United States' airlines break all-time record for the amount of luggage they lose

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The amount of luggage lost by the airlines has soared recently, and with Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, the numbers could escalate.

Lost luggage is a huge and growing problem in the United States. In the last few months, airlines broke an all-time record for the amount of mishandled luggage.

Any frequent flier will tell you that checking luggage can be a gamble, and those odds are getting much worse.

After authorities in Britain uncovered the terrorist plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners in August, stringent carry on rules were put in place, which meant an immediate 20 percent increase in checked luggage.

The heavy load overburdened baggage handlers and led to a spike in lost items.

Now, a report just out from the Transportation Department reveals passenger complaints of mishandled luggage have gone up dramatically.

In September, more than 380,000 passengers reported luggage problems, up more than 90 percent from last year.

Some airports, like McCarran in Las Vegas, are betting on new technology to increase the odds of finding that lost luggage.

The airport is installing radio frequency readers, like those used by retailers to track inventory.

All outgoing baggage is being tagged, so the airport can find out if a bag doesn't make a flight before the passenger hits the ground.

There are some things you can do to take the sting out of lost luggage.

Put ID inside your bag.
Don't just rely on the outside luggage ID tag. Make sure to put a business card visible in the inside pocket as well.

Pack clothes in companion's luggage.
If you're traveling with friends or family, try to switch a few outfits in each of your suitcases. If your luggage ends up missing, at least you'll have something to wear while you wait for the airline to find it.

Carry a picture of your bag.
Take a picture of your bag. That way you can show the airline exactly what it looks like if it's lost or damaged.

Figured those of us who are traveling this holiday season should read some of those tips.
 
Thankfully, I'll be driving home for Christmas...
 
EEEK!

Flying home for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, and while I'm home in December my brother is getting married.

When I flew home on Delta last they stuck me in one of those little Bombardier regional jets, about the size of a VW bus with wings. They cram so many people on the plane that they decided to leave my bag in Oakland so the plane would be under the takeoff weight.

My brother flew Delta from LA to Salt Lake and they lost his bag. It was found later... by Quantas! It had no airline flight tag on it and they called him directly at the number on the luggage tag asking where they should send it.

Southwest has never lost one of my bags (knock on wood) and I'm flying them for both trips home.
 
Did they point out a specific company? I've never lost my luggage before, though my dad has to Northwest a few times. Then again, their service is miserable and their food is even worse.

I hate flying, anyway.
 
It seems to be really bad these days. I have always hated to wait for my luggage just to find out that I wont be getting any. Do send ypur luggage after you in the US or do you need to pick it up?
 
I always fly Southwest and they've always been pretty good. They did over-book a flight once and offer me 200% the value of my ticket to give up my seat and take a later flight.
 
When I was coming back from China this summer, I had to transfer planes at Chicago. There, I saw some shrimpy guy who couldn't have been more than 20 hurling luggage a good 6 feet onto a conveyor belt, each bit of luggage landing painfully with a loud BANG! He didn't even pretend to care about anybody's stuff as he threw it in front of the passengers. I felt like stabbing him, frankly. :x
 
When I was coming back from China this summer, I had to transfer planes at Chicago. There, I saw some shrimpy guy who couldn't have been more than 20 hurling luggage a good 6 feet onto a conveyor belt, each bit of luggage landing painfully with a loud BANG! He didn't even pretend to care about anybody's stuff as he threw it in front of the passengers. I felt like stabbing him, frankly. :x

what did u expect them to do...
give your luggage a kiss ?
:lmao:
dont bring expensive shit and dont fly with too much stuff...
use the carry-on to the maximus...
...
 
I've had good experiences with United. I flew to Las Vegas and Seattle this past summer, and my luggage made it intact, with no delays. I've only had my luggage lost once, and that was with Delta.

Delta decided instead of sending my bag through Cincinatti (which is where I was flying through), that it would send it to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta to my destination, adding a whole extra 12 hours to the trip. My lesson learned from that flight, reduce the number of connections if at all possible, because the fewer connections, the less likely they are to misroute your luggage.
 
what did u expect them to do...
give your luggage a kiss ?
:lmao:
dont bring expensive shit and dont fly with too much stuff...
use the carry-on to the maximus...
...
Yes, actually.

Look, there's a difference between setting your luggage on a conveyor belt and violently lobbing it across a crowded room like you're in the discus at the Olympics and you're aiming at your ex-wife's forehead. I'm also super paranoid about my luggage, especially carrying my Les Paul back from China.
 
Yes, actually.

Look, there's a difference between setting your luggage on a conveyor belt and violently lobbing it across a crowded room like you're in the discus at the Olympics and you're aiming at your ex-wife's forehead. I'm also super paranoid about my luggage, especially carrying my Les Paul back from China.

Agreed, Just cause you guys have a shitty job doesn't mean you can treat my stuff like garbage. I wouldn't do it to you, don't do it to me.

If you don't like what you do, change jobs.

/if he was about 20 y/o, he prolly got the job because he "Knows" someone... which in that case he should be extra careful with his job.
/it's not only his ass on the line, but also the guy that reccomended him.
 
(shhh, hopefully nobody will realize that the US has the most flights so it will lose the most baggage.)
 
not only US airlines lose baggage a lot.
However, the thing I fear the most when flying is having my baggage ripped apart. My sister went on vacation to egypt this past winter ... and they broke her luggage ... as in a hard-cased luggage coated with metal ... and they still managed to crack it open ... wtf. She bought that because anytime we took a flight, the soft-material ones always get ripped, like all of them, doesn't matter how full or empty.
 
Thankfully, I'll be driving home for Christmas...

This is probably waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay OT :p , but YF19pilot, is that avatar from Black Lagoon? Do you have one for Revi or Eda?
 
Is it just me or does this only happen to American domestic flights (I've only US flew domestic about 3 times in my life), which I haven't lost any luggage.
But over here in Asia where the cities I travel to most have very new airports and state of the art baggage handling systems, I've never lost my bag. Only trouble I had was at Melbourne Airport where they screwed up the conveyor bag timing or the conveyor belts were full, 2 Boeing 747 flights that came from Singapore and Hong Kong landed at the same time and all the luggage piled on to the same conveyor belt, so naturally my bag was there by the time I walked and it was squeezed into the belt with another Hardcase, the other guys cracked inwards pretty bad as my wheel was against his and for mine, it just got really scratched and somehow the keyhole got out of place and won't fit my key anymore :lol:

Both my parents travel a lot and my dad has only lost it twice in his life and guess what, both was when he flew from LAX to Hong Kong, somehow the bag just didn't get on the plane :lol:... my mom travels every week all around Asia and Europe but has never lost her bag (But maybe its the fact that we all have the frequent flier tags on our bag, parents gold and me silver, which apparently makes a difference (according to my friends dad who works at the airport) whether it is to recover the bag or simply not losing it)
 
I think it's kinda funny that people hurtle through the sky at 500 miles and hour at 30,000 feet in a pressurized metal tube and one of their biggest worries is losing their luggage.
 
I think it's kinda funny that people hurtle through the sky at 500 miles and hour at 30,000 feet in a pressurized metal tube and one of their biggest worries is losing their luggage.

well, my favorite shirt is in there what do you expect if i crash and die then i wouldn't have to worry bout my luggage now would i?
 
This is probably waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay OT :p , but YF19pilot, is that avatar from Black Lagoon? Do you have one for Revi or Eda?

Yup, it is. Unfortunately it was cropped from a larger picture, and I don't have any of Levi or Eda...Just imagine that picture bigger with the words "Devine Intervention is Unlikely" underneath...
 
I see. You should've keep the words, it'll look even cooler. :D
 
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