Originally Posted by huts
I picked someone up from IAD last week (he had an int'l itinery, but IAD wasn't his Port-of-Entry). I got to the baggage carousel earlier than he did, so was looking at multiple bags to see if I could spot his luggage by looking at the airline luggage tags (I didn't know what his bags were like.) Didn't know I could be looked upon as a THIEF :eek: :mad:

Give everyone a fair chance will ya. If you actually see a person w/the above mentioned behavior walking away w/a bag that you know is yours, I understand you making such comments. Just 'caus someone is looking at different bags doesn't mean s/he's a thief :td:

To the OP: I think your observation is funny :D According to your defn I guess I was a carousel monkey last week at IAD ;)

Then you shouldn't be encountering the human picket fence you were mentioning as you collect your luggage. Also the back and forth is likely unnecessary for the same reason as the crowds are usually around the dumping point, the back end of the carousel is normally close to deserted ...

Two comments:

I, too, try to stand back and approach the belt only when I see my bag. The trouble is that sometimes I can't see it because of all the inconsiderate slobs who have to push their way forward. It's also not always possible to go to the end of the belt; there are still lots of places (HNL and LHR, for two) where the belt is circular, and the crowd forms around the whole thing -- usually just in time for the announcement that the bags are actually coming in on two carousels simultaneously, and you have to guess which one yours will be on.

To be generous, I'm sure that at least one of the characters mentioned in the original post could be color blind, and all dark suitcases look alike. That's not an excuse for the quantities we've all seen, of course, but you never know which time it really applies (and it certainly doesn't excuse the pawing at the uniquely-marked bags, such as the one with a couple dozen security stickers on it).

I'll second the situation with HNL -- big planes + smallish carousels = no open spots.

I have the ubiquitous black bags, but I put large strips of blue tape around them on all 6 sides so I can easily spot them as they come down the carousel. If you're on my flight, please use red tape so we don't confuse our bags.

We use colored straps. We did it as a security measure--a failed zipper won't dump our stuff and it makes it that much harder for a thief. However it works wonderfully for identifying our bags on the carousel. I have never had any question whether the bag coming is ours or not even when I'm barely catching a glimpse of it on the other side of the system. (While US carousels aren't see-through we fly to PVG and there the whole thing is basically flat. Numerous things stick up in the center but you can see past them.)

I experimented a little on my last flight and did the "stand back and wait" carousel technique mentioned by a few folks in this thread. I honestly had never heard of that method prior to this thread.

In any case, both times other passengers just walked in front of me and camped out on the edge of the carousel. I can see how one could become frustrated by that. Overall, It does make sense to stand back and wait, but it really only works if everyone else does it, too.

The stand and waiters seem to be a very small minority, so I'm gonna go back to the "grab your spot on the belt" routine.

I arrvied in BOS late last night and there was apparently two flights arriving at the same time, one from DTW and one from MSP(?).

Everyone was at one luggage carousel and everyone was crowded as close as possible. This created the problem when someone would grab a bag everyone in their vicinity needed to back up to make room for their bag and for their exit from the area... since people were standing 4-5 deep it took awhile for people to move back. So the people grabbing their bag were getting their bags knocked about by the other luggage still on the carousel.

The second problem seemed to be the people who had the bag that looked like every other bag... and they would check each and every bag, there were two who would pull off a bag, look at the tag or look at the bag itself to try to determine if it was there. Several times since it was so crowded these people could not get the bag themselves so others would grab it for them and pass it back around the carousel... then the person who realize that it wasn't there bag and put it back on the carousel. :rolleyes:
If this had happened once or twice it wouldn't have been a real problem or so funny. But it happened at least five times with one person and seven times with another. And they were standing a few people away from each other it probably just highlighted the scenario all the more. Several people around me watching them and chuckling.

In my section, since I was 1 person away from the carousel I had several people ask me to grab their bag(s). In all 3 cases these people had used some ribbon or some other identifying feature on their luggage so they were sure it was their's.

My bag, of course, had my bright yellow Flyertalk.com luggage tag so I spotted it right away. ;)

I bought leopard-print luggage last spring for this very reason. I haven't had any "carousel monkey" problems since then.

I tend to stand in the area toward the end of the carousel so I have plenty of time to spot my bag and maneuver up through the "carousel lice" (perfect name for the people that stand right next to the carousel) and grab my bag.

This reminds me of a time I returned home at GPT, and among the many others waiting, a tourist family was also at the carousel, complete with their kids who thought our maddening game of Luggage Roulette was indeed a game. With the emergence of EVERY SINGLE BAG one kid would ask, "Is that it?". Now imagine 50 consecutive "Is that it?"'s? Finally, I could take no more, and I loudly said, "OK, THAT'S ENOUGH. IT'S NOT CUTE ANYMORE." While the parents skulked off in embarrassment, I got smiles of approval from all, and literally several people applauding me. True story.

Parents, the flying experience, EVERY PART OF IT, is NOT YET ANOTHER GAME for your kids. Control 'em!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

same exact thing happened to me once.....my two bags were the only ones left and they had been the first ones to come out thanks to the priority tags....

Excuse me sir
 

Being sufficiently over 6 feet tall, I can see just fine standing back, so I allow those less fortunate to take the real estate at the belt. Then, I fully expect folks to make room when I say "excuse me, (pronoun), here comes my bag." Not that I wait for a response.

By the way, see that really really ugly bag coming down the belt?
That's mine.

I still chuckle about the first time my mother-in-law visited us. She'd never been in an airplane before. But, being a practical person, she figured out just what to do. As I went to retrieve her bags for her, she said they'd be easy to find because the luggage straps were dayglo orange.

No, I'm a dork too. Last trip, I semi-forgot that I'd replaced my navy/grey Samsonite roller bag with a bright screaming blue Delsey one. So, round and round the carousel went, and I didn't see Fred (yes, I name my luggage) anywhere and was starting to freak. And then Bloo rolled on by and I went...duhhhhh!

I think pretty much whatever you do, it'll be annoying to wait for luggage.

We had the everyone-thinks-it's-theirs black bags, so I tied a rainbow strap
around it; still everyone had to check it. So I replaced it with a bright
purple bag, and asked the kids to go crazy decorating it with stickers. I
am sure it is completely unique...and yet, others seemed interested in the
bag.

But the "great" thing is, that since I couldn't carry on water or mouthwash,
and since the airplanes are all now so full, and so delayed, and since I'd
been checked several times by TSA, that we were all grumpy and thus
beyond caring by the time it was luggage-retrieval duty. ;)

I will say that I think one person per party should be in the 'active waiting'
zone, and it should be someone capable of lifting the bags. Otherwise it
is just too crowded. I will make a case that sometimes, that person can
be a well-behaved older child, say age 9+, who knows the rules and
his/her duty to lift the bag and put it next to him/her and wait patiently.
That way, for instance, Mom and younger sibs can wait out of everyone's
way but within visual range.

--LG

I'd just call such a person a "moron".