Delta will track baggage with RFID by the end of the year

Delta announced Friday it will be the first airline in the U.S. to deploy Radio Frequency Identification — or RFID — baggage tracking technology, for all 120 million bags it handles each year.

Since the 1990s, airlines have tracked baggage with barcodes and hand scanning. Delta calls the switch to RFID "historic."

Bill Lentsch, Delta's senior vice president of airport customer service and cargo operations, said this will entail a $50 million investment in RFID at 344 stations globally.

"We aim to reliably deliver every bag on every flight," Lentsch said in a statement. "This innovative application of technology gives us greater data and more precise information throughout the bag's journey." Read more...