Good points Hartington. We are certainly going to have bar codes on baggage for years to come as any automated bag handling system uses them. The move to RFID tags (Radio Frequency Identification) as now entering service as 'near field communication' will be costly.
We might expect a point at which new terminals, or ones being refurbished, would have dual systems but it will take (guess) 25+ years for the changeover.
Another point to be confirmed is that the tag is the property of BA and they remove it? Regulars could buy their own tag?