I’ve only flown about 12 times, most of them long-haul, and had my bags delayed by a day once. This was because the computer system at check-in was down so all luggage had hand-written labels rather than the barcodes. This caused my bag to fail to make its connection.
Thanks everyone for the info.
Blue smurf goo on your bag. I bet that’s something you never expected you’d experience, or even say.
As for carry on bags, are there restrictions to the kinds of things you can put inside? I thought toothpaste and contact lens solution and stuff had to be on checked luggage.
It looks like if we fly from Columbus to VBeach, we can connect either through Atlanta or NYC. I might go with NYC just so I can say I’ve been there. 
Nope, you can carry those things on, but they have to be in small quantities. You should be able to find containers specifically designed for this purpose at a Target or WalMart- they have to be somewhere around 3 oz or so each. I find that picking up travel size toothpaste and stuff like that usually takes care of the issue. You also are told to put it all in a clear plastic bag before putting it into your carry-on so I usually just stuff it into a freezer bag.
Here’s the TSA web page that talks about the carry-on regulations for liquids and gels. They have to be in a container that is 3 oz. or less, and all of them must be in one one-quart ziplock bag.
Here are the guidelines. But keep in mind, too, that toothpaste and such are not really highly essential. Your hotel will have basic toiletries available in trial sizes, and Walgreens is everywhere. If you think it’s a pain in the ass to carry them on, just throw them in your suitcase and get emergency replacements for whatever you need in the unlikely event that your bags are delayed.
The only time it ever happened to me was when a fellow passenger took home the wrong bag. They grabbed our bag off the belt and left. We got the bag back the next day.
I’ve never done the ‘Tie a bit of yarn to the handle’ trick to spot my bag, but maybe it would have kept that person from taking mine.
I’ve never had it LOST - I’ve had it delayed, once for two days. (They caught up with us as we made our way up the Maine coast. I was six hours from my dad setting me loose in the LL Bean Mega Experience with the directive “Replace all your clothes”, the bastards.)
I took about 400, 500 separate flights from 2002 to 2008.
I had my bags briefly lost by American a couple of times, and once United sort of misplaced them in the terminal. They were also delayed once by Air Canada when Toronto-Pearson’s Terminal 1’s luggage return system just went apeshit one evening. In every case I had the bags returned swiftly.
I’ve flown several times to several cities in the US and around the world, and never had a problem. My brother did, on a family trip once, however. He got his bags a day or two later.
If at all possible, avoid checking a bag. Pack light, and put everything into a carry-on (one that meets the airline’s and the TSA’s regulations, of course). I seriously doubt I’ll ever check a bag again.
I’ve had luggage lost once. Because I was flying into Peoria, IL on the last flight Friday night, my luggage didn’t show up at my hotel until mid-afternoon the next day. Irritating more than anything else–I had a wedding to go to and didn’t want to go in jeans, but had no transportation/interest in getting somewhere where I could buy clothes. But it showed up to my great relief.
Family members have had “lost” luggage where the luggage didn’t make the switch when the people had their connecting flight changed at the last minute. Mostly the luggage arrived the next day, so the biggest problem was finding acceptable sleepware for visitors.
Family members also once picked up someone else’s luggage by mistake–resulting in a late night long drive to an airport, and I’m sure misery for the person whose luggage got taken by mistake.
Know what your luggage looks like–color, size, shape, etc. Put a proper luggage tag on it with accurate address info. Don’t put anything in your luggage that you will be crushed if it gets lost permanently. Don’t put valuable jewelry and such in luggage. But don’t worry too much. Most luggage does not get lost.
squeegee quoted some numbers from 2006 that sound pretty accurate today. For us, our system-wide MBR* for the year is somewhere around 3.4 right now. Each city has its own goal dependant on a number of factors; the goal is usually somewhere around 2.
*MBR meaning Mishandled Baggage Ratio. Number quoted is per 1,000 passengers. Our MBR accounts for all baggage claims – lost, delayed, pilfered, and damaged – I’m not sure how other airlines do it.
Tell that to my wife… :rolleyes: 