Priority Tag...What does it do?
 

Last week I posted about the apparent increase in staffing at the LAX RCC.

Last night I returned from BOS and went to claim my bag at Caroussel 1. BOS was in the queue behind HON, JFK and one other flight. For each flight, the priority bags CAME OFF THE CONVEYOR FIRST!

I was DUMBFOUNDED to see my bag come off third for the BOS flights, right after two other priority-tagged bags.

THEY ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION TO THE PRIORITY TAGS!!!

What's going on UA? Are you playing with my psyche? :confused: ;)

WOW!:eek: If this indeed is becoming SOP, all I can is ^ to UA!

Priority Tag..What does it do?
 

Does that Priority Tag you get actually do anything? I do know it doesn't prevent your bags from getting lost nor does it make your bag go around the luggage merry-go-round before anyone elses. What instructions do baggage handlers get for handling these specially tagged bags?

My opinion is that the tag puts a priority on ground staff messing with you. In my experience, it means nothing...

Timothy

... except some positive psychological impact for low self-esteem frequent flyers.

My experience lately is that the priority tag means more than it used to. It used to mean nothing. Now it means next-to-nothing.:)

I've had good luck with the priority tag when flying overseas both on UA and other *A carriers (TG, LX, and SQ). On all my recent international flights (about 10 flights) my bags have been within the first dozen on to the belt.

Domestically, I had basically concluded that it does absolutely nothing but a recent flight from DEN-BOS made me rethink that conclusion. My bags were #3 and #5 out of the doorway and I noticed that most of the bags in the first two dozen or so had priority tags and after those most did not. Perhaps the ramp rats at DEN are actually being trained on the meaning of the tags??? Perhaps things are improving!

All ready to be disappointed next time I fly,

Ryan...

The tag shows it may be worth riffling through the bag to see if there's anything worth stealing.

Flying int'l...it's worth something. Domestically...waste of paper.

Exactly what I was going to post.

Domestically, they are worthless. None of the stations I go to ever pay attention to them.

Internationally, they can be valuable. At stations like SIN or HKG or LHR, I've observed that they actually get those bags on the belt first, and the guys in baggage claim will grab the bags off of the belt and set them out for you so you can easily grab them when you get there.

Great...now I am going to worry about this happening. What if my luggage is a garbage bag with a priority tag. A baggage handlers conundrum.

I would say its very hit and miss domestically, with more miss historically. International it's usually more hit than miss.

On a recent NZ flight, one of my bags was the LAST one off at LAX. I was less than pleased (the other came off earlier but the priority tags were clearly ignored), but my luck is usually much better not that it gets exercised very often as I rarely check anything.

Mainly at UA hubs
 

I have found that the bright orange tags are useless...except at UA hubs where they actually seem to get the tagged luggage out sooner than other bags. Just my personal experience.

Amazingly on my last flight a week ago from LAX to JFK, the priority bags actually came out first. Never happened like that before.

I've even found them respected by non-*A carriers. I fly MSP-ORD-HKG on UA and then continue on to the Philippines on either CX or Philippine Airlines. Without fail, my bags come out with the priority bags belonging to their own elites.

I've had excellent luck to and from NRT with this, and fairly good luck on nonstops between Europe and other Asian destinations and SFO. My experience on *A carriers is very mixed On SAS, it's a check-in time placebo 100% of the time. On LH, you've got a chance.