I’d settle for sooner.
Now if I checked in early it would be at the bottom…and if I check in late it would be at the top! No, but then when they toss it on the plane it all gets mixed up again…same when they take it off…curses…there must be a way!
No, I don’t think there is, actually- short of carrying something like a firearm as checked baggage, which needs to be stowed in a special compartment (and the aircrew need to be advised there’s a firearm on the aircraft, IIRC).
I know it’s a pain in the ass waiting for your stuff, but your options are basically either: Pack all your stuff into a carry-on bag, or just wait at the carousel with everyone else.
Besides, anyone who’s obviously in a hurry (moreso than anyone else who has just gotten off the plane) to get their stuff and get out of the terminal is going to look very suspicious, too…
There is some kind of priority sticker they can put on it. I don’t know the details, but I used to travel with a colleague who would tip them $5, and it always came out first.
I believe you sometimes get ‘PRIORITY’ tags applied for connections where they don’t check the luggage through or if you are flying first class/have a diamond-encrusted platinum frequent-flyer card.
I’ve seen parents gate-check strollers and they’re always off the plane first and waiting at the jetway when we land, so it is possible to get stuff early. However, I doubt the airline will do this for you just because you don’t want to wait. But if you can justify it, they may do this for you.
Hire your own plane!
err… :o
[ol]
[li]Starting several months before your flight, send weekly gifts to the baggage handlers at the destination airport.[/li][li]About a week before your flight, along with the gift include a photo of your suitcase and a copy of your itinerary.[/li][li]When you arrive at your destination, race everyone else off the plane to be the first to the baggage carousel.[/li][li]Your bag will still be the last one to come out of the chute.[/li][/ol]
It makes no difference whether you check in first or last. On my last trip, my family had four pieces of similar luggage, all checked in together. One of them was close to being the first piece on the carousel, and one of them was close to last. There’s clearly a pseudo-randomizer at work here 
Most airlines will also gate-check manual wheelchairs, as sometimes they don’t fit into the closet cabins.
In my experiences flying, live animals get priority over absolutely everything - several times I’ve been on flights where someone has to travel with a dog in a crate in baggage, and they usually make a PA announcement right before pushing off from the gate to let the person know that Fido’s on board, and then at the gate when we land to let them know Fido’s on his way to meet them. I’d assume that, second to living things, wheelchairs that have been gate-checked get priority.
I was on one flight where I had to gate-check my bag (small, full plane). By the time I got off the plane it was waiting for me right there, but this was also a tiny little commuter hop in a plane that wasn’t big enough to warrent the use of a jetway (we just went down stairs onto the tarmac). So, I’d say that unless your luggage is alive, your best bet would be to find a way to gate-check it and maybe slip the staff a nice tip.
The magic tag is one that says “FIRST” as in First Class.
Otherwise, there’s no predicting. Your bag might be the first loaded onto the baggage wagon to go out to the plane, but depending on which end of the wagon the rampers start unloading from, it could be the first or last off the wagon. First off the wagon will be the deepest into the hold and last off at the destination. The same “which end of the wagon do they unload first?” issue hapens at the destination. The bag that’s first onto the carousel is the one that was first taken off the baggage wagon, but there are too many variables along the way.
Unless of course, you’re on a 747 or similar large plane where they use cargo containers. In this case, the last bag into the bin will be the first out of the bin, so it’s quite possible that the last person who checked in for the flight will be the first person to get their bag.
That’s true, but (again) it’s no guarantee that your bag will get to you any quicker. I’ve had my bags come out last, despite sitting in the sharp end of the plane.
Well, it can also be a benefit for certain classes of frequent fliers. I always get Priority Baggage, even when I’m not flying First/Business Class.
As slaphead said before me. :smack: (Appropriate name, apparently.)
Do a modified rain dance, but you need to start on the LEFT foot.
I have seen this happen a couple times. You bring a bag that is just a little too big to be carry on. Insist that you do not need to check the bag when you check in. They will force you to gate check. I have seen this mean that it is waiting for you when you get off, but am not sure this always happens.
I flew under these exact conditions recently – tiny commuter plane, tarmac, carry-on luggage, gate-checked. Worked fine one way; but then on the return flight they announced that, due to bad weather, it wouldn’t be possible to return our luggage at the gate; they were sending our luggage onto the carousel.
Worst of both worlds.
I’ve always been tempted to try that for just that reason, but I suspect the downside is that it would also be waiting at the gate for you at the connecting airport. Not having to lug my luggage around during a connection is my main reason for checking most bags to begin with.
Do you really think those tags make any difference? They just put them on to make you think you’re getting a benefit. 
I just flew first class for the first time and did get luggage priority (red “PRIORITY” labels in addition to the standard routing tags). In both cases, my bags were among the first down the chute. Of course, that was after I waited a long time with everyone else for the carousel to finally turn on.
You’re lucky you were able to deplane at all. In [airline talk] CODE RED [/airline talk] situation, the rampies and gate staff can’t go near the plane for fear of lightning strikes.
And you, my friend haven’t recently flown Air Canada, which has just stopped interlining bags - ie: if you have a connection to another airline, you’re SOL, even if they sold you the ticket. Funny, that. One can now get an electonic ticket from Air Canada with flights on up to 15 other airlines, and travel seamlessly, but one’s bags can’t.