Global_Hi_Flyer

You don't get it, do you? When I do 6 cities in 5 days, a lost bag will never catch up to me. Last bag I checked was about 10 years ago - on a biz trip to AMS - the bag caught up to me 2 days after the meeting in which I needed the clothing inside.

This isn't about doing things for YOUR convenience, it's about traveling for us, our families, and our employers.

studentff

And if you aren't smart enough to figure it out, using checked luggage is a massive inconvenience, especially for frequent fliers, that we should not be forced into by silly TSA rules that are based on paranoia and knee-jerk reactions instead of reasonable risk analysis.

I don't fly nearly as much as many of the people here; I do maybe 12-15 round trips per year. But if I waited 15 minutes in line to check a bag for each of those 24-30 checkins, and 30 minutes at baggage claim for each of those 24-30 arrivals, I've wasted 18 - 23 waking hours in a year. Many of the folks here fly 4x as many trips as I do; they're looking at wasting the equivalent of 2 workweeks waiting around for checked lugggage that they don't need.

Other major disadvantages of checked luggage likely to be encountered if you check luggage often:

It gets lost. More often than you might think. Much more often on certain carriers and certain routes. When it does get lost, it usually is "found" at the most inconvenient time. E.g., 2 hours after the key meeting of the trip. Or at 3 in the morning. The two most recent times an airline (US) has lost my checked luggage on my way home; I was rudely awakened by a call at 3 a.m. from the delivery driver saying he had my bag. Apparently sleep is a foreign concept to these people.

Many airlines reduce your travel flexibility if you have checked luggage. On UA voluntary standby for different flights is discouraged/disallowed if you check a bag. Many of us use voluntary standby frequently to take advantage of earlier/later flights and/or to avoid anticipated delays.

Theft. TSA seems to enjoy making it easy to steal from checked luggage; a suprising number of TSAers seem to enjoy stealing from checked luggage; and TSA seems to enjoy denying the theft statistics and using "privacy" excuses to avoid firing, punishing, and flogging those employees that are responsible for the theft.

Damage While TSA seems to enjoy stealing from luggage, the airlines seem to enjoy playing dodgeball with it. I can pack useful articles, say wine bottles, in carry-on luggage with virtually no padding because I know how it will be handled. Putting the same articles in checked baggage is a crapshoot regardless of how well it is packed. Interesting choice. Of course, TSA and it's idiot leader Kip Hawley think they are better qualified to make that choice for me.

Spiff

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Ignore User feature?

cpx

Yes, it was the same before minus the followings:

- Attitude ("Do you want to fly today" ..
and many more)
- Long lines
- SSSSS
- Shoe carnival
- take out your laptop and in the bin
- show your ID every step of the way
- no freedom of speech

TakeScissorsAway

So you're telling me there was no "attitude" before TSA ?

Spiff

I never received any attitude from the airport screeners except for that brief period of time after 9/11 when some imbecile (Mineta) decided to engage in Shoe Harassment and before the abomination that is the TSA was created.

Prior to 9/11, I never, ever got the sick, un-American attitude that is now a fixture at our nation's checkpoints.

cpx

Before the TSA, the screening staff at my local airport, knew me by name...
Even at other airports I've never experienced such attitude.

bocastephen

I agree. For 3 years I saw the same screener crew at FLL T2 (formerly T1) well before the TSA. Lines were unheard of and the screening process took me all of 30 seconds, week in and week out. They knew me and were at best friendly (saying hello) or at worst just didn't say anything. Stressed? Never. The screening process wasn't even an issue or something to think about. I never felt good or bad about it (as a customer, not as an aviation academic) and it was just a quick thing to walk through on my way to the Crown Room or gate.

Fast forward to today...I see the same TSA people at FLL T1, week in week out. The nasty ones are rude and nasty each and every time. The worst are the younger ones who snicker and make snarky remarks at various customers. The pleasant ones still act blissfully ignorant. The only people who actually stop me to say hello are the ID checker ladies, whose pleasant and friendly demeanor usually defuses the tension before I have to suck it up and enter the TSA's domain of hell.

FliesWay2Much

I agree & isn't it interesting that the ID checkers are a lot of the same contractor employees (at least the same companies) who did the screening back then?

cpx

I've seen the original people disappear one by one(or all at once)
after the TSA moved in... I've read some of them got re-trained and
hired by the TSA, but I see a lot of new faces now...and rarely anyone from
the original staff.

L-1011

I, too, agree with what has been said here. I never encountered any attitude from the private screeners until 9/22/2001 when they where "under new management" (and the first time I flew after the 9/11 incidents). I did have a problem understanding some of them, but I would take that any day compared to the awful arrogance, attitude and inconsitencies I get from the "professional" screeners we have today. Granted there are some that are very good and some are just OK, but it is the rotten apples in the group that destroy it for everybody else.

ND Sol

And what are the chances that it would be found in today's environment? Before you answer, remember, the largest domestic airport serving the largest metro area in the US had a 90%+ failure rate in a recent test that came to light.

whatsinyourbag

You fliers seem to forget to realize that we PAY Federal Income Taxes too... And as far as my message line, it's brought on by the way you all talk on this forum and act at the checkpoints...

whatsinyourbag

Didn't say for our convenience... I stated if the small amount is a problem, then place the larger items in your checked baggage...

whatsinyourbag

A majority of the time it is the idiotic passengers who misplaced and then "found" their item... And don't forget, the baggage handlers also have your bags...