He's right. As I've posted several times in this thread and others, UA employees at various stations have repeatedly told me there is no domestic policy to prioritize priority-tagged bags. I've actually taken the time to ask any baggage handler or supervisor I encounter during my travels, just because so many FTers incorrectly claim that there must be a priority policy domestically based only on their personal experiences.


Well, not totally... it's still supposed to help internationally, which tends to match my personal experiences.

I have not seen much effect of the priority tags domestically or internationally. On my last international trip, my bag came out one of the dead last, with a few other priority-tagged bags. In international airports where UA has a very small number of flights and subcontracts local baggage handlers, there does not even seem to be an easy way to implement the policy, except to pay extra to do extra work required, which is unlikely.

I could not disagree more. Okay - well maybe I could find some way to disagree more.

However, I travel with some really large heavy cases quite often, and it's such a joy to see them be two of the first 5 or so bags off nearly every time. At my home airport, PDX, my little red rollerboard comes out in the first hand-full of bags EVERY time.

Wow, you're lucky. That's not my experience at all.
I rarely check bags, but have to when I go skiing. On my last ski trip (Dec/Jan) as a 1K flying nonstop from a HUB to another freaking HUB, my bag was put on the incorrect flight in BOTH directions.
On the outbound, I was told my bag would be delivered. It never was, and I had to go BACK to the airport to get it :mad:
On the return, my bag was delivered at 6am on a Sunday morning. :mad: :mad:

All bags had priority tags. Priority my a$$! :td:

Priority Baggage the last on the conveyer belt
 

Anyone ever had this happen to them?

Yesterday, at NRT, non-priority baggage for the flight from BKK came several minutes after the non-priority baggage was distributed.

UA's intra-Asia flights have relatively few people whose final destination is Japan, so after only 10 or so minutes, the bags stopped coming out. I nearly panicked for a few minutes, wondering if I finally joined the lost-bag-club (on the same day I got to try New International F for the first time :P). But then all the priority bags came about another 5 minutes later. Some bags were a bit wet from the rain.

Now, I'm not going to pull the compensation trigger (this is NRT's fault), but I thought this obvious mixup was a bit annoying. Other elites could have legitimately missed a train or bus they could have otherwise caught if the bags came out on time. I myself had to catch a train to Yokohama that left at 3:15 instead of 3:00, but that allowed me to get a drink at Starbucks to compensate. :)

I have. In my case, they had an issue with one of the baggage doors on a 777, and it held (most of?) the priority-tagged bags. Never thought to ask for compensation, but it put me behind EVERYONE going through customs. :(

Sure, lots of times, both domestic and international. There's a running joke on FT about priority bags, but the wording escapes me at the moment ;)

Many times. Back in 2006 when the liquid rule was first in place I checked bags three times on UA. My bags were last off twice (once at PHX and once at BFL) and then with the last in PHX.

My bag has been the last one on 2 occasions in SFO returning from international trips.

In Asia the airlines generally do a pretty good job of ensuring priority tagged bags are out quickly.

I used to be a cross utilized agent for a small UAX station. In terms of checked baggage being put on the carousel first - it would take an extra 15-20 minutes to sort each bag out to ensure the priority tags got put on first, since ALL the bags came from the same compartment, and went into the one luggage cart we would use. Laws of diminishing returns there. Since we would generally work the CRJ or the ERJ, it would at most be 70 bags, and usually only 40, so hopefully no one missed something important because their bag didn't come out first. :P

However! When the time came and we would have to pull off bags for weight and balance (yes, I know people off first...) anyhow - if bags got pulled, the priority tagged bags would stay. So, in fact, they could be helpful.

Good for your station, but there have been reports of the opposite. I think it was robotdoctor a few years back whose bag of tools were left behind and it was blamed on w&b ... He was a GS at the time and his bag was appropriately tagged.

The priority tag has been working very well for me the last few months. I'm pleased w/the results. Plus, I feel important that it says priority haha

That's terrible, Goingaway. I don't think anyone ever wants to ruin someone else's travel plans. Much less a GS member.

+1

I feel the same way! However, my bag came out close to the end at LHR. It was priority tagged...:mad: