On Thursday I took the KL EWR-AMS flight. Thanks to NJ Transit problems (and me cutting it a bit close), I arrived at EWR with only 35 minutes to flight time.
Luckily I'd already checked in online, but the NW agents handling the flight wouldn't let me check my bag, so I ended up ditching the bag and carrying on the contents (which wasn't as bad as it sounds--long story).
The agents at the counter told me I could retrieve the bag from their lost luggage department on my return. Except my return was to JFK, and won't have occasion to go to EWR for 5 or 6 weeks. I said they could just toss it if they wanted, but they said they'd hold it for me (quite nice of them). The bag did have a name tag on it (although I think it had my parents' Iowa info--not my NYC info).
My question: how long will NW hold my bag at EWR? It's an old beat-up bag with half-broken zippers, so it wouldn't be a tragedy if I lost it, but I do find it useful every now and then (it's my biggest piece of luggage).
Should I try to call EWR and see what can be done? Think they'll let somebody else pick it up for me? Should I just write the thing off? I don't think I'm going to make a trip to EWR just to retrieve the thing...
Thoughts?
Luckily I'd already checked in online, but the NW agents handling the flight wouldn't let me check my bag, so I ended up ditching the bag and carrying on the contents (which wasn't as bad as it sounds--long story).
The agents at the counter told me I could retrieve the bag from their lost luggage department on my return. Except my return was to JFK, and won't have occasion to go to EWR for 5 or 6 weeks. I said they could just toss it if they wanted, but they said they'd hold it for me (quite nice of them). The bag did have a name tag on it (although I think it had my parents' Iowa info--not my NYC info).
My question: how long will NW hold my bag at EWR? It's an old beat-up bag with half-broken zippers, so it wouldn't be a tragedy if I lost it, but I do find it useful every now and then (it's my biggest piece of luggage).
Should I try to call EWR and see what can be done? Think they'll let somebody else pick it up for me? Should I just write the thing off? I don't think I'm going to make a trip to EWR just to retrieve the thing...
Thoughts?
A quick update...
NW called me out of the blue from EWR a couple weeks ago to check on whether I was going to come pick up the bag or if they should donate it or what (they got my phone number off my bag tag). I told them I'd be flying through EWR on 11/7, and they offered to hold the bag until then.
On 11/7 I arrived on the KLM flight from AMS as scheduled. Went straight to the NW baggage services room, found my bag, and was on my way.
NWA ground services comes through for me again! One more reason I'm happy to be NW elite.
NW called me out of the blue from EWR a couple weeks ago to check on whether I was going to come pick up the bag or if they should donate it or what (they got my phone number off my bag tag). I told them I'd be flying through EWR on 11/7, and they offered to hold the bag until then.
On 11/7 I arrived on the KLM flight from AMS as scheduled. Went straight to the NW baggage services room, found my bag, and was on my way.
NWA ground services comes through for me again! One more reason I'm happy to be NW elite.
Quote:
Luckily I'd already checked in online, but the NW agents handling the flight wouldn't let me check my bag, so I ended up ditching the bag and carrying on the contents (which wasn't as bad as it sounds--long story).
awwww come on. What's the long story??Originally Posted by themicah
On Thursday I took the KL EWR-AMS flight. Thanks to NJ Transit problems (and me cutting it a bit close), I arrived at EWR with only 35 minutes to flight time.Luckily I'd already checked in online, but the NW agents handling the flight wouldn't let me check my bag, so I ended up ditching the bag and carrying on the contents (which wasn't as bad as it sounds--long story).
Quote:
I left it out because it's not that exciting, really.Originally Posted by jimc_usa
awwww come on. What's the long story??
But if you must know...
I was going to London to meet up with my fiancee for a long weekend. She is studying in Israel for the year. London is about halfway, and she has family in Wiltshire we were going to visit. She asked me to bring her comforter over for her since it's starting to get chilly in Jerusalem at night, so I had vacuum-packed it in one of those big ziplock-bag-like thingees from Bed Bath and Beyond, and put it in my big duffle bag along with my rollaboard (which had all my stuff in it). I planned to give her the duffle with the comforter in London, so she could put her rollaboard in place of mine and check the whole thing back to TLV. And I'd go back to NYC with my rollaboard.
Anyway, when I ditched the duffle bag, all I had to carry was my daypack, my rollaboard, and the vacuum-packed comforter, hence the "not-as-bad-as-it-sounds" comment above (I can't imagine trying to carryon the actual contents of a full-size checked bag
).The comforter was compressed to the size of a large pillow, but I was scared to death that the TSA folks at EWR were going to demand that I open it, and it would expand to its full queen-size-comforter dimensions. THAT would be a bit of a pain to carry on. One of the TSA people actually did comment on it, but it turned out she just thought it was cool that I fit a whole queen sized comforter in that little bag. I chatted politely with her about how it worked and where she could buy one, then hightailed it to the gate as quickly as possible, relieved that I hadn't had to open it.
Then at the gate, the GA reminded me that I'm only allowed one carryon. I took a deep breath, and responded, "I'm well aware, and I actually tried to check it, but they wouldn't let me." Thankfully she let me on the plane, and I was able to find plenty of storage space in the overheads. Also thankfully nobody at AMS stopped me for having too many bags, either.
Anyway, the end result was that my fiancee was able to get the comforter to Jerusalem (the El Al security people at LHR didn't demand that she open it, either), and now her bed is much warmer. And I finally got my bag back from NW at EWR this past weekend (on my way back from visiting her in Jerusalem, of course
). So all ends happily in NWA-land. Heart-warming, huh?
