Things I've learned after the return flight from SF
My luggage is quite possibly in South Africa right now, although it could also plausibly be in Atlanta or San Francisco. One place where it most certainly is not? New York.
And it's my fault quite as much as the airline's 'cause I've been stupid with my luggage for years. It's just that I've been stupid *and* lucky prior to this trip.
So, here are the things I learned that would have either prevented the unfortunate separation between me and my property or would have considerably shortened the period of the said separation:
1. Check and double-check everything you get from the airline. Everything. I always check the ticket, but it never before occurred to me to read the little sticker they put on the ticket cover. The little sucker, excuse me, sticker, is supposed to match the baggage label on the actual bag/suitcase. And, trust me, if the little sucker says "Johannesburg", your luggage destination label probably doesn't say anything good, either.
2. Don't loose the ticket cover. Because your luggage sticker is on it! And in some airports, you won't be able to take your luggage out of the airport if your sticker doesn't match the luggage tag (something I've learned last summer when traveling to Russia, although, luckily, losing/throwing out the sticker wasn't my problem).
3. Have and address tag attached to your luggage. That's name and address. A phone number wouldn't hurt either, although I can see the privacy issues. On the other hand, your home phone number is probably in every directory already, so this may not be a big additional sacrifice of privacy.
4. Have something with your name and address on it inside the luggage itself. This will help the airline identify your luggage if the address tag is lost or, as in my case, nonexistent.
5. Have an identifying feature of the luggage itself -- in case an acid green suitcase is a bit too adventurous for you, try a multi-colored ribbon tied to the handle. This will help the airline find the suitcase without having to go through its contents. As a bonus, this will help you identify your own baggage in the sea of identical black suitcases.
6. Don't take it out on the airline. Theire is a tradeoff between speed of service and getting it right X% of the time. If X were 100%, you'd spend more time checking in luggage than flying. And, at the end, the airline employees are trying to help.
Summary: no matter what you do, don't do what I did -- check in an unidentifiable no-brand black duffel with no address tags.
And it's my fault quite as much as the airline's 'cause I've been stupid with my luggage for years. It's just that I've been stupid *and* lucky prior to this trip.
So, here are the things I learned that would have either prevented the unfortunate separation between me and my property or would have considerably shortened the period of the said separation:
1. Check and double-check everything you get from the airline. Everything. I always check the ticket, but it never before occurred to me to read the little sticker they put on the ticket cover. The little sucker, excuse me, sticker, is supposed to match the baggage label on the actual bag/suitcase. And, trust me, if the little sucker says "Johannesburg", your luggage destination label probably doesn't say anything good, either.
2. Don't loose the ticket cover. Because your luggage sticker is on it! And in some airports, you won't be able to take your luggage out of the airport if your sticker doesn't match the luggage tag (something I've learned last summer when traveling to Russia, although, luckily, losing/throwing out the sticker wasn't my problem).
3. Have and address tag attached to your luggage. That's name and address. A phone number wouldn't hurt either, although I can see the privacy issues. On the other hand, your home phone number is probably in every directory already, so this may not be a big additional sacrifice of privacy.
4. Have something with your name and address on it inside the luggage itself. This will help the airline identify your luggage if the address tag is lost or, as in my case, nonexistent.
5. Have an identifying feature of the luggage itself -- in case an acid green suitcase is a bit too adventurous for you, try a multi-colored ribbon tied to the handle. This will help the airline find the suitcase without having to go through its contents. As a bonus, this will help you identify your own baggage in the sea of identical black suitcases.
6. Don't take it out on the airline. Theire is a tradeoff between speed of service and getting it right X% of the time. If X were 100%, you'd spend more time checking in luggage than flying. And, at the end, the airline employees are trying to help.
Summary: no matter what you do, don't do what I did -- check in an unidentifiable no-brand black duffel with no address tags.