BAEC luggage tags: practical utility or personal statement?
 

A recurring theme on FT is the hate for luggage tags, and what some can read into using them. I've always regarded them as a means of ID'ing your luggage, but for many here they seem to be statements of passive entitlement.

Its not a "hate for luggage tags" as they do serve a purpose when used appropriately. IMO its pretty simple: 1 tag is for ID and sensible, >1 tag is for ego/you care too much about how special you think you are for flying a lot.

To be honest I stuck my gold tag on because I was sick of crew/staff assuming I was in the wrong place, made passing into first wing a breeze too.

silver doesn’t really change anything when flying club so not so much of an issue but I no longer use a tag because BA never sent me Silver ones.

Here we go again with the luggage tag obsession. :rolleyes:
I think this topic says more about those who continuously raise the issue than those who actually use the tags.
Those who adorn their luggage with tags are not hurting anyone.

This is it for me, i use two bag tags on each bag. One is my EXP tag that AA sends, and one is another random bag tag. This helps me identify my black luggage amongst the sea of other bags when I do need to check (Family trips) as well as for gate checked. It also helps when they get torn off - i have had three bag tags lost this year alone, all on short hops where a normal bag won't fit in an overhead.

I am Burgundy with QR, and they haven’t sent me any tags to add to my collection, Should I complain? :D

In Aus and NZ we already lose our bag tags.

And any priority tags seem to work in reverse - business priority means last. First priority means dead last.

Originally posted by percysmith:

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Obviously priority bags are loaded first, and at the destination its a case of LIFO - Last In First Out

Rather reenforces my point. Why would you care if someone has 2 or more tags on their bag, and why would you assume it becomes about ego. It’s a bag tag!

Apologies for OT again, but in fairness this thread has been OT for a while.

If I may comment. I couldn’t care less how many tags were used, but in the picture that was posted, I could only see one tag per bag.

Maybe the picture was posted due to ‘tag envy’? 😉

Doc Copper

The heart of the issue is that people will keep buying BLACK luggage, which looks like 90% of the stuff on the belt! ;)

Yep, things have become much easier ever since I bought a bright orange suitcase!

It's not black. There are more than 50 shades of grey...

Becaue you could not decide whether you like the mouse grey or the ash grey? :D

We had a nice pair of “Jeep” nesting cases in sort of ‘orange’. Very distictive. At the end of their first trip, the Swissport ‘baggage manglers’ at JER managed to bust the corner if one of them. :(

The BA replacement was a boring silver Antler. At least our Gold Tags help us spot them on the belt ... and the lime green labels and bag-straps! ;)

The amount of times I’ve seen the same Wenger carry on case Tesco did a deal on ~6 years ago confirms that!

Decent set for the money right enough

This for me too. Generally travel HBO, so I've found it helps

You incorrectly conflate my casting judgment with caring. I don't care in the slightest as it doesn't have any impact on me, rather I'm just commenting that in my experience the venn diagram of people who tend to act rather douchey at airports and those with heaps of bragtags has considerable overlap.

I'm sorry if I'm rustling a few feathers, but I always grin when I see airline FFC baggage tags especially in the cabin. Too me it screams look at me!!! As for checked baggage there is so many ways to add a unique identifier hold baggage.
John

I have no doubt that many frequent flyers use their airline bag tags as a means of flaunting status. And I don't understand why, because travelling more frequently with a specific airline is no indication of actual, real world status: it doesn't mean that you're wealthier, more intelligent, nicer or better looking than someone without a shiny tag. (In fact, I have noticed a very definite inverse correlation between number of tags on show and hotness :) .)

Wouldn't that just be because on average, status tends to positively correlate with age, which in turn correlated negatively with hotness?

The last time I flew down from MAN to LHR a few weeks ago, one of the other pax in CE had one of those BA electronic bag tags attached to his cabin baggage.

It wasn't displaying any sort of barcode (it was dangled right in front of me as the person took something out of the bag before hoisting it into the overhead bag bins) but just said 'viewtag' on it.

I really did think what is the point of it, then concluded that he must have spent money on it so he wanted the rest of the CE cabin to know that fact.

I don't know if it trumped the usual bronze/silver/gold BAEC tags or not, but I was quite satisfied with my 99p anonymous plain metal tag I bought as a set of 3 on a local market which has given me a few years of satisafactory service.

While on the topic of airline baggage tags, does anyone else like the ones from CX which are metal? (Or metallic)

BA send em I use em, both to identify my baggage and my BA status, I have zero expectation the latter does anything but have noticed they will generally pass me by when looking for bags to chack at the gate.

Don't really understand why it's a thing.......

We use luggage tags on luggage that is checked in. Has name and exec number so just a help in case main tag is damaged or misplaced. In 11 years on constant flying with BA my luggage has never been delayed or lost. However the tags do get mangled quite regularly and need replacing frequently.

One time we put mrs firstlights silver tag on a suit carrier bag with some expensive dresses in taken onboard as hand luggage and hung up in the locker This saved our life when we forgot it at the end of a flight and so did the crew. It was in BA service area at baggage reclaim as we got there. So using it on hand luggage can also be a good idea although it can also be seen as a DYKWIA action.

The Schipol Privum ones have a nice metallic chain also.

Good old-fashioned FT Luggage tags work wonders in such situations.

Less convinced about the new-fangled ones ;)

I had no choice last time I replaced my case. The answer is to decorate it very tastefully in duct tape.
My black and white checkerboard tape is round the handles plus a couple of other areas.

Back to luggage tags - never bother on checked luggage - just put name, flight and contact no on a piece of paper - job done.
I will continue to swan around with my silver tags on my cabin bags, seeing as BA did not send me any bronze ones. I have on more than one occasion left my bag - which was returned in a timely manner due to the BAEC tags.

I like your style :)

I know a number of individuals who, despite dropping in tier, continue to display their old tags. I don't think that's OK...

Why on earth does it matter to you (or anyone)?

Guilty your honour! It was a very good deal though that Tesco did - but for a few years afterwards it seemed every third bag on the belt at a UK airport was a Tesco generated Wenger :D

You're right!
Definitely not knocking them, I've got the full set, and so do my parents, and sister!

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...93e10f9d2e.jpg

To remain on topic, no shiny cards on the family cases!

I use mine but as identification. Like an awful other lot of business travellers, I have a cabin sized black TUMI bag and it simply marks it out as mine. Not sure what the potential issue is here.

But surely there will be many other business travellers with a TUMI and a BAEC tag? ;]

indeed, all the more reason to have a luggage tag to enable the case and owner to be reunited more easily should someone pick up a bag in error.��

Yes, but hopefully only one tagged with my name and details :D

One that stands out as "theirs" would be better than a generic airline tag.

Recently got a white, retro style Delsey one after BA wrecked my Samsonite. Dirty marks a plenty after one trip (they'd wash off if I could be bothered), but it's certainly easy to spot on the belt!

Speak for yourself - I'm getting hotter