If you are worried about losing your luggage on a trip, here is a travel hint that virtually everyone can do easily.

Got a digital camera?  Take a photo of your suitcase (front and side view) in the sunlight.  Make a note of the brand and, if available, model of your suitcase.  (You’d be surprised at how few people know this stuff.)  Then print out your luggage photos on a piece of paper with your luggage make and model.  Put something that will help identify it visually on the outside of the bag.  An odd coloured strap or tag would do.  Put a copy of your travel itinerary in a plastic sleeve INSIDE your luggage.

Buy a TSA luggage lock.  Almost everyone thinks you can’t lock your luggage anymore.  Wrong.  Many stores such as Brookstone, The Container Store, etc sell a TSA Lock.  The TSA luggage lock can be opened by TSA personnel only with a special key.  This makes your luggage less of a target for dishonest baggage handlers.   I own 3 of these locks and I’ve noticed that when I use them, it seems like the TSA very rarely goes through my luggage as well. 

Carry your luggage info with you on the airplane.  When you land, particularly in a foreign country, if your luggage is lost, a baggage agent will kiss you and praise you for having  photos, description and identifying marks for him to go by as well as a tag sd airport transport.  Make their job easy and they’ll find your bag quickly.

Tens of thousands of pieces of luggage that were separated from their owners at London Heathrow Airport last spring have been either sold or burned beause there was NO WAY OF IDENTIFYING THE BAG AND RETURNING IT TO THE CUSTOMER.  This luggage had no bag tags and nothing inside the luggage to tell anyone who it belonged to. 

Filed under: Travel Hints by ajax