Please see:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum50/HTML/000539.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum50/HTML/001954.html

Premex's site was working fine for me two minutes ago, except for the manifests .jpg (but not the manifest - singular - .jpg which was fine).

My only comment is that UA Priority bags for me have always been off first, altho I nearly always travel to and from Itl flites on UA, but even so bags at end US destination are usually off in first container on belt.

HOWEVER, the rider here is that the usual method now to highlight "IMPORTANT" baggage is those pointed tags the agent "sandwiches" between your white route tags.

Priority is a bright Flouro Orange and really is visible. It'l FIRST is a dull looking deep blue and black, and simply does not stand out visually.

BOTH tags stick out at 90� to the white route tags. Both therefore easily break off or tear off in transit. UA are pretty much alone with this odd system from my experience. I always politely ask the agent to use TWO such tags, and most are happy to oblige. If one tears off, the other still shows.

MOST other airlines still use an elastic secured separate Priority/1st type tagging, which (a) survives bag handling better, and (b) is larger and easier to see by their staff.

OZstamps -

UA also now has an yellow F equivalent (says "United First") to the orange priority tags that are much more visible than the old bruise colored flags.

It was explained to me that part of the reason they changed systems with the priority tags is that many, many people just left the old elastic F tags on their bags and received priority handling when they weren't flying F. With this system, it's not possible to reuse them, as they (as you point out) come off easily over the course of a trip, or when the agent puts on a new bag check tag.

Greg

Greg, good to hear, but ... I got black and blue 1st tags 3 weeks ago! Checked on at IAD to SYD, and IAD is a hub.

Yes, that age-old problem of the previous flight tags is pretty easily fixed by check-in staff simply tearing off other airline or previous flight tags on non-applicable bags! Seems a lot simpler than the present system, as these tags being paper/card simply TEAR! If they used their brains and made them from flexible plastic or thin nylon type stuff the effect would be the same and 90% more would survive long trips.

I like that "bruise coloured" description ... "black and blue" .. just dawned on me!

You'd think Star * would create a bright COMMON use tag for ALL their carriers to use, then on-line transfers of bags would be evident to all staff on all dozen or so airlines. Each airline would have their logo on tags, but they would be predominently of the * common design

I've gotten the orange Star Alliance tags on SK and LH before. With that I would have thought that it would have been star wide, but that would make too much sense.

By the way, I have never had an orange tag tear off.

I think that the stations use the old materiel until they run out, and then they get the new ones (ever cost conscious - those guys @ UAL - we won't talk about the change in livery before some stations had stocks with the old one).

I had the old F class cabin bag tags in Hong Kong and Narita in May.

Why they still have them @ IAD, I couldn't tell you. You'd think they would have the volume of pax to clear them out.

Re: tearing off old tags - I have to admit that it always annoys me when UA, etc. tear off tags from other carriers like SQ, with the big orange PRIORITY tags that could NEVER be confused for UA tags, but help me pick my bag out from the other 793 black wheelie bags @ SFO. If it doesn't/didn't belong to you (the airline) and it can't confuse the baggage handler by sending it off to another city, or give me priority treatment on YOUR airline I'm not entitled to - LEAVE IT ALONE

Said my piece.

Greg

I guess airlines have to have a policy .. otherwise a person checking in a bag on the cheapest possible coach ticket with 26 multi airline "express" and "priority" type tags wil get his bag faster many times than the guy paying $7,000 in First with his one miserable "bruised" tag!

I just posted an amazing deal on the CO chat site here. Australia to USA return for $US365. (Wish United matched THAT one!) I asked CO what a First ticket cost on same route .. answer $US5,115.00 ONE WAY!

Re tags coming off, try checking in your bag 10,000 miles away from end destination, with 3 or 4 or often more on-line transfers, which I mostly do, and see how many orange paper tags stay on! As I said, plastic has gotta be the simple answer.

I am a new PremEx with UA but have been a Super Elite with AC for a long time and I did travel frequently with UA having by bag checked with the Priority tag attached to it, both North America and International. This never works.

One time on an international flight on UA, they put the tag on my bag and my bag got out the last one when I arrived in CDG .

I asked the UA employee standing by who told me (in french): "That is normal, you are not flying business or first class. The tag doesn't mean nothing if you are not flying business or first class."

I had better luck now that I am PremEx with UA.

I have had pretty good luck with them. LGA is the worst, both for UA and AC. Of course, smaller aircraft like the 737 aren't palletized, so there is not a priority container which comes off first.

My only problem is that I have to keep "reminding" agents to put them on the bags at check in.

You would figure that an agent working at a J/*Gold check in line would be used to putting tags on all the checked bags.

Interestingly, on AC, my baggage tag itself always reads "J/C" regardless of class of service--so in computerized sorting centre's the computer record shows the priority, as well.

Yes, all Star Gold members enjoy priority handlings on their bags. The red tag, with the "Priority" word, is designed for all Star Alliance interline bags and all United Business bags. For the new orange "United First" tags, they are for first class passengers on United domestic and international flights.

When the policy implemented a few years ago, I had a big arguement with one of United's "I don't give a sh*t"" agent at LAX. Then I wrote to United and I was right. All Prem Ex had access to the priority tags.

Nevertheless, does it work like CX or SQ priority tags? Not really. At BOS and ABQ, priority tags usually came early. But SFO and LAX, the bags came out in no particular order. For Air Canada, it has been pretty good at YYZ. The red tags came out first.

Carfield

On US Domestic flights, I think it's akin to having a "Fragile" sticker on the bag... Priority bags always seem to come off last.

Worst airport has to be SNA (Orange County). In general UA bags take AGES (25 minutes - 40 minutes) to come off the baggage claim. AA, NW, WN, DL and CO's bags NEVER take as long as UA at SNA. (And UA has quite a few ramp employees). If AA or DL can unload a 757 in MUCH less time than UA, what is going on?

HINT: Travel light when flying to SNA so you can just bring carry-ons...



[This message has been edited by NickP 1K (edited 07-06-2000).]

Maybe they thought Priority means "First to get loaded onto the plane?

Maybe it was... If it was last to load, first off of the plane. It is now at the bottom of the baggage truck and therefore the last on the belt.