Alaska Airlines will introduce home-printed bag tags on 21 April, becoming the first airline in the United States to offer the service. The permanent launch of the service follows a successful trial that was undertaken last year with passengers flying between Seattle and Hawaii.
Travellers flying between Seattle and San Diego, Anchorage or Juneau will soon be able print their own bag tags at home, while Alaska Airlines plans to extend the project to cover more airports this summer.
Passengers simply have to print their bag tag at home or in the office, place it in a plastic tag holder and attach it to their bag. Upon arrival at the airport, they just have to show an airline agent their boarding pass and identification, and deposit the bag at a dedicated bag drop. The plastic bag tag holder can either be mailed to passengers or they can collect one at the airport.
Home-printed bag tags are part of the airline’s ‘Self-tag express’ initiative, which also includes self-tagging kiosks at the airport.
Curtis Kopf, Alaska Airlines’ Vice President of Customer Innovation and alaskaair.com, said: “Our goal is to be the easiest airline to fly. That’s why we’re introducing additional self-tagging capability so customers who prefer self-service options have the ability to print bag tags at home during the check-in process.
“Tagging your bags at home can save some time at the airport. If printing your bag tags at home isn’t your preference, our friendly airport staff will gladly help check your bags to your final destination.”
Alaska Airlines follows in the footsteps of Iberia and Air France, both of which have launched home-printed bag tags in Europe
