On Auguest 25 I flew from BDL to PIT after arriving at PIT I had to do some emailing real quick and I was talking to the gate agent, in all it was about 45 minutes till I got down to the baggage claim. When I got down there a guy was taking off my suitcases and putting them on a cart.

My question is what would have happened if I had spent more time in the airside terminal and had not gotten down to baggage claim for another 2 hours?

...My question is what would have happened if I had spent more time in the airside terminal and had not gotten down to baggage claim for another 2 hours?

They'd be stored at the baggage office.

On Auguest 25 I flew from BDL to PIT after arriving at PIT I had to do some emailing real quick and I was talking to the gate agent, in all it was about 45 minutes till I got down to the baggage claim. When I got down there a guy was taking off my suitcases and putting them on a cart.

My question is what would have happened if I had spent more time in the airside terminal and had not gotten down to baggage claim for another 2 hours?

They put them in the USAirways baggage office. Not a big deal really.

Now if it was PHL, after 45 minutes your bags might still not be on the carousel yet.

They put them in the USAirways baggage office. Not a big deal really.

Now if it was PHL, after 45 minutes your bags might still not be on the carousel yet.
45 Minutes is pretty impressive time for PIT as well. I've waited a LONG time for baggage there.

They put them in the USAirways baggage office. Not a big deal really.

Now if it was PHL, after 45 minutes your bags might still not be on the carousel yet.

Same thing usually happens at lots of airports. I can recall many a time on the DCA-LGA shuttle where my bag has made the earlier flight than I have and I've always been able to pick it up in the baggage office there.

I've noticed this at other airports too, I assume for security reasons. I was waiting in baggage claim in San Diego for a coworker coming off another flight earlier this month and they picked up the bags after about 10 minutes of the carousel stopping.

45 Minutes is pretty impressive time for PIT as well. I've waited a LONG time for baggage there.
I waited 30 minutes in PIT 2 weeks ago and thought that was a long time, but then it was the first time in 5 years I checked bags so maybe my expectations were just wrong.

Also, I've heard a lot of folks saying CLT is getting really bad. Flew PIT/CLT yesterday and got my bags in 10 minutes. Coworkers in CLT said that is very rare as they all wait 45 minutes to an hour as the norm.

I waited 30 minutes in PIT 2 weeks ago and thought that was a long time, but then it was the first time in 5 years I checked bags so maybe my expectations were just wrong.


30 minutes is typical for PIT. They won't lose your bags as frequently as PHL but it does take too long to get them.

I checked a bag (ok, my golf clubs) going CLT-PIT last week and got the priority tag -- this time, I didn't even stop off at the little boys room on the way down to baggage claim and there was already a guy pulling my clubs off the oversize conveyor belt. I was quite shocked as I figured I'd have plenty of time to make a couple calls before they came out.

while annoying, I much prefer the skycap-like person removing my bags than having other passengers walk off with them.

I have had this happen multiple times, all "by accident", only to have the person realize it when they got home and then bring it back to the airport.

One of the times, they called from home just saying "they waited for it, but it never arrived". When they described the bag, the US employee said they had a missing bag report for a bag just like that (it was a very odd color). They then agreed to bring it back (I guess they were too embarassed to admit it at first?)

This just makes me realize there must be a fair number that walk off NOT by accident. Its too easy to walk into an airport and pick up unclaimed bags.