Sometimes it just isn't your day. Life is unpredictable and something is sometimes going to go horribly wrong. When it comes to travel there surely aren't many more frustrating and stressful situations for a traveler than losing their luggage. You'll be standing at the airport baggage claim section, watching the loaded carousel go round and round until the last bag is picked, with each cycle of reduced baggage chipping away at your good mood until that sudden realization finally hits you like a sledge hammer – your bag is lost!
Is there a bulletproof way of making sure this doesn't happen to you? Sadly, there isn’t. However, you can still take some steps that will greatly reduce the chance of your luggage being lost by the airlines.
Here are our favorite 5 tips to reduce the chance of losing your luggage!
#1 Check your bags early
Airplane passengers who arrive at the checkpoint late or get stuck in the line may find that they were just a little too late overall, leading to their bags never arriving on the plane. Thus, if there is any chance of doing so it would be best to check-in your luggage at least 45 minutes or one hour ahead of the departure. Do not arrive later than that if you can help it! If you organize your airport transfer in advance, your driver will advise you about the right time to arrive for your check in.
#2 Double check the airport code
Sometimes the destination airport code the check-in agent sticks onto your luggage is going to be incorrect, so when you go to check in your bag at the airport ask the representative if they could double check the destination airport code. On rare occasions, it will turn out to be wrong and will save you a lot of time and hassle of trying to track your luggage down after it's been lost.
P.S. Make sure that you have removed all old airline tags from your luggage before adding a new one, since these obsolete tags might be confused for your current destination.
#3 Make your luggage stand out
It would be pretty hard for an airline worker to misplace or lose your bright green bag or a bag with distinct photos on it. Using some colorful belts or easy to spot luggage covers will probably prevent your bag being lost, misplaced or even stolen. Using the luggage covers will not only make your bag different from everyone else's but will also protect it from possible damages that can happen during loading, such as impacts, scratches or piercing objects.
#4 Book a direct flight when possible
The fewer times your luggage has to be transferred from one plane to another, the less chance there is for your bags to become lost, misplaced or sent to the wrong part of the world. By booking a direct flight when possible you reduce the chance of your bags being lost. Simple as that.
#5 Get hi-tech with your tagging
An increasingly popular way of tracking whereabouts of your bag is by using a Tile, a small GPS tag combined with a smartphone app. That way you can check where your bags are at any time. Even if your bags somehow got misplaced, it would be easy for you and the airline(s) to track your luggage with this nifty device.
Since you've been a good sport and reached the end of this blog post, let me give you an extra tip. This one is on me!
#6 Bonus tip
Take a photo of the inside and outside of your bag. This way, if your bag gets lost you'll have an easy reference for the airlines when they are trying to locate your luggage.
There you have it. Those were our favorite 5 tips that we think will greatly reduce the chance of your luggage being lost or misplaced. And please stay tuned for one of our future topics: how to pack your luggage more efficiently!
Image sources:
1. canadaluggagedepot.ca
2. qamay.com
3. tecnetico.com