INSIDE AIR TRAVEL
Baggage Basics for Checked and Carry-on Items
By Dr. Todd Curtis, The AirSafe.com Foundation
Only the rare passenger flies without carrying at least one piece of carry-on baggage, and many have to check one or more pieces of luggage as well. While there is always the risk of having items lost, misplaced, stolen, or damaged, many of the common risks can be reduced, avoided, or eliminated with a little bit of planning. The following pieces of advice provide some basic information on how to deal with many of the more common baggage related issues. There are also links to additional resources on baggage risks and advice on how to file a complaint with your airline or with the TSA.General Baggage Advice
There are only a few basic things to always avoid when it comes to either carry-on bags or checked luggage, mostly having to do with prohibited items. There are the obvious items that you should never pack such as illegal drugs or explosive devices. However, most other items that you should not pack are not so obvious, especially items that may be allowed in checked luggage but not in carry-on baggage. For details on prohibited items, visit the Things You Should Not Bring on Board page at http://www.airsafe.com/danger.htm. You should also check out Show #3 of the Conversation at AirSafe.com, which provided a basic overview of what items and materials are banned from the aircraft.Baggage Limits
In general, airlines allow you to bring up to two pieces of carry-on baggage and two pieces of checked luggage , plus some additional items such as umbrellas, and baby strollers. Additional baggage, or baggage that goes above an airline's weight or size limits, may cost you extra. Typically, you have to check in at least 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights in order to ensure that your checked luggage ends up on your airplane. Your airline may have more restrictive rules on check in time, especially for international flights. When in doubt, contact your airline for its specific baggage policies.Other Carry-on luggage advice
Reducing Checked Luggage Risks
Any time that you fly with checked luggage, you run the risk of having individual items or even the entire bag stolen, lost, damaged, or delayed. Statistics supplied by the U.S. Department of Transportation imply that a passenger who checks luggage has about a 2% chance of having this problem on a typical round trip. For the average traveler, this means that having a checked bag lost, delayed, stolen, or damaged will be more than a once in a lifetime experience. In order to reduce or eliminate many checked luggage risks, you should consider doing the following:
- Only use carry-on bags - Avoiding checked luggage reduces the time spent at the airport and also reduces the chance that your belongings are lost, stolen, or damaged.
- Eliminate potential luggage snags - Since checked luggage usually goes though some kind of mechanical conveyor system, you should also remove straps or other protrusions that could get caught in the system.
- Make your checked bags easy to inspect - In the U.S., the TSA has to be able to inspect a checked bag, so your bag should remain unlocked. There are exceptions to this rule. The TSA works with some lock manufacturers to provide screeners with keys for some models of locks. Check with the TSA at www.TSA.gov for details.
- Make sure that your checked is bag easy to identify - To reduce the chance of someone accidentally taking your bag from the baggage claim area, place an identification tag of some kind on each piece of checked luggage. Make sure that your contact information is also on each one of these tags. You may also want to use small ribbons, stickers, or other identifying marks on the bag to make it easier to spot.
- Check the airline luggage tags - At check in, make sure that tags that the gate agent attaches to each piece of checked luggage matches you baggage claim tickets. Also, ensure that you and your bag are going to the same destination airport.
- Put valuables and critical items in your carry-on bags - Cash, financial documents, jewelry, cameras, cell phones, portable electronic devices, and other valuables should be kept on your person or in your carry-on bags. Other kinds of critical or difficult to replace items that should be in your carry-ons include things like prescription drugs, other medical items, eyeglasses, keys, passports, travel vouchers, business papers, manuscripts, heirlooms, or favorite toys. While the airline may compensate you for the loss of some items, they will not compensate you for the loss of some kinds of valuables such as money and jewelry. For items like prescription drugs, you may be at risk even if your bag is only delayed by a day or so.
- Keep fragile items out of checked luggage - Such items should be in your carry-on bags. Even a properly packed fragile item my be at risk in your checked luggage if that item has to be unwrapped in order to be inspected.
- Keep camera film out of checked bags - In the U.S., the equipment used to scan checked bags may damage unexposed film. According to the TSA, film that goes through the x-ray screening device for carry-on items should be safe. However, you may want to request a hand inspection of any bag carrying film since multiple passes through even these x-ray machine may damage undeveloped film.
- Prepare for a lost, stolen, damaged, or delayed checked bag - Pack your carry-on bags so that you will be able to survive for 48 hours at your destination without your checked bags. If you are checking more than one piece of luggage, distribute items so that the loss of one bag will not cause undue hardship. Checked bags that are delayed usually arrive within a day or so. Be prepared to keep a record of any costs related to your delayed or missing bag, or to any damage to the bag or contents so that you can later submit a claim to the airline or to the TSA.
- Check your bags after arrival - Go through your checked luggage after arrival to see if anything is damaged or missing, or if extra items were placed in the bag. If there is a problem, make sure you contact your airline as soon as possible.
Laptop Advice
Laptop security is of particular concern to travelers because in the U.S. you are required to remove the laptop from its carrying case for inspection. This exposes the laptop to increased risks from damage and especially from theft. In order to reduce the risks that you face, you should consider doing the following:
- Keep the laptop with your carry-on baggage - Laptops are relatively fragile, as well as being an attractive target for theft. Keeping it with you on the plane is preferable to packing it in your checked luggage.
- Be prepared to take it out for inspection - In the U.S. and in some other countries, your laptop must be taken out of its bag or carrying case before it is passed through an x-ray scanner.
- Separate the data from the laptop - For most users, the information on a laptop is far more valuable than the laptop itself. One easy way to protect against the loss of data is to keep any key data separate from the laptop in a device such as a flash drive, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
- Secure the laptop with passwords - If you are unwilling or unable to separate the data from the laptop, at least put some kind of password protection on the laptop or on individual files or directories within the laptop.
- Use alternative electronic devices - PDAs, handheld computers, and other data related devices are not required to be taken out of your carry-on bag, so if you can use an alternative to a laptop, this will reduce the likelihood of damage or theft.
- Keep the laptop in sight - You may be delayed getting through the metal detector or you may be pulled aside for additional screening. If this happens, make sure you keep your laptop in sight. If you are traveling in a group, one thing that you can do is to have the first person through security be the person who takes care of all the laptops.
Compensation for Lost Baggage
Should any of your luggage be lost, delayed, stolen, or damaged, you will very likely be eligible for some kind of compensation from either the airline or from the TSA. For example, on U.S. domestic flights, there is a $2,800 compensation limit per bag that is lost by the airline. Updated compensation limits and related information about lost and damaged baggage is available from the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov. Compensation for domestic flights in other countries will depend on the laws and the civil aviation regulations in that country.On international flights, compensation limits are set by the Montreal Convention, an international agreement that has been signed by the U.S., Canada, and many other countries. Compensation varies as the value of world currencies change, and in February 2006 baggage related compensation was limited to a maximum of about $1,400 (USD) or 1,200 euros per passenger. This limit is associated with baggage that is destroyed as well as baggage that has been lost or damaged, or where the return of baggage has been delayed.
Other Baggage ResourcesCarry-on Baggage Advice
Top 10 Baggage Tips
Overhead Baggage Risks
How to File a Complaint
Things you Should Not Bring on Board
Cabin Safety TipsFor more information, check out the following MP3 audio file that discusses banned and hazardous items:
Show #13 - Baggage Basics for Checked and Carry-on Items
http://www.airsafe.com/podcasts/show13.mp3Description: Provides advice for reducing the risk of having your baggage lost, stolen, damaged, or delayed. This conversation also discusses specific strategies for reducing your risk of laptop computer theft. Additional resources include links to overhead storage bin risks, information about prohibited items, and a guide on how to file a complaint.
Dr. Todd Curtis is president of the AirSafe.com Foundation and creator of the web site AirSafe.com. Todd Curtis conducted research in several areas of aviation risk assessment and accident prevention. Author of the book Understanding Aviation Safety Data as well as a number of articles on Web site planning and airline safety. Licensed private pilot.
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