The company behind ‘smart luggage’ brand Bluesmart has shut up shop after being grounded by an airlines’ ban on suitcases with non-removable batteries.
Travel tech firm Bluesmart launched its first carry-on suitcase on the crowd funding website Indiegogo in 2014— raising $2.2 million in contributions and reportedly becoming the highest crowd funding project ever for a travel product at that time.
Bluesmart product features include location tracking via mobile phones.
However, Bluesmart said the ban on smart luggage with non-removable batteries announced by several major airlines at the end of 2017 had put the firm “in an irreversibly difficult financial and business situation”.
Bluesmart said after “exploring all the possible options for pivoting and moving forward, the company was finally forced to wind down its operations and explore disposition options, unable to continue operating as an independent entity.”
US luggage brand Travelpro is acquiring the majority of Bluesmart’s intangible assets including technology, designs, brand and intellectual property.
Bluesmart said its products available at retail or online are no longer supported or covered by a warranty. Its servers and apps “will be maintained for several months”, but functionality or service quality will be reduced in the future.
Insolvency proceedings under way in the state of California will review claims from creditors and crowd funders, Bluesmart said.
BBB reported earlier this year that a top US regulatory official had held out the prospect of a potential total air transport ban on batteries without changes to existing safety requirements.
