Posted by Protect your Luggage!
This might be an obvious point, but so many people rely upon airlines to safeguard their luggage and get it to a final destination.
Let me tell you a story with a lesson. This should increase the odds of seeing your luggage again.
Do you remember back in the bad old days, before there were computer-generated luggage tags? We had to tediously hand-write luggage labels and hope they didn’t fall off? They were tied by a flimsy piece of thread and sent down the chute, frequently never to be seen again? Then came the airline generated tag that is seemingly super-glued to your luggage, along with the reassuring receipt with the matching bar-code that will assure safe delivery of your luggage, regardless of delays, diversions and more.
Fast forward to December 2019 and the arrival of my son into Milwaukee airport for the Christmas vacation. He had traveled light and had checked one piece of luggage, a very distinguishable duffel bag with a Nike logo. That sinking feeling descended very quickly at the luggage carousel. His bag was apparently still in South Carolina, and would be delivered by 9 p.m that night, or early the next morning. That was a month ago. No bag. It’s still in South Carolina but not. After five days of hours on the phone, contradictory stories and mass confusion, we were advised to buy what he needed and start the claims process. Four weeks later, the luggage is still missing in action and presumed gone for good. What could he have done differently?
- Attach your own luggage label. Airline labels do fall off, so increase your odds.
- Itemize your contents. Anything unique will help identify your bag.
- Take a photograph of your bag.
- Put an address label inside your luggage on a large piece of paper, so if all fails, that will identify where it needs to go.
- For peace of mind, use the airline app to track your luggage if available.
- For frequent flyers, check into the purchase of tracking devices specifically for luggage. Amazon has a varied selection of trackers and it’s on my shopping list for my son!
Simple steps but effective. Follow these and minimize the risk of your luggage disappearing for good, Christmas presents and all!
Happy Travels!
