Comments on: Sky Harbor’s luggage scandal: Who’s to blame for a thousand stolen bags?

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:32:51 +0000

Oops, that previous comment should read: I’m just glad over zealous security officers *hadn’t* destroyed it in a controlled explosion!

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:30:27 +0000

Reminds me of my arrival at New York’s JFK last year. It took me so long to get through customs that by the time I made it to my suitcase, it had been pulled off the now stationary carousel by some helpful person and left standing in the middle of the hall pretty much on its own. I’m just glad over zealous security officers had destroyed it in a controlled explosion!

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:31:44 +0000

Just another reason to:
1) not check luggage
2) if you do check luggage, use a TSA lock (not that it couldn’t be broken into with good lock cutters…).
3) get off the plane quickly when it arrives and be at the luggage carousel right by the shute when the luggage comes out…

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:06:29 +0000

Mel Said, “Failing to transport and deliver the baggage safely has to be a breach of contract, and that contract is separate and distinct from the contract of carriage for the passenger IMHO.”

I’m also not an attorney but I suspect that Federal law has already addressed the issue and there are regulations regarding lost luggage from the DOT. These specific regulations might supercede contract law, as the regulations specifically address the issues and laws governing contracts don’t. At least if I were an airline, that’s what I would argue.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:49:06 +0000

As 99% of the airlines is charging you for carrying your bags, I would believe a law suit via Interstate Commerce laws would possibly make them “back up and regroup” regarding bag security. I do remember when there was a person(s) at the entryways into baggage claim that mandatorily matched your claim check against your bag(s) BEFORE you could leave with a bag(s). Of course, since it costs the airlines money to operate these locations, it went the way of the DoDo bird — extinct. What really gets me is the “Has anyone other than you handled your bags? (high tech security question) and still the airlines will place UNACCOMPANIED bags on aircraft because they “screwed up” and did not get it on the plane with the owner. Definitely tells me about the wonderful security we have NOT!

By: Jim P.

Jim P. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:50:02 +0000

Make your luggage horribly distinctive, it helps. I have swathes of reflective tape in a particular pattern on all my luggage and my initials in 4″ high reflective letters on the handle end.

You need to be both blind *and* stupid to grab my bags by mistake.

Mind you, this happened once..someone took one of my bags off the carousel…then they noticed it wasn’t theirs. Problem was they just left it on the deck and didn’t put it back on the carousel..thanks so very much.

This was at one of those airports where the carousel wanders around like a line at Disneyland so it wasn’t until all the luggage came and people started to disperse that I saw my bag about 100′ away on the far end of the line.

LAX used to have some matching luggage tags to check stubs but I have’t seent hem there in years….and you could usually just walk right past them if they were occupied anyway.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:46:47 +0000

In San Juan Puerto Rico , they still check your luggagew tag before you leave the claim area, I have had them also check my luggage name tag aginst my ticket stub.

By: geosinner101

geosinner101 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:30:28 +0000

At one time, Newark Liberty had a Security Guard in the luggage area. You couldn’t remove a bag without a luggage tag check. That went the way of the Dodo Bird. I wonder how many bags ‘walk off’ the carousel since the security system disappeared.

By: Irene Harner

Irene Harner — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:08:29 +0000

On Octorber 10, 2009 I flew into LAX and looked to retrieve my bag, the first time I’ve ever checked a bag as I always use a carry on but this was for a two week cruise so needed many more clothes. When the carousel was nearly empty, I noticed bags standing in another area some ways away. I walked over out of curiousity and found my bag standing there among several others with no one around. I grabbed it and left to find my shuttle without ever being approached by airport personnel.

I felt extremely lucky that I got away safely with my belongings, and from now on it will be back to the carry on bag and hope I can find some accommodating flight attendant or fellow passenger to help me lift it into the overhead bin since I am very healthy but at 76 lack some of the muscle I had a couple of years ago.

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:42:37 +0000

Jim November 5, 2009 at 9:27 am
I agree with Angela. It would be very easy to match the tag on the bag with the passingers bag reciept using a simple bar code scanner.
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Just what the traveling public wants……ANOTHER LINE. Arrive at a HUB and you’ll see dozens and dozens of aircraft arriving all at once. All the carousels suddenly packed with passengers and bags. Now, drag your bags to a LONG LINE to prove it’s yours.