EVA introduces electronic bag tags

Works with RIMOWA e-tag luggage

Taiwan’s EVA Air has implemented an electronic bag tag service for its passengers.

The electronic tag replaces the usual paper tag with a digital data one on a bag to which the airline’s bag tag data is transmitted.

It is essentially an E Ink display with the same width as a standard paper bag tag.

To use the service, passengers have to use EVA’s Mobile App and use a rather expensive suitcase from German manufacturer RIMOWA.

Passengers can upload their bag tag information from the EVA App on their smartphone via Bluetooth.

The service is available for iOS operating systems now and will be ready for Android soon.

Initially, EVA is offering the new e-tag baggage check-in service to passengers outbound from San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Houston (IAH), New York (JFK), Vancouver (YVR), Toronto (YYZ), Paris (CDG), Vienna (VIE), Tokyo (HND) and all international airports in EVA’s Taiwan home base with the exception of Taipei-London flights due to government regulations. The airline will add more airports in the near future.

How it works

Passengers first must have the EVA Mobile App and the RIMOWA App and then check-in.

Step 1: On the EVA App, passengers select Add the RIMOWA Electronic Tag.

Step 2: Now they select the appropriate RIMOWA Electronic Tag ID.

Step 3: The tag details are then transmitted to the bag.

Step 4: The tag details are now on the bag and can also be seen on the EVA App under My Barcodes.

There are currently no exclusive baggage drop counters for passengers who choose to check their luggage electronically. So the bag still has to be taken to EVA’s normal bag drop.

EVA conducted a series of field tests with the e-tag baggage check-in process before officially introducing it.

RIMOWA
EVA staff display RIMOWA bags with the electronic tag

How much does a RIMOWA bag cost?

The bags with electronic tag are currently available for between USD700 (Salsa model) and USD 1265 (Topas model).

Numbers

Rimowa estimates that 8,000 bags had been sold and 3,000 bags used on Lufthansa flights this year.

Rimowa is in the process of acquiring more partner airlines with United Airlines and Condor Airlines in the process of testing the technology.

N.B. Image credit: EVA Air

Internet links

EVA Mobile App

RIMOWA Electronic Tag