The life of lost luggage
 

DH had the opportunity to visit an airline luggage hold this week. Here is what he learned.

There are hundreds of bags lost at airports all over the US. If they have names and phone numbers, the airlines tries to get the bag to you. If it does not, they hold it where ever it was found for 30 days. This could be a serious problem if your luggage was accidentally sent to the wrong airport where you would never be looking for it. All kinds of things could cause it to be displaced.

After the 30 days, it is stacked and then sold in lots to a dealer. DH said there were at least two or three hundred pieces of luggage, waiting to be sold, in the room they showed him, and that was for only one Airline, not the whole airport. DH was stunned by the amount. The Airline person said multiply that by every airline in every airport.

The advice from the rep was to put good quality luggage tags on the bag in addition to the paper airline tag, plus to tape inside every case, info with your name and phone numbers. Put it in more than one place and in such a way that it won't fall out if the case is opened. He said the major problem was there was no identification inside the bags, and any on the outside had gotten ripped off. If your bag has two handles, put a tag on each. Make sure they have at the least, your name and phone number and country.

He also said he wished people would remember to keep medicines with them and to not pack valuable jewelry, cameras, etc. in their checked luggage.

That's interesting.,I always have two tags on our bags but never considered putting one inside the bag. I will from now on.

I always put tags on the outside and then put a sheet with a complete itinerary and our phone numbers and business address on the inside of every bag we have on our trips.

When our daughter's luggage took it's own vacation it was because it got forgotten in the cargo hold of a United flight BOS-DCA. By tracking the luggage tag the airline discovered it went to Mexico, NYC, back to Boston and then on to DC.

When the luggage finished it's independent vacation, it was put on a Continental flight to Paris (where she was going). Your info is supported by the fact that the only way she got reunited with her clothing was by going to the Continental lost luggage area at CDG and finding it herself. Tracking the luggage was impossible once it went overseas, since no one knew the Continental luggage tag number. But the airline never made any attempt to call either her (cell phone and itinerary were inside unlocked suitcase) or home number (us) which was prominently displayed on a luggage tag and inside luggage.

This story was reported to be true by a good friend of mine.

Many years ago he was in line at check in at the Pan American Terminal at JFK. In front of him was a passenger berating the ticket agent in terms that were personal, racial, ancestral, and more than offensive. Eventually, that person left the agent for parts unknown.

My friend then went to agent, and after asking if he needed some time to recover, told the agent he admired how well the agent stood up to the abuse. The agent demurred and said that he was trained to deal with unhappy passengers. My friend replied that he was a psychologist and that kind of abuse was harmful and hurtful. After further conversation, the agent looked around to see if there was anyone else listening and said, "Well,frankly, he is going to London and his bags are going to Lagos."

Jeff: Love it!!

Unlost bag:

Once I flew: FLL-PHL-LGW-SEZ.
My bag flew: FLL-CLT-FRA-CDG-SEZ.

I was the first to the baggage carousel but after all bags were placed there and it stopped, the bag wasn't there. As I walked over to the baggage office I casually glanced at a great pile of bags and mine...was sitting nicely on the top. It made it to the destination 2 hours before I did!

I took a permanent marker and put my name, address, and email on the inside top of my bag. It is in big, printed letters and cannot be missed. I have two luggage tags outside.

Knock on wood, my bag has always made it!

Sandy (in Denton)

I once read to always put some identification in the checked luggage somewhere so I have two, one inside the outside zipper and behind the bag, there is a slot to put identification there. I also have a few luggage tags. I even bolted one of the tags but it still some how got ripped off.

One time I was flying EWR to EDI. While at the check in counter, all of a sudden a huge group of traveling students come marching up. The lady helping me cuts me off and starts helping her agent friend with this huge group. I tried to be patient but the lady ignored me as I continued standing there with half of my group checked in. She even tried to put my already printed out luggage tag on one of the student's luggage. At this point, I spoke up. She was so nasty and told me there as no need for me to be rude. She was the rude one not me. I guess I should have let that student's luggage go to Scotland instead of to Utah.

Gail <our daughter's luggage took it's own vacation.>
Very funny. I have heard of mail doing that also.

I am the Queen of Lost Luggage with 9 incidents. The funny things is that I rarely check luggage, (maybe once a year) but when I do it will almost surely be lost. I learned a long time ago to have an address tag on the outside and on the inside of my luggage if I ever want to see it again. It also doesn't hurt to keep a copy of your flight schedule inside the luggage so they can see where the suitcase was supposed to go.

Such a good reminder to double and triple up on destination information, inside and outside the bag(s)! Thank you!

My bag was once accidentally checked with the person who checked in in front of me, and traveled with that person's itinerary. I got it back thanks to my information on the tag.

So I would add, make sure when checking bags that the tags the agent affixes are the right ones, with your destination.

We have our contact details taped inside each bag in two locations, plus a luggage tag.

Our luggage tags were routinely stolen from our luggage when we lived in Indonesia - if an airport employee liked it, it disappeared. We must have gone through 30 tags in the four years we lived there.

I'm curious - isn't the bar code the airline sticks on your luggage meant to prevent all of this? I've never had a piece of luggage lose it's bar code.

Sometimes the sticker falls off. And in case of my daughter, United had Continental send her luggage to it's destination, so sticker and original tag numbers and codes were useless.

And if the sticker isn't correct in the first place, your luggage will go where the sticker says and not with you.

The bar code doesn't erase human error. My luggage has been placed on the wrong flight many times since the bar code has been used.

My friend and I recently flew Air France to Paris and her luggage never made it out of Atlanta. The Air France guy was wonderful - gave us both personal toiletry bags and t-shirts and the bag was delivered to our hotel the next night. He was able to track it immediately.

I do always wait and specifically watch for them to attach the bar code with correct airport code onto my suitcase, when I check in at the counter.

Yes and check your baggage claim stubs as well. They should of course be the same.