Ever wondered how much lost or mishandled baggage costs the airline industry each year?
According to figures from SITA's 7th Annual Baggage Report it was $2.94 billion in 2010 for 29.4 million bags.
IATA is seeking a $1.2 billion saving on this in 2012.
Enter Amadeus and SITA who have teamed up to create Altea Baggage Tracking by integrating SITA BagMessage with Altea Departure Control.
Passengers will get real-time baggage status updates via their device of choice while the airlines will save time and money.
It's win-win situation and sounds a far cry from the Heathrow Terminal 5 baggage nightmare in March 2008 when more than 20,000 bags were lost.
A survey conducted by Amadeus in April found that 34% of passengers had been affected by baggage issues on their most recent flight.
Altea Baggage Tracking, which will also include worldwide reconciliation, is being implemented in 54 airports around the globe in the first phase.