lock your baggage
 

Is it better to lock your checked baggage or not these days? Haven't flown in several years.

It is claimed that if your luggage is locked and the scanner reveals something suspicious, the lock will be broken and your luggage searched. But if you use the plastic ties (available in any hardware store), the claim is that it will be replaced if it has to be broken. This will presumably deter opportunistic pilferers down the line.

Thanks, Michael. We'll go with the plastic ties!

Qu'est-ce que c'est plastic ties to lock your luggage-also what kind of chains do you use to secure your luggage on trains?

<BR>March 22, we flew on Continental.<BR> I did not lock my luggage. When we checked in at the airport, I asked them to x-ray it then put the plastic ties that I had gotten at the hardware store on them. They said they would do it with Continentals ties. They did. Everything was fine. <BR>Coming back, the same. I spoke to the agent about this and they said that if something showed up on the x-ray, they would open the lock/break it and search the bag. Then they would put on a plastic tie and a sticker telling the owner of the bag that it had been searched.<BR>Great advice that I got from here:<BR>Take a small pair of nail clippers and put them in the checked luggage outer pocket. That way you can cut the ties, either at the airport or your hotel.

Just went to Hawaii out of LAX a couple weeks ago and they asked for the keys to our bags before they put them on the x-ray machine. we had to stand there before they clear. My view before flites from anywhere, tell them you have locks AND plastic ties and request to stand there while they x ray it. At least request they page you if they need to get in the bag and carry many extry plastic ties and a few extra locks in case they get cut.The big prolem is that you cannot carry scissors to cut the ties, so when you check into the hotel, have the bell people cut them WHEN you get to your room, (not before for obvious reasons!)<BR>the bottom line is.... CARRY what is valuable and pack what you can live without.<BR>Valuable purchases: ship insured.

What does one do with hardside luggage that has the locks built in when one doesn't want to leave the bag unlocked for, especially, an international trip? The plastic ties and extra locks are not an option. I've never heard that you can ask the airline/security people to page you if the luggage needs to be opened.

I recently bought the kind of security &quot;clips&quot; (Safety Seal by Lewis N. Clark) that you can only use once. The only way to get them off is to break it and each has a unique number imprinted on it-so I think they're probably more secure than a conventional padlock type. They come in a pack of 20 for about $5. I bought them in a luggage store (Luggage 2000 in a mall).<BR><BR>The only thing is I had to cut it off in the end, so you'll have to see if they'll work with your luggage.

It seems to me that if you can cut off a plastic tie with nail clippers, it isn't any more secure than leaving the tie off completely. Am I being obtuse?

I travel internationally quite a bit for work, and the last few times I've flown out of Detroit, I have not been permitted to lock my bags. In fact, I left my lock attached to the zipper pull on a trip to India last month, and they cut the lock off, even though it was serving no purpose. It seems they do as they see fit, regardless of the restraint or lack thereof that you decide to use.

Re: the ties..you know the little clippers are there but no one else does. The luggage is tied shut. Makes it a lot easier to open without calling the guy at the hotel. If the airport screeners need to cut them, they have their own cutters. But then they always tape it shut again/or tie it and leave a note telling you that they did it.<BR>Re: hardside luggage. My son has a big silver hard piece of luggage. He just went back to Japan with it. They sell these straps that you wrap around the whole thing, they close with a buckle kinda thing:)<BR>after his luggage was checked, they put additional tape over the locks for him, although they were not actually locked.

Airlines told me-- &quot;NO WAY are we going to page you for your KEYS to your LOCKS&quot;-- &quot;We will break them off instead&quot;--<BR><BR>Airlines have no TIME to call you for keys--<BR><BR>Use the PLASTIC TIES and also try to request they search your luggage IN FRONT OF YOU--<BR><BR>This means GET to the AIRPORT WAY WAY earlier than usual.....<BR><BR>You can also buy these ties at your local HOME DEPOT....and carry fingernail clippers to open them at your destination.....

I'm with Nikki and can't fathom how a plastic tie could possibly deter a thief. <BR><BR>I use hard luggage with a strap but that's just to provide a little extra assistance for the other closures. The lock fell out a few years ago and I never bothered to have it repaired or replaced.<BR><BR>Maybe my luggage looks so tattered that no self respecting thief would bother.<BR><BR>

for jsmith: I think the idea of the plastic tie is if a thief has only a few minutes to open a bag and steal something, they are unlikely to cut a tie off a bag to get it open if there is a bag next to it without a tie. Thiefs need to work quickly and the extra 30 seconds to cut off a tie makes a difference to them.<BR><BR>I flew on US Air last week and they searched my bag at check in and then put plastic ties on every zipper. <BR><BR>Thanks for the nail clipper idea to get it off - they are impossible to break off without something sharp (which you can't take on the plane) and the nail clipper is a great solution!!

Scarlett, it never occurred to me that thieves would look for my nail clippers to cut the plastic; it would be much easier for them to keep their own in their pockets.<BR><BR>A couple of years ago, I had several things stolen from my suitcase, probably at CDG airport. The next time I traveled, I locked my suitcase, as did my daughter. Both locks were gone when we picked up our bags. Nothing was missing. This was before the airport security folks told everyone not to lock their bags. <BR><BR>I read an article, wish I remembered where, about baggage employees at some airports (the article concentrated on Miami) going through all the bags because they are so badly paid, and they seemed to have plenty of time to do it. <BR><BR>

An alternative to nail clippers to cut plastic ties... I bought child's round tipped scissors, avail at Target, drug stores, for about $2-$3. I kept these slipped into orig package, in outer pocket of soft sided luggage w/ no problems so far.

<BR>Exactly ! bitsy,<BR>I keep small nail clippers in the outer pockets. Theives go for the easy and fast way-they aren't going to bother with those ties, those suckers are hard to get off! <BR>

for jsmith: I think the idea of the plastic tie is if a thief has only a few minutes to open a bag and steal something, they are unlikely to cut a tie off a bag to get it open if there is a bag next to it without a tie. Thiefs need to work quickly and the extra 30 seconds to cut off a tie makes a difference to them.<BR><BR>I flew on US Air last week and they searched my bag at check in and then put plastic ties on every zipper. <BR><BR>Thanks for the nail clipper idea to get it off - they are impossible to break off without something sharp (which you can't take on the plane) and the nail clipper is a great solution!!

Two questions. How many have lost items from their luggage? How many have permanently lost luggage?

<BR>Flying for 30-odd years and never lost a piece of luggage and never had it broken into:)

<BR>Flew for 20 years on business,now retired ,fly a lot, never had a bag lost or anything stolen!!!

Locks or ties don't just discourage theft, they will significantly reduce the chance of your suitcase coming open by accident. A halfway competent thief can get into just about any suitcase in a few seconds--the locks or ties discourage petty pilfering by amateurs and, again, accidental openings. You can carry nail clippers in your pocket--at least you could when I travelled last month.<BR><BR>For hard side suitcases, you can use a strap.

Back to square 1:<BR>Pack only what you can afford to lose...<BR>carry on board the rest, including cosmetics, medicines, jewelry, fine suits/and or dresses but...pack light.<BR>Lock and padlock your bag that is checked in, if they break in..they break in.<BR>Keep a list of contents of that bag and if anything is missing, use the airline and your credit card insurance protection to replace what is lost.<BR>Remember, any lock, tie, belt, etc, is a detriment to a casual break in.<BR>Ship any extremenvaluables to you your destination, insured...ditto purchases of value to your home!<BR>Now go and have a ball!!!!

To answer my own query - have flown domestically since 1955 and internationally since 1958 without anything being stolen or a suitcase lost. Have had them go astray but show up as late as 3 days later.<BR>

There are a couple different sizes of zip ties. The airline uses the small ones, I buy the larger size. They are more difficult to cut. Haven't tried cutting them with nail clippers yet or the child's siscors. <BR><BR>My husband flies all the time and has never had anything stolen. I fly seldom and they loose my bags! Go figure.

The problem as I see is that the luggage needs to be accessible to the TSA when you depart or they will break the locks. So one has to have a device that the TSA can access that then they can reapply that will deter theft at the other airports, esp. international. You can lock your bags, but the TSA (since their equipment does not work) will break your bag if they mistake your books or chocolate for bombs. Then your luggage will be sent on its way completely exposed.

Well, here's some not-so-good news....<BR><BR>Four airport workers sentenced in thefts from checked baggage<BR>http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...-bag-theft.htm

In 1997 Northwest cut off our locks before our arrival in Germany and searched the bag. Since then, we have never locked the luggage (1 more trip to Europe, 1 to Australia/NZ, Hawaii and other domestic.) We have never had a problem. The luggage is soft sided zippered ( which should not easily open). We do not pack breakables or valuables in the luggage (clothes/shoes only in checked baggage). As said above, any thief can get in if they want to or just take the bag.<BR>The only thing we ever lost was a belt, which I am sure was my fault.

aIR cANADA HAS INFORMED ME THAT THET DO NOT OPEN YOUR SUITCASES WITHOUT YOU PRESENT, SO THE LOCK DOES NOT HAVE TO BE OMITTED OR BROKEN.

I just flew Air Canada to London, and when I checked in I was told to remove my locks and that they were absolutely not permitting checked baggage to be locked.

I recently flew from Chicago to Madrid and and put those little plastic ties on my luggage. I was told that I shouldn't put those on because different color ties mean different things. But then she left it on so I don't know how big a deal it was.<BR><BR>But how are we supposed to know what to do if they keep telling us different things? I put those things on specifically because that's what we were told to do. Sheesh! :)<BR><BR>Anne

It is not the airlines who screen baggage -- that is the work of the Transportation Security Administration. <BR><BR>Procedures vary by airport, not airline, because in some places the only place TSA can install the big new scanners (about the size of a pick-up truck) is somewhere away from the check-in area.<BR>I've recently had checked bags opened by TSA behind the scenes in Baltimore and San Antonio. One time they left the required &quot;we opened your bag&quot; note in the bag, one time they did not. Neither time was a new plastic tie applied. I e-mailed a complaint to TSA; I received a form reply saying they had run out of the replacement ties and would soon have a new supply.<BR><BR>If you are leaving from an airport where you hand the bag over to TSA at screening machines near check-in, you should be able to have a TSA screener fasten the lock after screening; at least that's been my experience at Washington National.<BR><BR>The TSA website is the authoritative source for info on locking luggage http://www.tsa.gov/public. Apply your own common sense after reading it.<BR><BR>P.S. I've never had anything stolen from checked bags (5 trips/yr for 15 years).

The last time I flew (on Qantas), all the zipper handles had been removed, not just the locks.

OK, this might sound a bit paranoid to some people. There are other reasons for locking luggage. I was touring Turkey the summer after the movie Midnight Express came out. The true story of a guy who gets busted for drugs on a flight out of Turkey, and spends years in a smeely prison.<BR><BR>After hearing stories about people who plant drugs in your luggage, then steal the luggage when you get home, I checked everything carefully before leaving, and locked the hell out of my luggage!!!<BR><BR>

Good question about the big, hard-side suitcases with built-in locks and nowhere to put a zip tie. I have one of those, and it has been all over the world before the TSA federalized the airport I fly out of. Frankly, I'd be afraid to fly without locking it just because it could then easily come open! We'll see what happens next time I use it...

<BR>they sell these big straps that are specifically for the hardluggage with built in locks. And you can put a piece of tape across the locks so they don't get opened.