Airlines’ dirty little pilfered luggage secret

by Charlie Leocha on October 7, 2009

luggage-theft
The airlines and TSA are fighting an ongoing battle against theft from checked luggage. The installation of more and more automated baggage handling systems has reduced theft. However, until human contact is eliminated, the problem probably won’t be exorcised.

A search through newspaper stories published over the past few years shows that problems with luggage theft are widespread even as many of the airlines are raising fees on luggage handling.

It’s not enough that we have to deal with poor customer service, a Byzantine ticketing fare structure, delays, de-humanizing security protocols and inane inflight entertainment, now we have to ponder what might be stolen from our luggage.

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution published an article about luggage theft. It seems that Atlanta Hartsfield Airport is the top place for luggage theft in the U.S.A.

Video cameras are being installed and monitoring has been stepped up. According to reports Delta has been vigilant in their efforts to stem the tide of luggage thefts.

● In February, officials in Portland, Ore., arrested two baggage handlers employed by Delta merger partner Northwest Airlines after a two-week investigation. Police recovered about 200 items believed to be stolen, including laptops, jewelry and handbags.

● In March, officials announced arrests of several baggage handlers working for Delta and subsidiary Delta Global Services at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn.

● Later that month, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport police said they uncovered a theft ring involving baggage handlers working for Delta contractor Huntleigh USA. Police arrested eight suspects and recovered nearly 900 items.

● And in July, officials said they arrested a baggage handler for a Delta contractor and a TSA officer who worked at John F. Kennedy International Airport for theft. The suspects switched luggage tags to direct bags to a different destination and conceal the theft.

Delta is not alone. The TSA has plenty of problems with theft. In Miami an organized ring of thieves was broken.

Sources say six TSA employees, two men and four women, were fired weeks ago for running the organized operation. One returned 31 passenger items, including an iPod, another brought back 25 stolen items, including jewelry and a camera after both were discovered.

Now detectives are trying to find more suspects while finding the rightful owners of the items, which include expensive watches, jewelry, cameras and other goods. They’ll be prosecuted once the victims identify their belongings.

Dulles Airport as it opened its now security screening facility last month was also dealing with a situation where the very agents who are screening passengers were “stealing items from passengers’ checked luggage.”

Plus, there are reports of increases in thefts from baggage carousels when luggage is delivered to the final destination. It seems that airlines that once checked luggage tags decided that it wasn’t worth the cost.

The bottom line: traveler beware. Don’t pack any valuables in your checked baggage.

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Tagged as: checked baggage, luggage theft, theft, TSA

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    I don’t understand people that packs valuables and/or fragile items in their check-in luggage and is upset when the item is stolen or broken.

    First, we don’t pack valuables such as cash, cameras, laptops, jewelry and etc. in our check-in luggages. We do NOT bring jewelry with us at all. In regards to cameras, we back up and erase the memory sticks and carry them with us. In addition to the possibility of theft, how about damage to your electronic items in your check-in luggage?

    We video tape and take pictures of the items that we pack in our check-in luggage.

    We have a rider on our homeowner policy for our electronic items.

  • Hapgood

    Arizona Road Warrior has excellent advice. But what happens when the airline clerk decrees that a carry-on containing valuable items is too large or too heavy, according to whatever criteria happen to be in effect at that moment (do financially-strapped airlines have “incentives” for their clerks to make passengers pay checked bag fees)? Or when the overhead bins are full, and the flight attendant decrees that the bag has to be checked? No matter how much you hard you try, all it takes is one petty official with a badge to create unpredictable disaster.

    Insurance is good idea. But if a stolen camera makes your photography-oriented trip impossible (for example), receiving a check six months later for the depreciated value of the item won’t help much.

  • kiki d

    i am suspicious of all airline employees by nature, so when i travel, i have one rule about my luggage: if i can’t live without it, it stays home or goes in my carry-on. i had a $15 concert t-shirt stolen out of my luggage once…i guess even baggage handlers love U2.

  • Frank

    Hapgood October 7, 2009 at 2:40 pm
    But what happens when the airline clerk decrees that a carry-on containing valuable items is too large or too heavy, according to whatever criteria happen to be in effect at that moment (do financially-strapped airlines have “incentives” for their clerks to make passengers pay checked bag fees)? Or when the overhead bins are full, and the flight attendant decrees that the bag has to be checked
    =============================================

    EASY solution. Pack a bag that will fit UNDER THE SEAT. That wont be checked. Bother way, they’re called Passenger Service Agents. NOT Clerks. And, no they dont get incentives for checking bags because you DONT PAY at the gate to have them loaded onto the plane.

  • http://www.hoteldesigns.net Patrick Goff

    As someone who flies globally (22 countries in the last 5 years) I have learned to always book at least premium economy so that the baggage allowance allows me to take all my digital equipment into the cabin with me (as well as giving me a more comfortable flight). As my trips are about photographing hotel interiors loss of cameras would be very expensive, but US is not alone in problems and Heathrow London is not known locally as Thiefrow for no reason.

    If I was told I my cameras have to go inthe hold (it has happened) I say I want to get off the flight.The flight would then be delayed whilst my hold bag is unloaded and returned to the terminal. I have always found that the bag (which meets all size and weight criterai) is then allowed. Some staff are little Hitlers but the ‘United broke my Guitar’ memory hearts all such attitudes – more power to Twitter et al

  • Tim

    Hapgood–what Frank says is good, but here is something I have done to also prevent valuables from going into the belly of a plane (especially my medicine): if I think I will have to gate check my roll-on bag, I pack all the important stuff in a smaller bag and put that in my roll-on (in my case, the smaller bag is the daypack that can zip on to my roll-on). Now, when I am on the plane and find I have to gate check my roll-on, I pull the smaller bag out and give my roll-on to the agent or flight attendant. When I get to my seat, if the smaller bag does not fit in an overhead bin, it will fit under the seat in front of me along with my second bag (usually a laptop bag).

    I do this trick especially when I will be on a smaller plane, like a regional jet.

  • Hapgood

    Frank, your suggestion of carrying only a bag that fits under the seat is rather like losing weight and keeping it off for life. It’s EASY in theory, but not necessarily in practice. In practice, it means choosing between a camera bag and a computer (for example), since either will fit under the seat but both won’t.

    The unfortunate reality is that if you have an inexcusably selfish desire to have your belongings are intact and available when you get off the plane, you have to carry them on yourself. And for most passengers, that’s more than will fit under the seat (and take up too much of the limited leg room). Frank might enjoy spending a chunk of his vacation holding the phone waiting for a “passenger service agent” (in Bangalore) to tell him she doesn’t know where your bag is either, and/or that the airline has no responsibility for the missing items. But many passengers don’t enjoy that, and aren’t at all enthusiastic about paying $25 for a game of “baggage roulette.”

    Given the unreliability of checked bags (for which airlines insist on charging increasing fees), I think the only REAL EASY solution is to pay for a “luggage concierge” service that is accountable for the timely delivery of important belongings. That lets the passenger fly free of worry, since it makes boarding so much easier and bypasses grubby paws of airline baggage handlers and the even grubbier paws of the TSA. Yes, that’s very expensive, but think of it as just another fee associated with “unbundled” air travel (although it goes to a third party rather than into the airline CEO’s bankruptcy-proof pension fund).

    If paying for a “luggage concierge” service along with airfare and fees inflates the cost of flying, that can only be a good thing. I think everyone would benefit if air travel were priced at something like its true cost, and thus were restricted to those who can truly afford to pay it. Yes, that would mean most of us would be stuck with staycations, but that’s good for the local economy and for the environment (and I think it would do many of us a lot of good to find creative ways to fully enjoy the places where we live rather than feeling compelled to fly across the globe).

    The legacy carriers, in their death throes of declining service and increasing fees, may be doing the world a favor that will take a while to appreciate. Of course, people like flight attendants and “passenger service agents” will necessarily suffer even as their bosses enjoy guaranteed severence packages and bankruptcy-proof pensions. But it’s always the little people who are honored with graciously bearing the brunt of transitions. That’s just how God made the world.

  • Carrie Charney

    Frank, some gate agents can be quite arbitrary. The handsome businessman boarding the regional jet in front of me smiled at the gate agent and just rolled his hard-sided suitcase past her. I smiled at the gate agent too, but she wasn’t looking at my wizened female face. She just pointed to my smaller, malleable backpack with my valuable items (camera, binoculars) and curtly said, “You’ll have to check that.” Then she wrapped the tag around its strap. I knew not to argue with her. I just took off the tag as I went down the jetway and easily stowed the pack. The cute businessman was still trying to squeeze his rollerboard in the overhead as I took my seat.

  • Frank

    Hapgood October 8, 2009 at 12:12 pm
    Frank, your suggestion of carrying only a bag that fits under the seat is rather like losing weight and keeping it off for life. It’s EASY in theory, but not necessarily in practice.
    ==================================================

    I NEVER said carry on ONLY ONE BAG that fits under the seat. I said carry on a bag (WITH YOUR VALUABLES) that will fit under the seat. HUGE DIFFERENCE. In case there’s no room.
    Tim explained exactly what a frequent flyer knows what to do in that situation.

  • Frank

    Carrie Charney October 8, 2009 at 12:35 pm
    boarding the regional jet
    ==============================================

    Like I said, PACK A BAG THAT will FIT under the seat in front of you.

    You mentioned Regional Jet. There’s many different size RJ’s out there. While I’ve only flown on a dozen or so flights. I was never allowed a rollaboard into one. A tote bag, yes.

  • Dave S.

    When I go on a scuba diving trip I take my dive knife. I surely can’t carry it on! I have had one disappear from my luggage. But, it disassembles for cleaning, so I rubber band the metal part (flat) in a folded piece of cardboard and put it in the lining of one bag, then put a bag containing all the other parts (hilt, guard, scabbard, etc) in my other bag. Neither is worth much without the other. That’s worked so far, knock on wood!

  • KARLA

    This topic keeps my blood boiling! I take all I can on board, but God Blessed me with lots of medical problems recquiring me to pack & check essintial medical equipment, supplies, and medication; I have to check at least one bag. The airlines has deemed that these medical things aren’t important, so I pay added fees. Supposedly, our local major carrier (AA) allows medical equipment to be checked without a fee. Having grown tired of check-in arguments, phone calls, etc. I no longer even try. I’m a huge supporter of businesses making money; they’ve just forgotten who pays/hires their services…ME, their CUSTOMER! They no longer care “why we fly”, why “we always fly on ____ airline”, “want to make us feel at home”, flash us an HONEST SMILE, or truly care enough to HELP US!!!!!! Guess they have forgotten the old saying “CATCH MORE BEES WITH HONEY” phrase. Thanks for allowing me to blow off some steam….keep up the good work!

  • MollyNYC

    LIke most experienced travelers, I don’t pack valuables like jewelry, electronics or camera’s in my checked luggage. However, I do wear expensive clothes, shoes and nice accessories and it’s firghtening to think that even a $12.00 tee shirt was stolen!
    It’s disgusting that airlines now charge to take luggage, but even more disgusting that none of those fees go to enhanced security, or better service. Greed, greed, and more greed, and not a lick of pride in their product!

  • The Good Doctor

    One would have thought that the addition of baggage surcharges would provide a higher degree of service and security. Instead, they’ve become the equivalent of the mandatory 18% service charge for parties of 8 or more – no effect!!!

  • Fred Buse

    A lot of great suggestions here but I have yet to see one to explain to me how I can get my any of the following sports equipment in the cabin with me. The value of these items far exceeds the value of most cameras and much jewelry.
    Skis and ski boots
    Scuba equipment
    Golf clubs

  • Ituri

    “I think everyone would benefit if air travel were priced at something like its true cost, and thus were restricted to those who can truly afford to pay it. Yes, that would mean most of us would be stuck with staycations, but that’s good for the local economy and for the environment (and I think it would do many of us a lot of good to find creative ways to fully enjoy the places where we live rather than feeling compelled to fly across the globe).”

    What an absurd thing to say. I live 3,000 miles away from my family, and my “feeling compelled” to get home and see them once a year is hardly something you should feel compelled to whine about just because I can’t afford first class. Oh yes, lets all pay more for better service! Because we all know you get your money’s worth with the airlines, right? I paid $1200 for a pair of tickets (home and back), and the next week the price for the same seats was almost $3000. Is that paying “something like its true cost?” No, its paying on a bad computer models whim on how POPULAR that route will be at that time. This doesn’t take into account the massive instinct to travel, see the world, and learn abroad. What good does it do to save the worlds environment if nobody can fly the globe and experience it? Like I said, absurd.

  • digital843

    Arizona Road Warrior – excellent ideas – and you are modest too!

  • Esther

    Since few trips are sudden (death or funeral, for instance), sending one’s luggage ahead by FedEx, UPS or Greyhound is an option more certain and not necessarily more expensive than the airline. Then only essential carry-on is required. Most hotels and motels will accept advance delivery of their arriving guests’ luggage if you talk to someone there before hand. They either travel themselves or hear complaints from guests who have had a bad airline experience, or both. If staying with friends or family, that should be a given.

  • American Traveler

    As the airlines expect more and more things to be checked, this is serious business. I find Alanta to be very troubling, when I connect there on returning International flights. I have yet to NOT have something missing from my luggage after it has been rechecked there. Granted I do not go through a lot. But, three out of three times, items that were in my bags when I landed in Atlanta were NOT in them when I arrived at my destination. One has to wonder how this have been going on for so long and TSA/Delta refuse to stop the problem.

  • Andrea Kuenster

    I was traveling on US Airways from Jacksonville, FL to Los Angeles, CA, and carried CA registration stickers for my car in my suitcase that I needed to put on my vehicle in LA. I never thought a luggage handler would steal them, but they were not in my suitcase when I arrived in LA. US Airways has a long list of items on their online site that they are not responsible if stolen out of your baggage, however, when they replied to my complaint, they simply stated that they are only responsible for the theft of clothing and toiletries. I wrote them back and said, “why not just state that on your site, instead of your long list that you are not responsible for?” It is much clearer. Anyway, travelers beware! Your luggage could be pilfered through. Mine was by US Airways, and I was the victim of a theft. I hold the airlines responsible for not controlling this problem.
    They gave me no compensation whatsoever, and had no phone number to speak with anyone regarding this matter, only email.
    Makes me think that this must happen so much, they don’t want to answer so many calls. Shame on the US Airways and the employees
    who are thieves.

  • Sarah McCormick

    I just had a $5000.00 necklace and $500.00 shoes stolen out of my luggage in Las Vegas. I am not a seasoned traveler (obviously) and had no idea that this problem was so prevalent. I agree with Andrea that it is shameful that airlines aren’t doing anything to stop the problem. It was an incredibly hard lesson learned for me.

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