Tag Archives for checked bags.
America Airlines is redesigning its bag tags, for use when you check luggage. The idea of these new tags is to help avoid lost luggage when you’re connecting between flights. The new tags will be numbered based how much time you have for your connecting flight, and if all goes well will debut early next year.
The great equalizer in life – the place where there’s no inequality – is dealing with a European airline. Over lost luggage. At New York JFK.
Delta is testing free checked bags. They are “sending texts to passengers departing from its Boston (BOS) hub the day of their flight, urging them to check their carry-on bag … for free.”
The month-long test began this week.
Positive Passenger/Bag Matching (“PPBM”) was common in Europe before the United States, though programs developed here in the years following the the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. It means that the passenger and their bag has to travel on the same flight. If a passenger offloads from the aircraft, the baggage has to be removed also.
The idea there is that for security reasons you don’t want a passenger putting something on the aircraft (a checked bag) without tying their own life to its contents.
At Southwest Airlines bags fly free. And that creates a weird incentive. How many passengers are letting that second free bag benefit go to waste?
You could become a courier and ship packages. Or you could toss in supplies for the pool party like Sydney Fowls did. She decided to check a pool noodle on her recent Southwest Airlines flight from Columbus, Ohio to Tampa.
With the introduction of the ability for American frequent flyers to earn miles and elite status flying JetBlue, and vice versa I’ve gotten several questions about the relationship centering around taking advantage of both programs at once.
From now on when American Airlines takes your carry on bag at the gate and requires you to check it, you can expect to pay for the privilege – unless you’re entitled to free checked bags with a premium cabin ticket, AAdvantage elite status, or co-brand credit card.
Frequently customers bring more carry on bags than they’re allowed, or bags that are bigger than what’s permitted. Gate agents are supposed to insist that the passenger checks the bag. They used to do this for free, but according to a new American Airlines “Airport Excellence Advisory” agents are now supposed to collect a checked bag fee.
According to Department of Transportation statistics American Airlines is number 8 out of 8 airlines in baggage mishandling. They view this as a competitive disadvantage in the Chicago market where they lag United (#4 of 8). So they’re working to improve their baggage reliability statistics. Whether the bags make it to you dry seems like it may be another matter.
Last year a Japanese airport employee was filmed actually cleaning luggage before passengers picked up their bags. Each and every bag gets checked for scuffs or marks on arrival, then the employee takes a white cloth to those bags which need it.
So it’s no surprise to see this Japan Airlines employee making sure every bag is laid symmetrically on the belt at baggage claim.
Delta and Alaska Airlines commit to delivering checked bags within 20 minutes of each flight arriving. United and American make no such commitment. An American employee asked about what the airline can do to improve its baggage delivery times, and management provided a response in writing outlining some of the challenges that they have with bags – and how it’s supposed to work.
They also explained why bags often don’t make it when you change flights during irregular operations.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
