It’s been a long flight and all you want to do is get your bag, get your rental car, and head to the hotel. Standing around the luggage carousel you see everyone from your flight watching in an almost nervous anticipation for their bag. You are too. The buzzer sounds and bags begin falling from the conveyer belt onto the carousel. Bag after bag and you still don’t see your suitcase. Soon fear turns to panic that your bag didn’t make it. Have you ever lost a bag going on vacation? My bag is like an apartment. It has everything I need to be comfortable when I go out on the road for a couple of weeks. If I have to check it in with the airlines, I’m always pondering what I’ll do if they lose it. Most airlines today have bag tracking so you can see when your bag is checked in and when it is loaded on the airplane. However, not all locations participate with bag scanning. Over my 20-year career as a pilot I have learned some key steps to helping me keep my bag, or at least keeping track of it. In this article, we will look at 3 ways to prevent lost luggage.
- Pack tactfully
- Avoid connecting flights
- Use the Air Tag from Apple
1. Pack Tactfully
I don’t like checking my bag. I would rather just carry it and avoid having the airlines be responsible for it. To do this effectively I have to pack tactfully. Airlines limit you to one carry-on and a personal item, which can be very limiting. First, make sure you have a suitcase that will fit overhead. Not all airplanes and airlines are created equal. For example, with Delta their bag limits are 22 inches long by 14 inches wide and 9 inches tall. However, if you are flying on Air France, their bag size limits are slightly different. 55 x 35 x 25 cm/21.6 x 13.7 x 9.8 in. How can you pack more than your suitcase will hold? Simple, use your jacket as a bag. You can fill those pockets on your jacket with as many items as it will fit and carry the jacket on. I used to put my shoes, toiletries, and other items in my jacket so that I could get my suitcase to fit overhead. It works!
2. Avoid Connecting Flights
The more people touch your bag, the higher the chance someone will lose it. Every time I lost a bag in my many years of flying it was almost always when I had a connecting flight. However, If you have to connect somewhere, don’t give yourself just an hour between flights. That only gives your bag handlers an hour to offload, find your bag, scan it, and send it to the proper place. So if you have to change flight at least give yourself a couple of hours between flights. Regardless, it’s worth it to pay the extra money and stick with direct flights. Upgrading to a higher class can also help your chances as bags labeled “priority” for first class will usually come out on the carousel first.
3. Use the Air Tag from Apple
The Air Tag in my opinion is one of the best inventions out there for the professional traveler. When I have to check my bag on it gives me a sense of peace to see it on my phone watching the air tag travel with me. The signal may drop once out of cell coverage, but as soon as the aircraft lands I can almost always pick up the signal and see my bag nestled comfortably in the cargo hold below my seat somewhere. Just make sure you don’t use an air tag holder that someone can take or steal. Instead, use a secure attachment or just stick it inside your bag.
Final Thoughts
No matter what tactic you use, don’t fall into the trap of trusting the airlines with your bag. I know that there are times where you won’t be able to avoid it. However, being a professional traveler like myself requires me to be proactive. I can’t imagine starting a two week rotation where I will be bouncing around Europe and Asia without my stuff. You also don’t want to begin a vacation or business trip having to spend wasted time and money buying things you need in order to get you through until the airline finds your bag! Let me know your thoughts and if there are tricks you use to prevent losing your bag!
