Timeline for How do you prevent somebody from stealing your luggage when traveling by air?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
17 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Dec 4, 2023 at 10:39 | comment | added | jcaron | @Clockwork you mean too big for carry-on but small enough for checked luggage? Note that there are often some exceptions for some specific types of larger carry-ons (e.g. musical instruments), though the rules vary depending on airline, size, etc. (in the most extreme cases like a cello you'll have to book a seat for your cello). For the rest, it's going to be either hold luggage or shipping it separately via a courrier service, with appropriate insurance in both cases. In some extreme cases there are specialised cargo services (e.g. when shipping live adult sharks...). | |
| Dec 4, 2023 at 9:40 | comment | added | Clockwork | Back then I didn't dare ask, but: what if you have super important valuables which you cannot carry hand-on because it's too big, but small enough to get into a luggage? | |
| Jul 2, 2021 at 18:12 | comment | added | GalacticCowboy | I once had the opposite experience - my bags arrived before I did! I was flying from Orlando to Baltimore, with a layover in Chicago. However, my bags were placed on the direct flight from Orlando to Baltimore that left 10 minutes later. So they were already in Baltimore before I even landed in Chicago. All I had to do was go to the luggage office in the airport and collect them. | |
| Jul 2, 2021 at 12:49 | comment | added | Janus Bahs Jacquet | @AzorAhai-him- In my experience, that’s exactly where you can’t put stuff under the seat in front. I nearly always put my bag under the seat in front of me, but whenever I’ve been seated in an emergency row, I’ve been told by cabin crew that it has to go in the overhead compartment. | |
| Jul 2, 2021 at 9:16 | comment | added | Tonny | @SethR TSA locks are completely useless for theft prevention. Anyone can buy master-keys for all TSA locks for a few dollars on the internet. The only purpose they serve is to keep the case from accidentally opening when it is jostled and at the same time not give TSA any reason to damage the case when they want to look inside. | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 18:06 | comment | added | FreeMan | I used to fly a lot for work. I only had a bag misplaced once. I ended up having to show up at the client site in the jeans and sweatshirt that I was wearing on the plane - this was a bit awkward since my dress code at the client site was coat & tie. Fortunately, everything else was delayed, too, so I went to my hotel for the night. My bags showed up about 2 hours later. They missed my last connection because I only made the connection because they held the flight due to delays on my incoming flight. Long story short - don't sweat it! | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 16:35 | comment | added | jcaron | @KRyan this varies depending on the airline and their ever-changing policies, but I have definitely seen gate staff aggressively check number and size of carry-ons and gate-check anything not within the limits (in some cases even charging for checking bags over the limit). They do that before boarding actually starts, and EasyJet has been quite aggressive on this at times. Now that they have their new “you need to pay more for a full-size carry-on”, they probably enforce it whenever needed. | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 15:43 | comment | added | KRyan | “If that happens, larger bags will be gate-checked as well,” in my experience, I have never seen gate staff bother checking sizes. They take whatever people want until full, and then whoever hasn’t boarded yet has their stuff gate-checked regardless of size (unless it’s going beneath the seat in front of the passenger). I imagine they’d balk at something outrageously over-sized, but I’ve never seen it—and I have definitely seen people get things clearly oversized in an overhead bin and leave people with much smaller items to get gate-checked. It’s irritating, but the delay would be worse. | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 14:56 | comment | added | Seth R | @Neph, if traveling in the US, TSA reserves the right to search any bag going onto an airplane and won't think twice about cutting a lock off. It'll probably increase your chances of a "random" search. There are TSA-approved locks that supposedly only they can open, but I don't know how secure that is. You're probably better off going without a lock. | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 13:36 | comment | added | Azor Ahai -him- | You can usually put stuff under the seat in front of you in emergency rows during flight. | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 12:27 | comment | added | Andrew is gone | Those numbers are great - I really didn't expect there'd be actual stats on this. | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 10:46 | comment | added | RedSonja | On the other hand I never lock my case. Because if someone wants to open it they'll use force. And the customs people are allowed to open it anyway. I just twist a bit of wire through the holes so it won't open on its own. Since I know my case is not locked I am not tempted to leave valuables in it. (The most valuable thing I travel with is a saxophone, and I carry that on. It's allowed and is a conversation starter.) | |
| Jul 1, 2021 at 9:16 | comment | added | Neph |
theft of valuables inside your bag - General tip (even without valuables): Put a lock through the zippers, a lot of new suitcases already come with special zippers for that. If it's gone when you pick up the bag/suitcase it's highly likely that it wasn't an actual passenger because they'd need time to break it, which they won't have at the pick-up area (and carrying around a bolt cutter in that area would be highly suspicious anyway). WoJ posted another tip in the comment section of another answer.
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| Jul 1, 2021 at 5:56 | comment | added | RedSonja | I have had my luggage misplaced twice. Once by Egyptair, who kept it for a week and returned it intact but covered in rather stylish Arab writing. Once by United, who lost it inside LAX, and delivered it intact to my hotel 24 hours later. The important thing is to have it recognisable; not "er, black", but "red with green gaffer tape, 4 wheels". And inside the case, on top of your stuff, an A4 sheet with your name and telephone number, maybe the hotel too. | |
| Jun 30, 2021 at 22:41 | history | edited | jcaron | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 14 characters in body
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| Jun 30, 2021 at 22:32 | history | edited | jcaron | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 14 characters in body
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| Jun 30, 2021 at 22:25 | history | answered | jcaron | CC BY-SA 4.0 |