When we were about to board in an airport so small and crowded that passengers were sitting on the floor (but fortunately all masked), they announced that there'd be a delay as excess weight was offloaded.
I imagined a crane lifting some passengers out of an escape hatch, or fuel being siphoned off.
But no. It turned out they offloaded about half of the checked luggage and queued it up to go to Tampa.
Which became apparent when a crowd of us were still waiting at Logan baggage claim 45 minutes after the flight came in. Our bags still hadn’t come down the chute, and the baggage carousel came to an ominous halt.
About 30 of us queued up to file our claims with one of the 4 baggage-claim officials. Fortunately I had my baggage receipt and even more miraculously, remembered where I'd put it.
My turn came and I was given a sheet with my claim number and instructions, including a web site to check for the status of our bag.
A web site which did not work.
The information sheet also said to await an email update... which did not come.
There was a phone number which I called the next day and waited an hour on hold to talk to someone who was able to confirm that my bags had arrived at Logan that morning and would be delivered some time later in the day.
My bag got delivered... 26 hours after I did. And I’m still figuring out how to file a claim to get a checked baggage refund.
Is this any way to run an airline??
Here are some tips you know you know, but good to remember for your next flight, should you be foolhardy enough to check a bag.
WHAT NOT TO PACK IN YOUR CHECKED BAG
Cell phone (and a camera if your cell phone doesn't have one)
Computer
Power cords and chargers
Medication
Car and house keys
Glasses
Medication
Wallet, IDs, datebook, money and credit cards
Anything else you're going to need for the next 72 hours
And be sure to:
TAG your luggage, inside and out, with information that enables them to reach you. Include your itinerary so your luggage can catch up with you.
TIE A YELLOW RIBBON or pink pompon or some other identifying thingie to your luggage -- so yours will stand out as yours
They'll ask you what's inside that will identify it as yours, so pack something unique (like my straw hat) on top.
And
REMEMBER WHERE YOU PUT YOUR LUGGAGE RECEIPT AND JUST IN CASE, TAKE A PICTURE OF IT!
Have you sworn off checking your bags... ever... or are you still willing to tempt fate? And what have you learned the hard way?
