<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MedEdGuy:
Unfortunately, I don't think any airlines scan bags every step of the way like FedEx. 
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And, quite frankly, why would they?
With no hard numbers to go on, I'd hazard a guess that the actual number of bags temporarily misplaced on any given day is miniscule in relation to the total number of bags checked.
I'd also guess that the number of permanently lost bags is, relatively speaking, infinitesimal.
With AA bearing so little financial responsibility for lost bags (they owe you nothing if it shows up late, and a pittance if it's lost forever), why on earth would they spend millions to set up a FedEx-like tracking system for baggage? It's far cheaper to listen to customers complain (and occasionally cut a check for a thousand bucks or so) than implement a system like that.
I'm not saying it's the most customer-friendly way to do it, but you can't fault the bean-counters on this one.
[This message has been edited by SuperSlug (edited 08-19-2002).]