My last five trips (including one codeshare to UA from Italy) my priority tagged bag has been in the first 10 bags on the carousel. Last 2 flights, my bag was the first through the curtain. On my last trip prior to this current streak, my priority-tagged bag was third to last on to the carousel, long after ALL the other priority bags had come out, so I'm guessing it fell to the side somewhere in the process and was noticed as the handlers were putting things away.

My experiences with the priority tags are the exact opposite. Although I rarely check bags the times I have into DEN/MYR/ATL/CLT/ORD/SAV/PHX over the past few years and multiple times to a few of those my bag has been among the first few down. Exception being golfs clubs in DEN where they come on the oversized area along the wall and always take forever.

Over the past couple years those tags have done wonders for me domestically with zero lost luggage and almost always first out.

Guess it all depends or I'm extremely lucky.

In my recent experience as a 1P who has upgraded to business class, most of the time the priority tag has seemed to help get my bags out with the first 20-30 bags, and it seemed that most of those bags were priority marked. This was with LAX, IAD, PHL.

A recent trip ORD-SNA had all the bags delayed to 25 minutes after gate arrival and my bag came out at the end of the bunch. It was a late night flight so maybe the ground crew just wasn't as sharp as could be.

Yesterday flew LAX-IAD (which also had continuation onto AMS) on UA946. We arrived 20 minutes early at D concourse. My ride wasn't for another hour based on the original arrival time so I took my time and sat dealing with some email correspondence. By the time I arrived at the baggage carousel, it was almost 40 minutes after landing. The bags were still not there and there were at least 3 flights scheduled to unload at the carousel. Most of the 946 passengers were there. After awhile I inquired with a baggage CSA there and she indicated the bags were still coming, and mine were just scanned off the plane at literally 60 minutes after landing, 50 minutes after gate arrival.

On getting back to the carousel, a child and her mom were wondering out loud why the bags were taking so long. Imagine my surprise when my bags popped out within the first 5 bags off. As I retrieved them, I mentioned that maybe the delay was because baggage people had to sort the bags coming off by the priority tags and pull/reload bags bound to AMS.

Maybe an anomaly for sure to be this late. But stuff happens and 300+ bags probably every 10 minutes is tough to work with. I'm always glad to get my bags when I do check them, and that's what counts.

So for me, UA is 97% on target with my bags in the last 5 years, and when they did misplace the bags, they were delivered within 4-6 hours depending on next flights.

YMMV.

For IAD, an hour wait is NOT an anamoly, but SOP IME ... it's why I so rarely check luggage when returning to Dulles. I usually assume it'll be minimum 60 minutes extra for the "privilege". Late night flights are especially horrible as they have so few baggage folks out on the ramp, they unload multiple flights and bring the bags over together.

The international luggage dump seems to be the best, probably since those areas only have so much capacity and CBP wants to keep people moving along.

While this didn't affect me in my tiny UAX station - in large, mainline jets with several cargo holds - the priority tagged bags are usually separated out as the bags are loaded, placed in their own compartment - so there should be no waiting for baggage handlers to sort at the carousel.

I've never worked IAD ramp, so I have no idea why it takes so long, other than as GoingAway said - low staffing at night being an easily explained culprit.

Just for the record, it's not necessarily NRT's fault, either. If the folks at BKK didn't load the plane properly, or annotate the container with the priority bags, then the ramp rats at the downline station are pretty much helpless.

There's one hub that has a reputation among the rampies for not loading priority bags correctly. You get three guesses which one, and the first two don't count! (In fairness, it has gotten much better in recent times.)

Several times, all at IAD!

Narita is generally the best airport in the system for getting priority bags out first. There is also a baggage agent (BA) walking around the carousel and if you ask the BA, they can check you name or scan your stub and tell you precisely wear on the conveyor system your bag is. UA's BAs in Tokyo are incredibly responsive. One time, I was on crutches and they offered to help carry my bags out to the bus, parking lot of wherever I was going. They are very good.

It's happened to me at FRA, SFO, JFK, and ORD! Mind you, I rarely fly (I'm 1P-lite) and generally only to these places. I've also had my priority-tagged bags be within the first wave of bags. YMWV!

My view is that a bag is not delayed if it arrives with you. The solution would be that United stop using the Priority tags. No priority tags no frivolous complaints. "Compensation trigger"? get serious.

I would say, in my experience, this was unusual as I have found the Asian airports to be the best at getting the Priority bags out - I fly frequently to NRT, ICN, HKG & BKK and 90% of the time the priority bags are out 1st. As opposed to 50% (or less) domestically.

You probably were the victim of them concentrating on all the transfer bags 1st - maybe there were some short connections going on...

This does not merit compensation. You got your bags, it just turned out that they came out slightly late. If you think you deserve compensation for this, then it won't be long before UA gets rid of the priority tag.

Now that the thread I originally commented on is merged into the larger Priority Tag thread, I'd like to comment that I've twice checked a bag on US this year (once PHX-LAS and once UA LAX-PHX, US PHX-LAS) and both times it's come out with the first ten bags ^

Bad Priority Tag story:

Was flying MUC-ORD-SFO. Had to recheck in ORD after passing though customs.

Some priority tagged bags came off first, some came off last. Not sure if it was MUC or ORD who messed this up.

Now, it was a 777 and as I understand it all bags are in containers. Is there a priority container?

The last time I checked a bag on UA was in 2005 (!). I was a bit apprehensive today checking it at all BTV-ORD-SFO (but it had to be done if I was to get some precious Vermont maple products home). ORD-SFO was an oversold B747, arriving in SFO International Terminal G with bags going to a Terminal 3 Domestic carousel. My bag was the very first one to appear! Bravo, UA! ^