Oh that moment when you’re luggage doesn’t arrive on the conveyor. The following may go through your head, I wish I had . . . .
1. Taken a picture of the bag so it can be described easily to airport staff. This includes knowing the brand name. I actually don’t remember the brand name of one of our black rolling suitcases.
2. Clearly tagged your bag with your name and not with a flimsy airline tag. Click here to download an awesome luggage tag template.
3. Put a copy of your passport face page inside the bag, just in case your flimsy airline tag comes off.
4. Packed underwear and other essentials in a carry on. Be sure to think of your destination when thinking of “essentials.” If you are going to a very expensive resort that you scraped together the loyalty points for, maybe pack your swimsuit and flip flops in the carry on. This includes prescription medications.
5. Packed valuables and electronics in a carry on. This means phone and tablet chargers too.
6. (optional) Not checked your bag if you can avoid it. Sometimes it can’t be avoided, hence this is optional.
7. Personally watch airport agents tag your bag and load it onto the conveyor before leaving the check-in counter.
In our case on this last trip, we arrived in Malé and didn’t even need to bother missing the conveyor. We were called over to the desk and found out that Emirates didn’t feel like delivering our bags (at least that’s what I felt like when we got to the resort and I didn’t have my swimsuit). We did many of the things above, but packing my suit wasn’t one of them.
What are your best tips for making it through a lost or delayed bag situation? I’ll be sharing the full emirates story very soon.
Image courtesy Douglas Palmer via Creative Commons license.
Almost Never Clever 