zac

I just got off a flight from LAX-STS. A very small round of baggage came out in 10-15 minutes and about a dozen people were left waiting for their bags. After 30-40 minutes of waiting for a second round of bags, I called the the MVP line and was transferred to their baggage line. After another few minutes on hold an agent answered and tried to be helpful. However, she could not do much as she was unable to connect with anyone at the airport (she said the phone numbers she had did not work). I finally asked her to check on my bags in particular and she found they were still in LAX.

Aside from the problem that at STS there was not one Alaska person available to even confirm that no more bags were coming (nor is there status on the overhead monitor), a bigger issue is that the Alaska cannot even communicate with their personnel at the airport (mind you this was a weekday at 11am). Numerous passengers were left wondering where their bags were and had no one to turn to.

I had the agent forward my bags to my home and they should arrive later, but having to stand around and then call Seattle to find out my bags were in LAX seemed ridiculous. At the very least, someone could tell waiting passengers, "that's all the bags, please call # if your bags not here."

Also, does anyone know why Alaska cannot just tell people in advance through a text when their bags don't make a flight? They have the data. Or, perhaps allow passengers to scan or input their tags and get status on their own bags? I know, pie in the sky ideas...

jackal

I don't think I'd advocate a proactive text if the bag isn't scanned onto the flight. Sometimes baggage handlers forget to scan a bag, or sometimes the barcodes aren't easily readable. It can be presumed to have not been loaded on the flight if it is neither scanned onto the plane nor off of the plane, but even then, it might still appear on the carousel.

I do wish AS would do what AA, UA, and DL already do and allow you to see the baggage tracking scans right in the app, but it's no secret around here what I think of AS's IT, especially for an airline that claims to be (and in a few areas, is) so progressive.

notquiteaff

UA has that? My last bag "lost" was on a United Express flight to a small outstation. Basically the exact same story as the OP (including me calling UA and them not being able to reach the station), and I couldn't find a tracking feature in the app when the bag no-showed and there was no one to ask if more bags would be coming.

formeraa

Please follow up on this with AS customer relations. Call the number and tell the agent exactly what happened. There should always be personnel available to take lost luggage reports (no matter what time it is) and to collect any "unclaimed" luggage. It sounds like someone seriously dropped the ball at STS and AS needs to know.

jackal

You might be right. I haven't flown UA in a couple of years but thought I had heard they added it. I must be misremembering.

IIRC, the old PMUA kiosks (since taken out) did let you see baggage tracking status, but that was never migrated over to the CO system or app and wasn't available when I flew them. I guess expecting them to put it in the app two years later was asking too much.

AndyPatterson

This would convince me to get some sort of RFID or other tracker if I had to routinely check bags! Then I could readily tell if the bag was at my arrival point or still at the origin airport.

Indeed, if the system was very accurate, I could tell before the plane left the origin airport whether the bag was right on the plane or further away.

3Cforme

I haven't flown from STS but I'm guessing this is a station where the ticketing, GA, baggage handlers, and marshallers are all the same three or four(?) people and they were all out of the tarmac at that point?

notquiteaff

I used those kiosks at SFO a few times. Not as good as a mobile app feature, but was still useful. I really wish UA and AS would implement this in their apps. It's 2017! The iPhone is 10 years old (and I had other smartphones since the first Handspring Treo 15 years ago).

BOB W

Friends don't let friends fly Uncontinent

zac

The above makes perfect sense. However as my bags have still not arrived I called for status and the agent told me that the bags and others were "pulled" from the flight. I'm guessing that would happen for weight issues (the flight was completely full)? Anyway, it seems Alaska knew of this in advance which makes the lack of service/presence at the airport even more ridiculous.

The good news is my bags are at STS and being dropped off shortly.

formeraa

Back in the day, they would put up a sign in the airport (usually at the ticketing desk or baggage office if avaiable) that explained that an agent will be available AFTER the outbound flight departs. I guess younger people don't know how to do such things .

Again, OP, please contact AS customer relations and let them know what happened.

jlemon

Yep, it's not a big AS station, to be sure. We've flown in and out of there several times and have been impressed with the ground staff.

Case in point: we recently checked in at STS following our birthday celebration the day before with friends who live in the area (my fiancée and I have the same birthday) and mentioned this to the ticket agent who also then served as the gate agent boarding the Q400. The result? When he announced boarding, he mentioned our birthdays over the PA and then called us to board first! Which we did to a sitting ovation by the other passengers.

So there are some very good QX/AS folks at STS; however, it appears it is a small staff.

UAPremierExec

Alaska already scans your bags along the journey. Im suspecting the project to mirror Delta & American was put on hold while the Alaska Sabre gurus work on the merger.