Just flew into Phoenix and was at baggage claim getting my bag. I’m standing next to this guy that picked up every black suitcase between 18” and 26” no matter what brand, or how many wheels it had and checked the airline tag to see if it was his. Each time he would say, “I thought that was mine.”
Is it really that hard to remember the brand and size and style of bag that you packed before you left home?
I’ve been guilty of this. The last time I flew I knew my bag was green, but didn’t have a clue about the make or exact size. I never thought to pay attention to such matters before I checked it, and it also had no fancy tag or ribbon or anything that stood out.
I tie a long “shocking pink” athletic shoelace to every luggage handle. Never had a problem.
Maybe he was picking up bags for someone else. Last time I traveled my luggage ended up on a different flight than I. My flight was delayed, so my friends picked up my luggage for me, so I’d have it at 2:00 AM when I got there.
Some people really are that unaware of details. Boxes that are obviously different to you or me are not to them, they really do see all black boxes of a certain size range the same regardless of how many wheels, zipper styles, etc.
Some people are exhausted, intoxicated, or both after a long flight which does not aid their object recognition skills.
People picking up a suitcase for a friend/relative has been covered.
I usually only have carry-on, but I deliberately bought a backpack that was a garish colour, assuming that nobody else would be foolish enough to buy something so ugly. I was right, my bag is easily spotted.
When my Mum started travelling in her retirement, she asked around to get some good advice for first-time travellers, and now she ties little coloured tags (originally multicoloured strands of wool) to each of her bags, making recognition instant and easy.
You’d think that would work, but I found even with a neon green handle wrap and equally bright but color-clashing name tag, I still see people yanking on my bag down the baggage carousel. It’s like some people believe in luggage fairies who add little colored decorations to black suitcases to spruce them up for the ball or something.
international flights have to be the worst ones for not being able to identify your bag.
frankfurt airport is a labyrinth of flights and belts. as is sing, hk etc.
i have a thing on mine akin to a car alarm. press a button and the bag finds me.
A few Bloody Marys pre-boarding, a brownie pre-security, several drinks on the flight. I’m lucky I remember to stop at the luggage carousel. Plus I usually pick up my gf’s luggage as well as mine, as she is peeing. (I begin vacation early and with a vengeance)
All it took was one instance of a dumbbell picking up and carrying off my suitcase by mistake* - now I stand as close to the belt opening as possible to prevent similar outbreaks of numbnutsitude. Seriously - mark your bag in some identifiable way, or buy one in a lurid color.
*he brought it back to the airport the next day.
i love the scene in ‘meet the parents’ when de niro opens his prospective son in law’s bag to find a dildo, whip and various items of risque feminine underwear.
mistaken bag of course.
If your suitcase is large, black, and mostly featureless, then you match a good ~30% of what’s on the carousel. I learned that lesson the hard way :rolleyes:
Last time I flew I tacked a huge neon green tag on my suitcase, and while that helped, it wasn’t always visible depending on how the bag got chucked on the conveyor(s). Now I have a brilliant orange suitcase, and suspect I’ll have no further issues pinpointing my suitcase, even at a distance.
I think I’ve been to a garage sale with that guy! Every single thing of some particular type he’d hoard to one side. Then he’d go through them one buy one an buy maybe 1/10th of all the stuff he grabbed.
I tied red ribbons on the handle and one other place on the luggage.
I had a similar experience, thought my luggage was lost or missed the flight when it didn’t show up at the carousel. After filing a report I walk back by and voila, there it is in the middle of the baggage concourse. Someone had returned it, presumably after probably starting to load it in their vehicle.
I always have an unusual piece of cloth attached to my checked luggage now, not so much for me because I know my bags but for the other guy that’s operating on autopilot.
I use luggage straps on mine that are distinctive. I have permanently sewn them on at the hinge side of the luggage so if TSA opens my luggage there is no excuse for it to get lost.
When I had generic black luggage I was always peering closely as suitcases as they came close to verify if it was mine or not. I never actually picked up someone elses but it added more stress to travel.
Now I have have a set of luggage in an attractive shade of purple and my husband has a set with colourful birds. I’ve also noticed that the majority of cases are not plain black anymore. I have serious luggage envy for a few I’ve seen recently on the conveyor belts 
I have a dark green suitcase and it stands out…a little. Invariably there are at least three other dark green suitcases. This is why I will never buy a black suitcase. Everyone buys one. I think when I buy my next I will buy it in some hideous color.
Anyway, I tie bright braided strings to the bag. I make the strings myself, so they are essentially not duplicable. However, lots of bags look really similar, although I see no reason to pick up every one!
I bought a red one and I still have trouble. I’m not sure what my problem is, probably that I just never look at the thing. I really don’t care what it looks like, so I should probably just spray paint a huge X or maybe a swastika so nobody accidentally walks away with it.
It’s been many years since I last flew. Did they do away with the luggage claim tags?