To Lose or Not To Lose? Cool New Microchip Bag Tag.
A few months ago Southwest Airlines misplaced my friend Julia’s suitcase on a non-stop flight. YIKES. Okay, stuff happens. But here’s the rub: when Julia asked the airline to tell her if her bag was still in Phoenix, where she’d boarded, or on it’s way to El Paso, where she’d landed, or, for that matter en route to Timbuktu, they couldn’t tell her. Their reply; “Um, sorry mam, but we don’t have a scanning system for luggage.” Huh? You mean the grapes at my local co-op have a bar code, but not my luggage? As a Southwest frequent flyer, I was NOT thrilled to hear this.
Last year alone the number of items of luggage misplaced by airlines rose from 30 million to 42 million, an increase of 40%. In addition, receiving compensation for a lost item of luggage is dodgy at best unless receipts can be provided for everything that was in the lost bag. Hence, the need for travel insurance. But that’s a story for another day.
A new UK startup, ReboundTAG, has been working with help from the International Air Transport Association along with several airport systems developers to come up with a better solution. Their answer to the problem is a microchip bag tag designed to reduce the chances of losing personal belongings. There is also a barcode and number printed on the microchip bag tag to insure that they function in airports where there are no microchip readers.
And here’s the really cool part, when the luggage is found the owner receives an email and an SMS (text) to their mobile phone immediately.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
As if I needed yet another reason to want a Kindle…
Santa, are you listening?
If, like me, you’re still on the fence about buying a Kindle, Amazon has just release some tempting news. First, their bestselling Kindle is now $259, down from $299. Second, they’ve introduced a new addition to the Kindle family: Kindle with U.S. and International Wireless. Hooray for travelers!
Now traveling bookworms can download books, newspapers, and magazines wirelessly while at home or abroad in over 100 countries. Whether you’re in New York, Paris, São Paulo, Mumbai, Beijing, Tokyo, or Sydney, you can think of a book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds. That’s sooo cool!
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
A carry-on-ready projector with enough resolution for impromptu movie nights, traveling business presentations and vacation photo slideshows? Yep!
I’ve been on the hunt for a ultra-portable projector that wouldn’t break the bank, and found it in the new $499 BenQ Joybee GP1 Mini Projector.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".