Positive Passenger Bag Match for Group Passengers
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,497
Positive Passenger Bag Match for Group Passengers
Was told by an Emirates airport check-in staff that for a group reservation, the hold bag doesn't need to be tagged to the bag's owner, as long as the bag is tagged to any one of the group's passengers as they are all headed to the same destination. The baggage allowance is pooled between everyone in the group. This sounds fishy and counterintuitive against today's heightened security environment. Anyone heard of this being practiced?
#2
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
Was told by an Emirates airport check-in staff that for a group reservation, the hold bag doesn't need to be tagged to the bag's owner, as long as the bag is tagged to any one of the group's passengers as they are all headed to the same destination. The baggage allowance is pooled between everyone in the group. This sounds fishy and counterintuitive against today's heightened security environment. Anyone heard of this being practiced?
Outside of the US where we live our lives less focused on imminent catastrophe this system works perfectly fine and is done in this way on most airlines.
#3
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: EK Gold, A3 *G, AB Gold, Jetblue Mosaic
Posts: 1,380
I have traveled with family on the same flight but we were 10 people with 4 different PNRs due to diverging itineraries after our holiday. In NBO staff allowed me to check bags on behalf of others due to increased gold allowance but it had be tagged as my bag, so we couldn't effectively 'pool' our allowance. Same thing happened in DXB when we wanted to check in an extra bag after a long stopover; it had to assigned to an individual who still had allowance. Not sure if it would be different if we were all on one PNR.
#4
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: AA MM, AA EXP; OW Emerald, EK silver
Posts: 928
Have had the same experience on other airlines when travelling as a group even with different pnrs. All the luggage gets pooled, makes for a faster and more efficient check in. Don't see this as a major security issue.
#6
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,497
Air India bombing all over again ...
I always thought the principle is the bag has to positively match the passenger who owns it and follows him/her all along the journey.
#8
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
Terrorists can book in a group ticket and disappear somewhere along the way. His bags are tagged to someone else so they don't get offloaded even though he was a no-show on the connecting flight.
Air India bombing all over again ...
I always thought the principle is the bag has to positively match the passenger who owns it and follows him/her all along the journey.
Air India bombing all over again ...
I always thought the principle is the bag has to positively match the passenger who owns it and follows him/her all along the journey.
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,497
By that logic there wouldn't be any need to check hold luggage since they'll strap their explosives to their bodies and blow themselves up instead. Would that sort of security make sense?
#10
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
I think positive bag matching started after 9/11. Which doesn't make sense, because they didn't use their bags to crash the planes.
What you don't get is that many of these "safety rules" don't work for terrorists. They work for people who themselves are afraid to die (when they hurt others). But when you have people who are not afraid to die, the rules don't work anymore.
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,497
Yea, but it is pretty hard to get through even TSA with explosives strapped to your chest.
I think positive bag matching started after 9/11. Which doesn't make sense, because they didn't use their bags to crash the planes.
What you don't get is that many of these "safety rules" don't work for terrorists. They work for people who themselves are afraid to die (when they hurt others). But when you have people who are not afraid to die, the rules don't work anymore.
I think positive bag matching started after 9/11. Which doesn't make sense, because they didn't use their bags to crash the planes.
What you don't get is that many of these "safety rules" don't work for terrorists. They work for people who themselves are afraid to die (when they hurt others). But when you have people who are not afraid to die, the rules don't work anymore.
We can't guarantee terrorists will always use new methods to blow up a plane. The easiest way might be an old trick in the book?
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,497
You can definitely travel as a single within a group tour, no show, and sacrifice the other strangers in your "group".
#14
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
Group reservations don't need to be people who know each other. Tour groups comprise of strangers put together. There might be families within it but not everyone will know each other so to intermingle their checked bags.
You can definitely travel as a single within a group tour, no show, and sacrifice the other strangers in your "group".
You can definitely travel as a single within a group tour, no show, and sacrifice the other strangers in your "group".
Regardless as mentioned upthread positive passenger bag match is useless. Also checked bags are screened, can't just smuggle anything through. I got into hot sh*t in JNB once for a replica firearm (don't ask). I'd be scared on US originating flights rather about pax carrying hand guns onboard since that seems to be quite easy.