has enabled Apple’s Share Item Location feature, allowing travellers to share the live location of their luggage through the Find My app. This new initiative aims to improve baggage recovery and provide peace of mind for customers.
How it works
Travellers can place an AirTag or another Find My network accessory in their luggage and generate a live location link via the Find My app. This link can then be securely shared with Air New Zealand’s customer service team through the airline’s app.
Passengers can select the “Add AirTag location to existing report” option in the “Delayed or Damaged Bags” section of the Air NZ app. The airline’s Baggage Tracing team uses this data to access a dedicated interactive map that updates in real time with the AirTag’s location and a timestamp.
This enhancement complements Air New Zealand’s existing baggage tracking system, launched in September 2023, which notifies customers of their luggage’s status throughout their journey.
Enhanced tracking for stress-free travel
Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Nikhil Ravishankar highlighted the benefits of this new feature, especially during the holiday travel surge.
“Launching this ahead of the holiday season is ideal,” Mr Ravishankar said. “We’re preparing to carry three million customers over the summer period, which means a lot of luggage on the move. This added visibility will give travellers greater peace of mind during their journey.”
Air New Zealand collaborated closely with Apple to ensure the feature operates securely. Location sharing ends automatically when the bag is recovered, can be stopped by the customer at any time, and expires after seven days.
Built on Apple’s secure Find My network
The feature leverages Apple’s Find My network, a crowdsourced system supported by over one billion Apple devices. Using Bluetooth technology, the network anonymously detects and reports the approximate location of missing items. All data is encrypted end-to-end, ensuring that only the customer can access the shared location.
Air New Zealand also sees the feature as an opportunity for holiday gift ideas. “An AirTag could be a perfect choice for any friends or whānau planning to travel,” said Mr Ravishankar. Travellers can even purchase AirTags using Airpoints in the Airpoints Store.
The Share Item Location feature is live and ready to use. Travellers should ensure their Apple device is updated to iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, or macOS 15.2 or later to take advantage of this new capability.
