Search Results for: blog the land of lost luggage

Airline Luggage Wars—-Can It Get Any Worse?

I’ve had my share of luggage horror stories (many of which I’ve shared on this site), but now I am bracing for what could prove to be a cataclysmic move by the airline industry in regards to checked bags. As if the price of airfare wasn’t enough to force you to vacation in your own backyard airlines are about to take another shot at your wallet via your luggage. Recently, United Airlines announced that it would be making a major (and alarming) change in its checked baggage policy. Instead of being able to check in two bags for free, as … Continue reading →

What To Do When Your Luggage Doesn’t Arrive When You Do

There have been a handful of times when I have arrived at my destination city and my luggage hasn’t. If you are a frequent flyer then you too have likely experienced the following: standing solo next to the baggage carousel long after the rest of your fellow passengers have been reunited with their luggage wondering if perhaps a handler had simply forgot to take your bags off the plane. Then reality sets in and you are sure your bags are half way to Timbuktu. Now what? If your wedding dress, lucky business suit or pricey Manolo Blahnik’s were tucked away … Continue reading →

The Gift of Luggage

Two years ago my mom bought me new luggage for Christmas. Initially I told her that my current set still had a few good years left in it and tried to talk her out of the purchase. Looking back I am so glad that she went with her gut and got it for me. The bags she gifted me with are lighter, stronger and better designed to handle traveling with kids. What’s more, they include 360-degree swivel wheels, which I find to be invaluable when you are carrying a kid with one arm and dragging your luggage with the other. … Continue reading →

Protecting Your Luggage

In previous blogs I’ve written about the horror of experiencing lost luggage (it’s been a record year for lost bags), but I have neglected to detail what recourse you have should an airline misplace your baggage. As I noted above, 2007 has been a terrible year for baggage handling across the board. According to travel experts, more than 3.5 million travelers suffered luggage problems in just the first 9 months of the year. Bags were lost, damaged, temporarily misplaced, and in some cases the contents of some pieces of luggage were stolen by airport employees. Making matter worse is the … Continue reading →

Land of the Confiscated Items

In previous blogs I’ve written about where lost pieces of airline luggage go when they are separated (sometimes permanently) from their owners. But, have you ever wondered where all those prohibited carry-on items go to rest after airport security screeners confiscate them? Would you believe New Hampshire? A good portion of the “suspicious items” collected at New England airports get sent to a warehouse in New Hampshire. Everything from baseball bats, screwdrivers and wrenches to rocks, razor blades and pocketknives. More than two tons of abandoned items have been collected in the last 10 months. According to the Transportation Security … Continue reading →

The Land of Lost Luggage

Have you ever experienced the heart stopping agony of reaching your travel destination without your luggage? Talk about a major migraine. Statistics show that each year one in ten travelers must deal with the torment of never seeing their bags again. Airlines rarely offer satisfactory compensation for the loss, rather most passengers are made to simply deal with the fact that their luggage simply disappeared. Or has it? Did you know that much of the nation’s “lost” luggage winds up in America’s Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama? A place where the locals joke that: “The three things that are … Continue reading →

Bag Anxiety

I’m not ashamed to admit that I say a rosary each time I board a plane. Only I’m not praying for safe travels; rather, I am silently hoping against hope that I will be reunited with my bags upon landing at my final destination. I know; it sounds a bit materialistic. After all, if the plane crashes I certainly am not going to care if my Juicy Couture jeans and iPod get sent to Paducah, Kentucky, when they should have been with me on a flight to Honolulu. Still, I lived through the nightmare of having a commercial carrier misplace … Continue reading →

Travel and Germaphobes

Traveling’s tough for germaphobes. In addition to protecting themselves from bacteria found in airport bathrooms, the airplane’s tray tables and seat pockets, they have to contend with dirty luggage. Fortunately, studies show that checked bags that are exposed to grease, mud, and a host of other foreign slime won’t likely make you sick. Of course, there is always the possibility that E.coli might take up residence on the bottom of your bag, so it’s always a good idea to formulate a post-trip cleaning plan sooner rather than later, especially if you are a germaphobe. Health experts suggest that upon landing … Continue reading →

Hero Pilot Not the Only One Scoring Big

“Miracle on the Hudson” hero pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger recently received an incredible job offer from bazillionaire Richard Branson. No word on whether the celebrated U.S. Airways captain took Branson up on the million-dollar flight gig, but there is news about a new deal being offered to the passengers on board Flight 1549. According to reports, U.S. Airways is giving the survivors on board Sully’s bird, free one-year super-elite status, with perks that include lounge privileges, upgrades, and frequent flier membership. In addition, each passenger will be receiving the airline’s first-class “Chairman’s Preferred” membership, which features a companion first-class domestic … Continue reading →

Summer Travel Tidbits—In Search of Slopes, Surf and Suitcase Rebates

SKI/SURF And here I thought the Big Island of Hawaii was the only place in the United States where you could surf and ski in the same afternoon. Travelers to Kellogg, Idaho know better. Last weekend visitors to the city’s newest addition—-the Silver Rapids Indoor Waterpark–had the rare opportunity to ski and surf when the end of the ski season (June 1st) overlapped with the opening of surf season (May 30th). Okay, it’s not quite as natural as the ski and surf option Hawaii offers, but Idaho’s version was big enough to make headlines in that neck of the woods. … Continue reading →