Originally Posted by jkhuggins

I don't think it's that unworkable from a cost perspective ... if you consider the total cost of the current system. Right now, the current system costs passengers lots of money every year --- as measured in lost or stolen items. Those costs, however, are invisible, as they're only born by the relatively few passengers who have items stolen. A standardized shrink-wrap system would cost all passengers checking bags a small amount, but would probably cost less in the long run.

And, as others have pointed out, the real problem with the insecurity of checked baggage is this: if someone can take something out of a checked bag, someone can just as easily put something into a checked bag. Sealing bags would help to circumvent that possibility.