For the first time ever, my luggage didn't arrive

[Runs With Scissors]

What a day. This is why I don't travel (usually) at this time of year.

I felt bad for the employees behind the counter at check in. Unless someone gives evidence to the contrary, I'll assume it's not each individual employee's fault the the airline understaffs on days like this. The lines were huge. I was in line an hour and a half before my flight left...and I still was the last person on the plane.

Some douchebag pushed his way to the front and demanded they serve him next. Basically, the way it works with Alaska Airlines is that you go up to the front, punch your info into the monitor, and wait for them to call your name to have your bags tagged and weighed. In Portland, you have to then walk your luggage over to the screening area.

The douchebag stopped short of using obscene language, but he needed to let everyone know (loudly and obnoxiously) that he was going miss his flight and the lines were long and blah blah blah. He looked like he stepped out of the Sonny and Cher show. Loud, plaid sports coat. HUGE glasses. 1970s 'fro. Cheesy mustache. He looked like a 28-year-old kid trying to be hip. He was lucky I wasn't working the counter...instead of Miami his luggage would have gone to Duluth.

I've never once in my entire life gone to the carousel and not had my bag be there. I *always* check my guitar in, too, but this time I didn't, and I'm glad. Still, it was strange not having my bag be there. I got in line at the lost luggage counter and gave my info. Six hours later a van came to my destination with my bag. Pretty amazing, actually. I didn't know they delivered. I thought you had to go back to the airport if your bag didn't arrive. I didn't know you could even get it the same day.

I'm sure far worse things happened to other travelers...probably a lot of people will never see their luggage until they get home, so I feel pretty lucky on a day the airport was so crowded that I had a pretty minor inconvenience. I'm so grateful I'm not one of those travelers on the news camping out in the airport for three days. Or one of the ones on the runway for six hours.

To all the employees I came in contact with today: Y'all are wonderful. The airline sets you up with a pretty damned tough job, and you all did it with smiles.

[Ice Wolf]

Horrible feeling, the realisation that your bag just hasn't arrived with you on the plane. That happened to me earlier this year, when I was on a flight back home from Tauranga. While I headed north to Auckland, my bag headed south to Wellington. Right at the start of a long holiday weekend, when Wellington airport was in a state of mild chaos, and along the way all ID tags on my bag disappeared. I got the bag back through good fortune, bloody excellent staff at the lost luggage department in Auckland who worked for 24 hours before my bag was found and flown home again, and the fact that I had unusually coloured locks on it.

Mine was delivered by taxi to my place from Auckland airport. Terrific service by Air New Zealand -- just wish it got loaded on the right plane in the first place! (Tauranga is a smallish domestic airport. Only two intercity flights left that afternoon -- and my bag got put onto the first one, while I was on the second one an hour later. C'est la vie ...)

[yearsofstatic]

Any time my luggage hasn't arrived I've found the airline staff to be helpful and nice. No sense at getting angry at them because they aren't the ones that messed up.

Was flying out of LaGuardia heading to Albuquerque for a camping trip. My luggage didn't make the flight with me. Nor was it on the next flight. Turns out, my bag got sent to Quebec of all places and didn't get to me the next afternoon. Got a couple of free meals, a free hotel room, a $125 voucher out of the deal and was able to change my return flight to add some days on to my trip for no additional charge. So it worked out in the end, even though I did spend about 2 days sitting in an airport.

Another time was flying from Columbus to Cedar Rapids. Once again my luggage wasn't on the flight. This time it got sent to Charlotte. Seeing as I was working and couldn't stay in the area, the airline stuck it on a flight to the airport closest to me and was able to pick it up two days later.

Thankfully the airlines haven't redirected any of my luggage recently, but whenever I can I make it a point of only taking a suitcase I can bring on board with me.

[Khadaji]

It has only happened to me once. I went to the UK, a friend picked me up. I patiently waited and waited and finally decided I had to report it missing. My friend was just about to leave...

I'm told my luggage flew on to France and back, but I had it by the end of that day.