Comments on: The airlines’ luggage quandary http://www.elliott.org/blog/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/ Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott's site. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John Larson http://www.elliott.org/blog/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/comment-page-1/#comment-1870 John Larson Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:16:11 +0000 http://beta.elliott.org/photos/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/#comment-1870 I fly Spirit alot and never check baggage--only small carry-on and I think people take too much baggage and think should pay their way for this. I went to Norway with a carry-on and got along fine. I fly Spirit alot and never check baggage–only small carry-on and I think people take too much baggage and think should pay their way for this. I went to Norway with a carry-on and got along fine.

]]> By: Henry Stelzer http://www.elliott.org/blog/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/comment-page-1/#comment-1869 Henry Stelzer Thu, 01 Mar 2007 05:01:09 +0000 http://beta.elliott.org/photos/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/#comment-1869 In the past I usually flew with British Air to Johannesburg, South Africa each year to go to my Orphanage in Southern Africa. I normally stay there from 9 to 10 months of the year. In the past I could get by with checking two pieces of luggage and one carry on for my ten month stay in Southern Africa. However, now that Britsh Air confines me to only one FREE piece of luggage ( because I always fly Economy class to save money), I will not fly by British Air. This year (March 12) I am flying from Spokane, Washington to Johannesburg via Delta where I still can check two pieces of luggage. Besides that, being legally blind, I do need some extra equipment and I normally check that. Thank you. In the past I usually flew with British Air to Johannesburg, South Africa each year to go to my Orphanage in Southern Africa. I normally stay there from 9 to 10 months of the year. In the past I could get by with checking two pieces of luggage and one carry on for my ten month stay in Southern Africa. However, now that Britsh Air confines me to only one FREE piece of luggage ( because I always fly Economy class to save money), I will not fly by British Air. This year (March 12) I am flying from Spokane, Washington to Johannesburg via Delta where I still can check two pieces of luggage. Besides that, being legally blind, I do need some extra equipment and I normally check that. Thank you.

]]> By: Chris http://www.elliott.org/blog/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/comment-page-1/#comment-1868 Chris Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:19:23 +0000 http://beta.elliott.org/photos/the-airlines-luggage-quandary/#comment-1868 Question: what's wrong with airline baggage systems? Why can't they reliably ship baggage? FedEx can handle millions of packages per day, track them completely from source to destination, and get them delivered exactly when they say they will. But on any given airline flight, it seems at least two or three groups of passengers wait at the carousel until every bag is gone and then go over to the baggage desk, where they're told that the airline has no idea where their bags are but will do their best to find them. What's so different about airline baggage systems from FedEx's systems? What does FedEx do right that airlines do wrong? Can the airlines implement a sorting system more like FedEx's to reliably ensure passengers' bags get to their destinations and are tracked along the way? Question: what’s wrong with airline baggage systems? Why can’t they reliably ship baggage?

FedEx can handle millions of packages per day, track them completely from source to destination, and get them delivered exactly when they say they will. But on any given airline flight, it seems at least two or three groups of passengers wait at the carousel until every bag is gone and then go over to the baggage desk, where they’re told that the airline has no idea where their bags are but will do their best to find them.

What’s so different about airline baggage systems from FedEx’s systems? What does FedEx do right that airlines do wrong? Can the airlines implement a sorting system more like FedEx’s to reliably ensure passengers’ bags get to their destinations and are tracked along the way?

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