This Is Why I NEVER Check A Bag

If you are a frequent or even semi-frequent traveler, you’ve probably had the discussion with yourself (or others) about whether to check a bag during your flights or whether to just go carry-on. While the answer is probably going to depend on your specific situation (and might even vary from trip to trip), I wanted to share a few of my thoughts about why I almost never check a bag (even for longer trips), and also share one specific story that happened to me that underscored everything I hate about checking bags.

Why I Usually Go Carry-On Only

So when I say I “never” check a bag, that is of course a lie. I have checked many bags in my life, including on one trip where I navigated the airport with 17 pieces of luggage. But for almost all trips (even those lasting a week or longer), I just stick with my rollaboard carry-on suitcase and a backpack that I use for my laptop (and other stuff)

(SEE ALSO: Is It Rollaboard Or Roller Board? Or Roll-Aboard?)

I don’t pack much stuff (especially now that my kids are older), I don’t like having to wait around for my bags after my flight lands, and I also like the control of not having to worry about the airline losing my bag. Yes, there are some downsides like potentially having to gate check my bag (the worst of both worlds), but usually I am early enough in the boarding order that this isn’t a problem. Plus apparently I am a “gate lice” (though I think that you should be a gate lice too!). Not checking a bag also means I can get to the airport later since I don’t have to waste time in check-in lines. And if I have a tight connection, I don’t have to worry about my bag not making the connection.

(SEE ALSO: 8 Minutes to Make Our Flight at O’Hare: An American Airlines IRROPS Adventure)

(SEE ALSO: How a Volcano Made Me Sprint Through The Airport)

I also don’t have to pay any airline checked bag fees, and I think it gives more flexibility during irregular operations, since gate agents can more easily accommodate you onto a standby flight, like when Air Canada messed up our day coming back from Halifax.

A Checked Bag Mixup At SLC

Recently, I was traveling with my son out to Utah, where he was starting a job. He had accumulated more stuff during his stay with us over the summer, so we needed to check a bag (in addition to our carryons). Because I have an American AAdvantage credit card, we didn’t have to pay the $55 checked bag fee, which was nice. We got to the airport a little earlier than we would otherwise have done, which wasn’t a problem due to the brand new Escape Lounge CVG that was just put in. There were a few problems with the bag drop kiosks, and then no separate bag drop line at first, but it probably only took about 20 minutes or so to get our bag checked in and dropped off.

We were connecting through Chicago (ORD) and I appreciated how American’s app lets you track your bags, so I could see that even though our flight out of CVG was delayed and we had to sprint through O’Hare (again!), our bags did successfully make it onto our connecting flight to SLC.

As it turned out, one of my good friends was traveling in Utah with his wife and scheduled to fly OUT of Salt Lake the same time we were flying in. They met us at our gate, and we chatted for about 30 minutes. I knew this meant that my bag would just be sitting at baggage claim, but I figured even if we didn’t get there on time, that it would just be at the American Airlines baggage office.

“That’s My Blue Bag… Errr No It Isn’t”

After a brief chat with my friend, we made our way down to the baggage claim area. I was not surprised to see that all the bags were off the conveyor belt. As I got closer to the American Airlines baggage office, I saw what I thought was my blue checked bag and called out to the American Airlines worker “That’s my blue bag”.

But as I got closer, I realized errrrr actually that is NOT my bag.

Here’s my bag

And here’s a side by side comparison

As you can see, they do look SIMILAR, in that they are both blue bags, but they are not the same shade of blue nor the same size.

The baggage claim worker took the suitcase that was not mine into the office, and called the number that was listed on the bag tag. For some reason, the person actually answered the phone from the unknown number :-). He asked her if she had picked up her bag from American Airlines in Salt Lake City. When she confirmed that she had, he said that she had taken the wrong bag. She asked if he was sure, and he said “Yes, in fact I am calling you at the phone number on the bag that is still here at the airport” 😀

When she realized her mistake, she said she would return to the airport, which she did about 10 minutes later. I’m sure this would have likely gotten sorted out eventually, perhaps when she got to her destination, opened her suitcase, and realized it wasn’t her stuff. But who knows how far she would have been or how complicated the logistics would have been.

So yes, this was definitely at least in part my fault for not getting to the baggage claim area in an expeditious manner, but CHECK YOUR CLAIM TAGS OR AT LEAST YOUR SUITCASES PEOPLE! The lady was very nice and apologized several times when she got to the airport, saying she was too excited to visit her son and “granddog” and didn’t check the suitcase before leaving. I thought about trying to barter with her since after all, her suitcase was bigger than mine, so I feel like she owed me some compensation :-P, but in the end I was happy to get out of the airport with only a 10 minute or so delay.

The Bottom Line – #TeamCarryOn is the way to go

While I think the odds of something like this happening are quite low, they are not zero. As I mention, my own behavior definitely contributed to the problem, but it was a bit annoying for someone to not check the tags and/or suitcase before leaving the airport. So chalk this one up as one more reason to never check a bag and always travel carry on only.

Ever had someone else take your luggage from baggage claim? Share your stories in the comments below

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