So we had to cancel a class tonight, and call 30 people, because the airline lost the teacher’s luggage in Chicago.
She lost her car keys and house keys, along with some clothes. She could make it to Madison in time, but whe’s so concerned about leaving her car at O’Hare, and having to get a locksmith to get back in her house, that she cancelled out on us.
I can’t IMAGINE giving up my keys to the luggage drones. Especially, since if it was an actual theft, she’s likely to have a visitor fairly soon.
I travel a lot and always carry everything I need to get home (and inside) either on me or in my carry-on. But I’m sure the one time I forget and toss them in my checked luggage will be the time my checked luggage gets lost. So, while her headwork was pretty poor, I can’t say it’s something that’d never happen to me.
Never put anything in your luggage which you cannot afford to lose. I always pack my luggage with the thought in my mind that I may never see it again. Anything I cannot afford to lose goes in my had luggage.
During the Gulf war I was carrying a Samsonite briefcase as hand luggage and in NY they told me I would not be allowed to carry it with me because it was Samsonite (WTF?) and would have to check it. After some arguments it was clear I was not going to get my way so I emptied the contents into a plastic (garbage) bag I got from a janitor and checked the empty briefcase. . . which disappeared never to be seen again. I was so relieved I had all my documents, keys, etc. with me. Also relieved when Panam went under as it was not the first time they screwed me.
Good thinking, sailor. That’s one of those things I would not have likely thought of in the middle of arguing with a ticket agent about what appears to be a stupid policy.
How did she lock her house when she left for the airport? Did she lock the door then open up her bags and toss the keys in? I am a compulsive pocket/purse checker for my keys, and I can’t imagine letting them get that far away from me! Of course, when I travel, I don’t take ALL my keys with me, but they are always in my purse/pocket.
My keychain has my car key and my house key. It goes in my purse all the time. It would never occur to me to put it in my checked baggage. Same with my meds - they go in my purse or carry-on bag. I’ve never lost any luggage, but if I did, I’d just be losing a few changes of clothes and some toiletries.
I was at the airport once and some dumbshit was freaking out at the counter because he had packed his HEART MEDICATION in his luggage! (And of course it was lost or something.)
“Gee, sir. I’m sorry you just SENTENCED YOURSELF TO DEATH. However, it’s not our responsibility to keep you from being an idiot and packing away your lifesaving medicine. Have a nice day.”
I think they ended up calling paramedics and everything. Don’t know if the dumbass survived and/or found his luggage.
I was a witness to similar stupidity a few years ago (pre-9/11). Due to bad weather in Detroit which kept planes grounded there, Southwest was forced to delay and then cancel several Chicago-to Louisville flights. I decided to just cancel my trip rather that spend possibly the entire night at Midway. When I went to re-claim my checked, but obviously unloaded, luggage I got to listen to someone complaining about how she needed her luggage right away because she was overdue for her insulin shot, and all of her medical supplies were in her checked luggage. Apparently she had just figured that since it was only a one-hour flight and she wouldn’t need her insulin for four or five hours she would save herself the trouble of carrying it around.
I’ve checked my house keys, sort of. I live in a probably illegal basement apartment and the only way to get to it without going through the main house is via the garage door. So I have a small garage door opener as one of my housekeys. Shortly after 9-11, I’d heard myriad stories of people having their garage door openers and car door remotes taken away from them by overzealous security persons. Since one of those stories was first hand from a credible source, I decided not to risk losing my keys to the security drones, and instead, risked losing them to luggage drones. It seemed, at the time, the much lower risk. And indeed, I watched them take car key remotes away from several people at security, while my luggage travelled with me quite safely to all of my destinations.
Oddly enough… I have one on my keychain too, and on the occassions where I forget to empty my pockets going through the metal detectors, the alarm has never even gone off… I went through a couple times with keys+knife+cell phone
One of those same times they made me take the nail file out of my shaving kit and throw it away (well it was either that or go back down to the ticket desk and have them put it in my checked bag… not that important) just goes to show you…something
