Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage • Hacker News Board

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#531

Post by t0mas88 » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:02 AM UTC

yftsui wrote: post #435

postalrat wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean "active tracker"? As far as I know airtags have a battery and aren't passive devices.

AirTags doesn’t report its location, the iPhone or other iOS devices report nearby AirTags. That’s the difference between an active tracker that has its own cellular connection.

For aviation regulations there is no different between an active or passive tracker, the rules are not about takers.

The rules are about there being a lithium battery in it (there is) and whether it has a radio transmitter (it does, airtags transmit Bluetooth signals).

Lithium batteries are not allowed in checked baggage. Transmitters are allowed only if turned off.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#532

Post by someweirdperson » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:15 AM UTC

Ekaros wrote: post #509

tsimionescu wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget floppy disks being enshrined as the Save icon - that has to be one of the shortest lives devices to give rise to such an anachronism.

And the fact that at that point they weren't even floppy anymore. Like 5 or 8 inch were...

The typical icon looks like 3.5", and inside the housing the disk is pretty floppy. In contrast to hard disk platters, which derive their name from the internal mechanism, not the housing properties. Otherwise they would be called storage bricks or similar.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#533

Post by Ekaros » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:20 AM UTC

someweirdperson wrote: post #532

Ekaros wrote: post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the fact that at that point they weren't even floppy anymore. Like 5 or 8 inch were...

The typical icon looks like 3.5", and inside the housing the disk is pretty floppy. In contrast to hard disk platters, which derive their name from the internal mechanism, not the housing properties. Otherwise they would be called storage bricks or similar.

I always kinda found that as a copout. Just so to keep using same name.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#534

Post by Maxburn » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:22 AM UTC

If you want better baggage treatment on airlines, just stick a gun in checked baggage.

I have found that putting a gun in my checked baggage and declaring it gets my bag VERY special treatment. It gets special tagging and individual handling. Drop off in a special area. It doesn't go on the carousel, I have to go claim it with ID etc. Best part is this costs nothing. I know some photographers that learned this trick and check some camera gear this way, thousands of dollars of camera airlines don't care about (baggage thieves do) BUT you stick one cheap gun in there and declare it suddenly that bag gets VERY special treatment.

This assumes that you are legally allowed to posses the gun at both ends. You must declare the gun at check in and it must be in a approved lock box. Do your research before attempting this.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#535

Post by tinus_hn » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:27 AM UTC

Hnrobert42 wrote: post #488

layer8 wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The regulation specifically states that " the devices must be completely switched off (not in sleep or hibernation mode) ", and mobile devices normally all have a way to completely shut them down, with no components remaining active. The only exception I'm aware of are wireless earbuds (e.g. AirPods). Presumably you're not allowed to have those in checked baggage.

I would wager most people don’t realize that to completely turn off their iPhone they must adjust their settings to not use Find My even when powered off.

And to tell it somehow not to keep the clock running. Which of course is not possible.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#536

Post by cromka » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:32 AM UTC

ugjka wrote: post #525

layer8 wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think this is about transmission. Rather, it is probably to reduce the risk of thermal runaway of lithium batteries, which can cause fire and explosion. The regulation also states that such devices “ should be carried as carry-on baggage ”, that is, in preference to checked baggage, presumably so that the devices are less prone to damage, and cases of malfunction and fire will be more quickly detected.

Air tags don't have lithium batteries

Did you bother to check? AirTags doesn't have any battery by itself, they use replaceable CR2032, which are most commonly lithium. Although alkaline alternatives exist.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#537

Post by thaumasiotes » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:35 AM UTC

mindslight wrote: post #365

aobdev wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Receipts for the personal items that the airline lost, not for the airfare. You need to prove how much your damages are in order to make a claim.

Your damages are what you had to spend on all the new items you had to buy for your trip, to replace the items they failed to deliver. You buy new clothes (etc), keep the receipts, and turn those in for reimbursement. At least this is how it worked a decade ago when my luggage was "lost" for a US domestic flight. In my case, I think they deliberately bumped my bag for paying cargo, because they saw my billing address…

aobdev's idea of reimbursement doesn't work in either direction. The price you paid for something is only weakly connected to the thing's current value. But your damages are equal to whatever the current value is. If you bought a painting for $20 and it's appreciated to $15,000, you're owed $15,000 when someone destroys it. If you bought a suit for $2,000 and it's more moth-hole than cloth and it's been through a few paintball fights, you're not owed $2,000 when someone destroys it.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#538

Post by cromka » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:36 AM UTC

Bud wrote: post #527

ranger_danger wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't spread FUD.

There's no FUD in this comment. It's right on target.

It's FUD because OP cannot possibly know that "This is about them not wanting the public to see". That's pure speculation, and it fits the FUD definition perfectly.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#539

Post by johnwalkr » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:41 AM UTC

capableweb wrote: post #257

madrox wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once forgot to put my cell phone in airplane mode during a flight from London to SFO (and didn't use my phone during the flight). I was rather alarmed to see a flood of text messages from my carrier welcoming me to Iceland, Canada, and the US upon my landing.

That sounds... Improbable. When you were passing over Iceland you must have been far too far above the antennas to receive any sort of signal, unless it landed there on the way across the ocean?

I have AirTags in a case that is shipped by air a lot (without me being on the same flights) and once I got an updated location in midflight.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#540

Post by knorker » Sat, Oct 08, 2022, 9:45 AM UTC

core-utility wrote: post #327

ajmurmann wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This section makes it even more confusing to me, since I thought that the whole cell phone transmission restriction theater had been removed a few years ago. Was that only within the US and I've been violating EU regulations for years?

Is the cell phone transmission theater even lifted in the US? I still get asked to turn on airplane mode regularly (though Wi-Fi is okay)

Supposedly not putting in airplane mode will also wreak havoc with cell towers when flying low enough to cause interference and hella-frequent base station handovers.

Though I've found the latest generation of planes to be pretty much faraday cages, with most planes I'd believe it.