The wife and I are considering flying somewhere for vacation this year instead of driving. We’re thinking Virginia Beach. One concern I have is that our luggage will get lost. How often does this happen in real life? Has anyone here ever had an experience with losing luggage? If it does get lost, do you ever get it back? Do people ever steal other travelers’ luggage?
Any other tips for someone who has never flown?
I’ve had it happen once, on a Detroit-Shreveport, LA flight (back in 1989). We filed a report; two days later, the luggage showed up at a local Greyhound Bus station. The Airport had found my luggage & shipped it via Greyhound to a local address.
Love, Phil
I’m not a huge flyer, but have accumulated 100,000 miles of frequent flyer miles on United. I’ve been to 68 countries. I have never lost any luggage. I’ve had luggage delayed twice, and it showed up on my doorstep a day or two later. Don’t worry about it, and carry a toothbrush, prescription medicine and glasses/contacts on your carry on luggage.
from this 2006 story:
So, eight per 1000 are delayed or lost; I’d guess that 7.9 of those bags are delayed, and .1 are truly “lost” and never found, but I can’t seem to google up a rate for “lost forever” bag statistics, apparently because the airline lumps them all into that “lost or delayed” metric.
I’ve “lost” maybe 4 bags in 20 years of flying several times a year, and never had a lost bag not returned to me, although its taken up to a week for the airline to finally get me my bag, which really is not fun if you’re traveling and not on your way home.
It happened to me twice on the same trip – going down to Orlando and coming back. We bought some cheap t-shirts and bathing suits at Wal-Mart that day and hung around the pool for the rest of the day; our cases were in the lobby the next morning.
They then lost things on the way back. That was less of an issue, and our things were delivered the next day.
In both cases, it was probably due to a short turnaround for connecting flights. It was also over 30 years ago, before bar coding destinations.
Otherwise, everything has worked out fine. I tend to check my bags these days so I don’t have to carry them through security (but if they charge, I might go back to carrying things on).
All the damn time. I’d say they lose something of ours maybe 1/5 of the time. I’ve never had anything totally lost, just sent to the wrong place. In my experience, they’re pretty good about getting it back to you. Once when we flew into Salt Lake City, but were in no mood to wait around, the delivered it to us in Yellowstone. Or maybe it was Idaho Falls. Anyway, it was a good ways from SLC.
Of course, you still have to deal with the lost luggage people at baggage claim, which can take a while. It can be a busy place.
People do occasionally steal other people’s stuff, but it’s rare. It’s more common for them to pick up the wrong bag, since they all look alike. And baggage handlers steal.
Usually, I make sure I have a couple changes of clothes, a toothbrush, and any drugs I might need on my person. And I never check anything that’s valuable.
I fly 1-2 times a year and I’ve only had my bags delayed. I had flown from LA to Atlanta and then taken a turbo prop to Akron. I was able to transport myself to my connecting flight; the Atlanta luggage handlers couldn’t do the same for my bag.
I had to report my bag as missing to the airline’s office at the Akron airport. They took down our phone numbers and the address of the friends I was staying with and told us they’d let us know if they found it. I spent about an hour wondering whether I was in for a week of daily handwashing the clothes I was wearing when they called to say they’d found my bag. They dropped it off at my friends’ place a couple hours later.
I’ve never had bags stolen, but I don’t take my sweet time going to the baggage claim and I watch like a hawk for my bags.
I think it’s more likely your bags will be damaged than lost or stolen. Don’t bother with locks, even TSA-approved ones. Mine have never come out still on my bags when I’ve landed. I’ve also had my checked bags returned to me with bright Smurf-blue goo that doesn’t come out all over them, and the internal plastic framing broken and moving about loosely inside.
Pack lightly, and only check bags if you must.
I’ve had bags sent to Timbuktu and back again, but I’ve never had a bag lost. At worst they show up a day or two late most of the time.
The main tip I can offer is make sure that your luggage is labeled with your name, address and phone number in a couple of places. Luggage is only truly lost if it loses it’s airline supplied destination tagging and has none of its own. So put one on a luggage tag (preferably one that isn’t legible everyone who stands beside you in line), one in a note inserted into an outside zippered pocket, and one somewhere in the suitcase itself. Even if the outside of the suitcase sustains some damage, the notes inside may still be there.
Still, we’re talking about minute probabilities here – I’ve had maybe 10 bags delayed in my life, one of which was clearly run over by a vehicle before it was returned to me, and I’ve never had one lost completely. More than that, I’ve traded stories with dozens if not hundreds of other people who’ve had their baggage delayed and I’ve never even met someone who has had their baggage lost entirely. It happens, air travel statistics practically guarantee it, but it’s hella rare.
I’ve have bags delayed a few times but they’ve always made it back to me. It’s almost always because my connection was too close (<40 minutes). But of course there are fairly obvious ways to reduce the chances of this happening to you – take a direct flight, don’t book anything with a 40 minute connection. And be on time for your first flight, because if you miss it you don’t really have much say in how you are rerouted.
I’ve had it delayed several times but only lost once – and that time, it was almost certainly stolen by baggage handlers at JFK. I had to take some extra stuff that I wouldn’t be bringing back, and rather than use luggage I packed it in the box from a new VCR I’d just bought.
I was pissed it mysteriously vanished, but at least I had the satisfaction of imagining the douchebag who stole it opening it when he got home and discovering he’d stolen himself a box of pretty much worthless junk.
I manage a very small regional airline. We transport about 10,000 passengers per year. This data may be somewhat irrelevant because we handle all baggage by hand from check-in to destination. However, we lost (never found) 2 pieces of luggage in 2007. We misplaced 3 bags that were all located within 24 hours.
When a major airline “loses” bags, it is likely that they have actually intentionally left them behind in order to send them on a later flight. A very tight connection is very rarely the cause of the bag being left behind at the connection airport.
Why?
Because of a number of potential issues. The airplane has a maximum take off weight. Perhaps they’ve sold lots of passenger tickets; too many to get all of their bags on and still remain within their maximum weight envelope. The aircraft has weight and balance considerations. Perhaps the baggage compartment would make the aircraft too tail heavy if all bags went on. The aircraft has to take a minimum amount of fuel. Perhaps the winds are unusually strong or the destination or normal alternate airport have marginal weather causing the crew to carry extra fuel. This makes the plane heavier - something’s got to give.
Airlines will not turn down your reservation, going on the premise that it is more profitable to apologize after the fact that it is to limit seats so that everyone’s luggage will be able to go with them. There will always be another flight that can take your luggage a little bit later.
Peak travel times, full airplanes, regional size airplanes are all more likely to result in delayed bags.
Absolutely. Flight details, contact details, all your phone numbers. Everything so that if some bloke in picks random palce Delhi has to identify this bag, he knows within five seconds where it needs to go and who it needs to go to. Old-fashioned brown luggage labels are, IME, the most durable of the lot.
The other thing is ensure your bag isn’t going to get snarled up by the sorting mechanisms. Although this isn’t going to damage it, it could delay it or get it sent somewhere it shouldn’t go. Remove any exterior straps you don’t need, tighten the rest fully.
I had never had a delayed or lost bag in my life until last Xmas, but that one was a doozy. It took almost 3 days for the bag to get to us, even though it made it to JFK only 4 hours after we did… :rolleyes: The luggage delivery folks were unhelpful and apparently couldn’t read maps.
My sister-in-law, however, has bags that are constantly going on different vacations without her. Her luggage has gone to more places than she has. Seriously- it used to happen to her at least every 3rd or 4th flight- bag delayed or routed to a completely different destination.
That happens at my home airport sometimes- it’s 3 letter airport code is SNA, which apparently looks too much like BNA for the baggage handlers to know the difference, so bags meant for Santa Ana, CA, end up in Nashville! 
ETA- ooooh, 7000 posts! I need another hobby… 
My family and I are absolutely cursed in this regard and I don’t know why. I fly about 4 - 5 times a year round trip and my wife does about 10 times a year. I have had my luggage permanently lost 7 times and delayed by days about 10 times. I have come to expect it to be lost about 1/3 of the time and my family always takes essentials as carry-ons these days. I know the airline baggage claim forms like the back of my hand and I know how to fill them out to get up to their maximum reimbursement level which is often about $1500 per person. They won’t pay for most things including electronics. To get to the actual value, you need to grossly inflate the value of the clothes that you checked.
Three Christmases in a row, the airlines lost our luggage with our presents in it when we flew to see my family. Twice the airlines sent couriers on a 180 mile round trip on Christmas day so things worked out OK. Once, they were lost permanently. Once on the return trip, all of our presents given to us were lost for good.
The only thing I can think of is that we often run to make connections. The baggage handlers can’t load luggage as fast as we can run and their systems seem to be FUBAR once you get separated from your baggage. I have our names on the bags with all info. It works most of the time when we get separated from it and they send couriers on a deliver run the next day but it also goes POOF sometimes. I can’t explain the phenomenon. Family members that fly much more than we do don’t have their luggage lost nearly as much. We have literally spent days over time standing in line to find out where the bags are and when we can get them back.
That seems like the normal course for a “lost” bag, not a doozy really. OTOH, YMdidV.
My bags got lost in MN on the way to Tianjin, China.
Northwest airlines eventually got them delivered to us, quite a bit out in the countryside of the Tianjin region.
Impressive, though initially annoying.
The only thing that’s ever happened to me (touch wood) is that my bag didn’t make it onto my roundabout flight from Montreal to Halifax to St. John’s to London. In fact, the bag was placed on a direct flight from Montreal to London and got there a short time before I did.
That’s right, my luggage got a better flight than me.
I’ve never had an airline lose any of my luggage, and for about eighteen months I was flying on American monthly between Chicago and Raleigh. I don’t fly that often now, but I still make several flights a year without any problems.
I’ve never had it get permanently lost, but it’s been delayed a few times. Just in case, always put your prescription medicine and valuables (cameras, jewelry, etc) in the carry on.
Print out a copy of your itinerary, put your cell number on it, and make one copy for each bag. Put it inside, right on top.
That’s pretty poor business practice. I regularly travel with an airline that flies aircraft on routes and in weather that sometimes results in them not being able to take everyone’s bags. They are upfront about it and tell you prior to boarding that one of your bags has been placed on standby and may not travel on the same flight as you.
To the OP, I travel a couple of times a month and have yet to lose a bag or have a bag delayed. My wife once travelled with our dog but he missed the connecting flight, he was placed on a competing airline’s flight later that afternoon in order to get him to us as quickly as possible.