Annabel

I was just wondering...We are flying AA and I know our bags will be checked thru. What if you miss your connecting flight? Where does your luggage go and how do you get it??

We can always get to the island if we have to via helicopter, so I am not worried about that. Just wondering how I would get our luggage in San Juan??

P_M

My luggage and I have traveled seperately on far too many occasions.

Supposedly they do bag-matching, meaning that if you don't make the flight, they will offload your luggage. However there have been a couple of times in recent years when my luggage did make the connection but I didn't. Each time I found my luggage somewhere near the airline's little office by the baggage claim. What bothers me is that so many airports these days don't match the suitcase to your claim tag, so anybody could pick it up and walk out.

A_Traveller

Wow - it's almost impossible to answere your question as there are so many variables. I gather you are flying to a smaller island through SJU. If that's the case, generally your luggage will accompany you on whatever flight you end up on (if you miss your connection you'll usually be put on the next flight to your destination. If you are delayed overnight, you usually claim your luggage at the intermediate airport and have to re-check it in the morning (FYI - AA has baggage reps in SJU to assist you). If your luggage goes on without you then you claim it at your destination airport. Sometimes luggage gets "lost" an eventually shows up a day or two later. I've had friends who lost luggage and never seen it again. Sometimes you make the connection but the plane is overweight and some luggage gets left behind and flown out on a later flight. Really, there's no set answer. If you are worried about luggage just do carry-on. My spouce and I travel often to the Caribbean for 2 and 3 week stays and we each take 1 standard carry-on and a small personal item and we've always had enough clothes. Take less clothes and bring more money.

GBelle

Here's a similar question -- what if you are flying and your are heading to a cruise ship. Does the airline send your luggage ahead to the next port?

Retired_teacher

When we missed our connecting flight from Honolulu to Kauai due to a medical emergency in '03, we arrived the next morning to find our luggage stacked along a wall at the far end of the baggage claim area.... I will never check luggage thru to the Islands again!

jdbird

After a missed connection to Peru and hours spent reclaiming our luggage that we could see, but not touch, my sister and I vowed to only fly with carry on and travel light.