Deplane in spite of checked luggage
Apr 1, 2019, 2:52 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Plat, Lifetime Skyclub
Posts: 177
Deplane in spite of checked luggage
My wife and I had the unfortunate experience of realizing that she was missing her cell phone after we had already boarded our flight to return from a vacation trip. A quick check of the Find My iPhone app showed us exactly where it was - in our rental car in the Hertz car lot. We had just finished a vacation and only my wife's phone had all of her vacation photos (not backed up to the cloud, Dropbox or another server). We had a quick discussion of whether or not we could trust Hertz's lost and found (ha!) and I then asked the FA about the possibility of deplaning so I could go and attempt to retrieve the phone. She asked if I had checked luggage (yes, we both did, but there was definitely a checked bag under my name) and then said deplaning wasn't possible (it would mean delaying the flight to retrieve my luggage) but I could ask the gate agent if I wanted to.
When I asked the gate agent, he said no problem, he didn't care if I had a checked bag, and he made a reservation for me on the next flight out. My wife stayed on the plane and finished the original flight. I retraced our steps back to Hertz and since I could tell them exactly where our phone was in their parking lot, they were able to retrieve it. The car had already been "cleaned" and was ready for rental, so who knows if we would have ever gotten the phone back otherwise. I had gotten the gate agents name, so when I got back home I went to the Delta website "Comment/Complaint" to give him kudos.
So my question is this: is it just urban myth that you can't deplane if you have checked bags (since I obviously was able to) or was the difference that my wife continued on the scheduled flight with my bags? I suspect he gate agent's answered would have been different for an international flight.
When I asked the gate agent, he said no problem, he didn't care if I had a checked bag, and he made a reservation for me on the next flight out. My wife stayed on the plane and finished the original flight. I retraced our steps back to Hertz and since I could tell them exactly where our phone was in their parking lot, they were able to retrieve it. The car had already been "cleaned" and was ready for rental, so who knows if we would have ever gotten the phone back otherwise. I had gotten the gate agents name, so when I got back home I went to the Delta website "Comment/Complaint" to give him kudos.
So my question is this: is it just urban myth that you can't deplane if you have checked bags (since I obviously was able to) or was the difference that my wife continued on the scheduled flight with my bags? I suspect he gate agent's answered would have been different for an international flight.
Apr 1, 2019, 2:57 pm
#3
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: DL PM 1MM
Posts: 3,439
So my question is this: is it just urban myth that you can't deplane if you have checked bags (since I obviously was able to) or was the difference that my wife continued on the scheduled flight with my bags? I suspect he gate agent's answered would have been different for an international flight.
Apr 1, 2019, 6:23 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 262
Unfortunate this was at DEN, with the hertz lot several miles from the gates.
Recently flying out of Colorado, my entire family got off the plane (doors stayed open for a long time) when it became clear we wouldn’t make connection. Although we would have taken bags off if we could have, it was made very clear that we could get off but bags were staying. Ironically, after a couple of hours of waiting for weather to improve, the flight was rescheduled to the next morning and all the bags off-loaded. But we were long gone.
Recently flying out of Colorado, my entire family got off the plane (doors stayed open for a long time) when it became clear we wouldn’t make connection. Although we would have taken bags off if we could have, it was made very clear that we could get off but bags were staying. Ironically, after a couple of hours of waiting for weather to improve, the flight was rescheduled to the next morning and all the bags off-loaded. But we were long gone.
Apr 1, 2019, 6:25 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,040
No positive bag match domestically as all bags are 100% screened nowadays. International still happens do to international regulations. If you SDC after checking bags at a kiosk or online, it'll ask "are you sure you wish to voluntarily separate from bags? If you do we will not be responsible for delivering (from airport to home/hotel) bags."
Apr 8, 2019, 8:36 am
#7
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 92
Thanks to all for the question and answers: I've also been wondering about "positive bag match"
Off topic #1 : It's not too hard these days to back up photos daily from a camera or phone so that you don't lose too many if the device gets lost.
Off topic #2 : "Find My Phone" got me my phone back after I left it on a bus from Santiago to Valparaiso. The driver had picked it up and left it at the ticket counter. The desk clerk at my hotel and I communicated with him by placing a notification on the phone with the hotel's phone number as contact info. (I also pessimistically thought it had been stolen.)
Off topic #1 : It's not too hard these days to back up photos daily from a camera or phone so that you don't lose too many if the device gets lost.
Off topic #2 : "Find My Phone" got me my phone back after I left it on a bus from Santiago to Valparaiso. The driver had picked it up and left it at the ticket counter. The desk clerk at my hotel and I communicated with him by placing a notification on the phone with the hotel's phone number as contact info. (I also pessimistically thought it had been stolen.)