The ORIGINAL 1000+ Posts Club

[Jeff Wrangler]

 People gripe about not wanting to check their bags because they don't want to waste time picking up the bags after the flight.   So apparently waiting 10-15 minutes for the luggage is worse than 20-40 minutes in a long security line?

  Now I always check my bags.   This way I breeze thru Security with just my jacket and shoes to remove.      Then when I land,  I walk leisurely to the baggage area, first stopping to call the shuttle service (where I leave my car) to come pick me up.  Then a visit to the restroom  (Hate those tiny airplane lavatories!)   and by then my luggage is usually on the arrival conveyer belt.      And yes.   I have had my bags miss the plane.  Once.   And the airline had a taxi bring them to my house later that evening when they arrived on a later flight.    No big deal.

No big deal? No offense intended, David, but are you discounting the fear people have of losing their luggage, that they'll get to their destination and their luggage won't? That's always been my fear.

I have no statistics on lost luggage, though I think I heard some on the evening news last night, but maybe this is one of those cases where people's perception that their luggage is in great danger of getting lost is more important than the reality?

Not to mention, last Thanksgiving, or perhaps it was the Thanksgiving before, there was what amounted to a luggage meltdown at Philly International. Our local news broadcasts featured film of huge piles of luggage that laid around for days and days before it all got sorted out. And, of course, some people never got their property back.

[MaineWriter]

3200 posts!

Hooray!

L

[David]

Unbelievable!    No masses of humanity at the Airport today!   

We were all ready for the worst.   Extra staff was put on.    The TV news media was there all set up with cameras at ready.   

But they didn't come!     It was.......slower than a regular day in fact.   Well, the numbers showed it was a regular day.   But because everyone showed up very early for their flights, there was no chaos.    No lines.  No rushing around.  It was peaceful.

And everyone commented on it.   The staff, the State Police,  the Media and most of all, the passengers.    "Where are the crowds?" they said.    So today went by without a hitch.     Maybe the public smartened up and finally travelled a few days earlier instead of at the last minute.   Maybe they drove?        Maybe all the horror stories of Airport chaos on the news scared them away.   

Now tomorrow (Thanksgiving) is expected to be our slowest day.     The checkpoint I am assigned to is expecting only 300 people on my shift.   Normally it has 3000 passengers.   

Hopefully it will be equally quiet.   Then I can go to Moms after work for leftover Turkey Dinner.   

[David]

No big deal? No offense intended, David, but are you discounting the fear people have of losing their luggage, that they'll get to their destination and their luggage won't? That's always been my fear.

I have no statistics on lost luggage, though I think I heard some on the evening news last night, but maybe this is one of those cases where people's perception that their luggage is in great danger of getting lost is more important than the reality?

Not to mention, last Thanksgiving, or perhaps it was the Thanksgiving before, there was what amounted to a luggage meltdown at Philly International. Our local news broadcasts featured film of huge piles of luggage that laid around for days and days before it all got sorted out. And, of course, some people never got their property back.

Hi Jeff,

     Well, there is no excuse for lost luggage.     When bags don't go where they are supposed to go, it is for a reason.     Usually because the passenger showed up for his/her flight too late.    You may have 20-30 minutes to run to your gate, but your bags aren't going to be there.  They still need to be x-rayed and then sent to the baggage area to be routed to your plane.

    Another way bags don't move is due to a mechanical failure.   The conveyor system conks out.    Weather causes flights to be cancelled or rerouted.  That's when bags don't make it onto the correct plane in time.

     Luggage piled up for days?   I remember that.   That was after that huge storm system shut down many airports.     As for some people NEVER getting their bags?   Hard to believe.     Every bag has a computer generated, bar coded tag on it that identifies the owner.      And these long stickers are hard to tear off.    Plus, most luggage has a holder on them to place your own identification.       Smart travellers also put an identification card inside the bag.     

    Luggage going to Hawaii when you were going home to Philly?    Yeah, that happens.   But if that happens to you, just ask that they send YOU to go get the bags in Hawaii instead!   


PS:   You don't have to leave your bags unlocked.   Just be sure to buy a TSA approved lock.  We have a set of various "Master Keys" to open them in case we need to.    These TSA locks are available online (google it)  and they can be bought at any Airport gift shop.   I saw small ones forsale at the airport gift shop for $2.99    Hell, that's cheaper than a slice of Airport Pizza and a coke!

     

[Meryl]

That's really sensible advice, David, thanks! 

I didn't know that about the TSA-approved locks.  The one time I locked my luggage, they cut through the lock and I was royally pissed! 

[David]

Thursday Mornings Top Ten List!

injest  6015
Lucise  5290
MaineWriter  3204
Garry_LH  3045
Front-Ranger  3020
louisev  2524
Ellemeno  2503
Pipedream  2433
DavidinHartford  2407
latjoreme  2161

[David]

That's really sensible advice, David, thanks! 

I didn't know that about the TSA-approved locks.  The one time I locked my luggage, they cut through the lock and I was royally pissed! 

Hi Meryl!     Sorry to hear that!    Trust me, the lastthing we want to do is cut a lock off.    But if the x-ray machine shows a suspicious image inside a bag, we must go inside it.    If the bag is locked, we first see if it is a TSA lock.  If not, then we take the baggage tag info over to the airlines ticket counter to have the passenger paged so they can come back and unlock the bag.    If that fails, then the lock gets cut.

TSA locks come in all different sizes and colours.  (see sample pics)   And now they come in fun colours too!  They are easiest to buy right online.   I found these pics on Ebay.

David 

[Ellemeno]

Oh my gosh, I went over 2500!  Thanks for pointing that out, David.  And I'm now #7.  I don't think I've been that since March.

Yak yak yak, Heath, Heath, Heath

[David]

Giddy-up Elle!       You'll over take Louisev in a few more!    LOL

 

[MaineWriter]

For those in the US, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. For everyone in the rest of the world, happy Thursday!

33 degrees here in Maine this morning, with a mix of clouds and blue sky. They are predicting bad weather in New York for the parade though 

Today's funny story. My sun Lance, who is home from college, is a runner. He and Tony signed up to run/walk (respectively) in the "Turkey Trot," a 5K race held in Cape Elizabeth. They went online last night to double check the time and found out the Turkey Trot was held...last Sunday. Okay, boys....LOL

Leslie