Originally Posted by
NRoften
On the concourse, typically we do not investigate issues regarding missing luggage. We can absolutely check to see where the last scan was, the bag routing and whether it's where it should be. But we do not coordinate with the ramp or other departments if a bag is determined to be missing or perceived to be in the wrong place. Generally, these issues are dealt with at your final destination baggage claim. What the agent should have done was checked the tag, if they determined there was an issue then advise you to address it with baggage service at your final destination.
Agreed -- which probably would have resulted in a similar post from the OP, frankly. The problem is, oddly, too much information. AirTags have allowed a lot of people -- myself included -- a peek behind the curtain, but they risk derailing a highly intricate operation.
It turned out that OP's bag was misplaced, but I would contend that there wasn't really any information to indicate that at the time of OP's complaint, and it's likely just confirmation bias playing a role here. Being "at the wrong gate" doesn't necessarily mean anything. For one thing, it could be a stale ping: I recently saw someone land at an airport on an AS flight, check their AirTag, and go to the gate agent saying their bag was left in Seattle. I had been speaking with the gate agent at the time, so I was in a position to ask what time the scan was -- and she saw it had been prior to takeoff. I believe she got her bag just fine.
I've also noticed that (a) the low-power Bluetooth does not penetrate containers, so on a containerized flight, you won't get a ping until the container is unloaded and opened; (b) Apple is showing location data in a 3D space on a 2D map; and (c) there aren't a ton of compatible Apple devices in most baggage areas. On a narrowbody, I'll normally get a report from the bag upon landing, and often nothing else until it's approaching the chute and the gaggle of iPhone users present.
Thus, there are several possibilities other than the bag being misplaced; for example: (a) a stale ping being misinterpreted by a zealous passenger or (b) the bag being placed intentionally in a staging area prior to loading the aircraft, and simply
looking like it's at another gate (whether that's because the gate area is physically above the baggage storage area or not).
And, thus, UA's policy that you outline here, to worry about the bags at the destination. OP's dissatisfaction is undqerstable but that kind of hands-on customer experience simply doesn't scale. Imagine if every AirTag user tried to initiate an investigation of every missing bag, sending people running after it. The baggage operation would spiral out of control, as the people chasing phantom pings would be taken away from their actual work of trying to get the majority of bags out on time.
Originally Posted by
NRoften
At hubs and larger stations bags are typically not staged at the gate, they are kept in holding areas and on UAX flights it is not uncommon for bag loading to begin after boarding starts. At smaller stations and outstations where the ground crews work both the gates and ramp area interchangeably, they may be better equipped to locate missing bags but this is not practical at the hubs and the larger line stations and where I work we do not investigate bag related issues on the concourse.
RIght -- keeping the bags at the gate would be a disaster given how frequently gate assignments change. The correct place for the bag to be wouldn't be obvious from any 2D map, and probably wouldn't be obvious from any consumer-facing 3D map either, since I doubt that the baggage staging locations are labeled on Apple's multi-level airport maps.
Originally Posted by
zombietooth
You were wise to be proactive, which should've been a plus
I disagree; OP was
too proactive.
Originally Posted by
zombietooth
They had no answers so I asked if they could recover my bags from the baggage holding area. They told me that it would take hours, which I found hard to believe but then, another pax who was standing within earshot told me that he'd been waiting 4 hours already for his bags to be found.
That's standard, and nearly as I can tell fairly accurate in a lot of cases. It's mostly a question of manpower; they don't have people on staff to sit around and pull bags out from the giant bins full of them. In your case, you probably would have gotten them faster, though, because they should not have been in the general baggage area, but rather already segregated for delivery to Orange County.
Originally Posted by
zombietooth
Needless to say, I called again and again, ad nauseum, over the next four days, only to be lied to in every instance. We finally got our last bag 5 days after we landed.
I doubt very much that anyone was 'lying,' but rather giving their best estimate of the situation. However, I do urge you, despite your reticence to make any CS requests of United at all, please at least file a claim for anything you had to purchase due to the delays. The only way things will improve is if there are financial penalties for failure.
Incidentally, I've experienced exactly the same attitude at exactly the same place at IAH -- the people who guard the gate to the downstairs dungeon in B. I'm not sure that I'd paint the whole airport with that brush, though.