Bags Bags Bags

[opusman]

My bags were almost last off after an F flight from LAX a few years ago, I had a whinge about it at the time.

 

[craven morehead]

Flew J from BKK-CPH-TXL a few years ago bags checked through and could not believe it when my bag was the very first out! Rarely, I find does the priority tag mean much at all.

 

[kermatu]

Yep, it's like Christmas when it actually works!

I've had my baggage not show up at all 3 times in the past few months (2 in the US on AA; one in Auckland on QF - where in Sydney they tried to put my case on an Air NZ flight). So now I'm usually just relieved to see it come out at all.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So are you suggesting if non priority comes off the a/c first that the baggage handlers offloading onto the delivery belt should hold non priority bags until such time as priority bags arrive? Thus holding everyone up, just to give the appearance of priority rather than just put what they have on the belt?

Yes - that's what I'm suggesting! In all likelihood people with priority bags are going to be among the first off the plane (sitting towards the front), and will be at the baggage belt first. If there's 100 bags on the luggage carts, you pick the ones with priority labels and send them up first.

Alternatively, the sorting could start when off loading bags at the plane... put priority ones on the right side of the luggage cart and non-priority ones on the left (or whatever), then again when the luggage carts get to the belt area you select those with priority first.

For containerised flights, if you open a container and the bags aren't priority, open the next one until you find them!

It works in Asia. Why not in Australia/UK/USA?

Priority bags are a huge advantage... first crack at quarantine (international), first crack at the taxi (international and domestic), first in line if you want to take public transport (can mean the difference between getting a seat or having to stand on the Skybus in MEL for example).

 

[Flying mermaid]

My bags were almost last off after an F flight from LAX a few years ago, I had a whinge about it at the time.

and our bags were almost last off when flying F from DFW in May. It made a huge difference as the plane was late in and if they had come off in the fist batch we might have made our connection, instead of having to spend another 2 hours in the lounge waiting. Our friends who were SG and travelling Y had the bags off way ahead of us.

However I think Qantas do care as I had a long chat to two lovely Qantas staff who were standing at the carousel and monitoring what was happening with bags as part of an attempt to make it work better.

 

[ajw373]

It works in Asia. Why not in Australia/UK/USA?

Might have something to do with the cost of labour. What your suggesting would potentially have a few guys standing around with their hands in their pockets, waiting for priority bags when they could be just delivering what is sitting there waiting for them. Though I do suspect the real issue isn't US/UK/Asia, but more long haul/short haul. BA for example doesn't even offer priority baggage on their short haul flights (they will tag them though) and they don't actually advertise it as a long haul benefit either. Maybe they subscribe to the theory of under promising and under delivering to stop complaints.

See

Compare the tiers | Executive Club | British Airways

and

https://www.oneworld.com/news-infor...nefits-for-its-most-frequent-flyers/maximized

See note 2

Priority bags are a huge advantage... first crack at quarantine (international), first crack at the taxi (international and domestic), first in line if you want to take public transport (can mean the difference between getting a seat or having to stand on the Skybus in MEL for example).

This assumes there are no other flights arriving. In quieter ports like Cairns, Canberra etc, may well be an advantage, but Melbourne, too many flights coming in at once. Take Skybus for example, even if your bag was first off and your cleared customs fast you might get to the bus just as one is leaving and not get a seat, or arrive just as one is pulling up. Luck of the draw. Same too with taxis.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Might have something to do with the cost of labour. What your suggesting would potentially have a few guys standing around with their hands in their pockets, waiting for priority bags when they could be just delivering what is sitting there waiting for them.

It's not suggesting that, rather a more efficient process.

As each bag comes down the conveyor from the plane's hold, priority bags are put to the left, non-priority stacked to the right. Everyone is occupied. There's no change to what baggage handlers are doing now, just that they have to put a bag left, or right instead of piling them up on top of each other.

When the luggage carts all get into the terminal (there's a whole string of them joined together), the baggage handlers pick those that are priority. Each cart is not delivered separately, by a separate driver, to the terminal. There's a train of them.

There's no waiting around, no additional cost of labour.

It's a simple issue. With a simple solution. or maybe another solution borrowed from Asia.

Arriving at MEL - I'd still rather be #40 in the taxi queue than #187 in the taxi queue!

 

[cove]

Have never had my bag out as number one ever in 45 years of flying and I have no conspiracy theory. My best ever was fifth.

 

[token01]

Correct @banger2. used to be the 767's but they are long gone. Now are the 737's. Haven't seen a cheeky a320 with the new seats yet on my flights.
Apologies for getting the containers thing wrong. Just realised I have seen the boys throwing in the bags from the conveyor a plethora of times.

 

[mannej]

Correct @banger2. used to be the 767's but they are long gone. Now are the 737's. Haven't seen a cheeky a320 with the new seats yet on my flights.
Apologies for getting the containers thing wrong. Just realised I have seen the boys throwing in the bags from the conveyor a plethora of times.

A320 with new seats? You might be a tad confused here...

 

[token01]

@Mel_Traveller. I agree with you. If you publish a benefit i.e priority bag tags then enforce it. I would not have a care in the world or a leg to stand on if the benefit wasn't listed. But when you plan for your bags to be out in an expected time frame for whatever reason and they continually do not, it gives the mandible a good work out for a couple minutes.

@ajw37 Unfortunate to hear what happened to you on SQ. My experience on them with bags has been 99.99% positive with priority bag tags and have actually notice family members bags who are solitaire members to have them come out first usually before the rest.

@cove. Thats crazy. Then again the only time i remember having my bag being number 1 was on a Qantas link flight to Mt Hotham after they ran out of space for handbags and took it under last minute.

 

[token01]

I sure am. I meant the new seats used to PER etc. a330 is it? Apologies

 

[Cynicor]

Have never had my bag out as number one ever in 45 years of flying and I have no conspiracy theory. My best ever was fifth.

That's some terrible luck Cove, considering you only fly premium classes.

My bag must have been first out at least 5-10 times over the last 5 years. I do go through SIN and BKK a lot though, this helps things.

On Thursday in CPH with a tight connection and last minute checked luggage my bag was close to last out. And it took FOREVER. Even the cabin crew were looking at their watches (and they got their bags before mine )
Luckily I made the connection before luggage cutoff.

 

[Cynicor]

I sure am. I meant the new seats used to PER etc. a330 is it? Apologies

A330-200 and -300s. 320s are single aisle pond hoppers.

 

[cove]

Cynicor I started flying premium post 1984 when I had bypass surgery. From the sixties thru to 1994 it was all Qantas economy. A near death experience bought me my first Lexus and premium travel. None of that speeds up my bags.

 

[JohnK]

I agree that priority bags with QF is VERY hit and miss, I hope for you that VA is better at it, but I still haven't found a single carrier which consistently delivers on priority bags. I used to hate BA, but then last year they admitted they never cared about the OW priority tag.

VA is not much better.

If you have status best thing to do is have a drink in the lounge after the flight and bag will be waiting for you when you get to carousel.

 

[jono88888]

If you have status best thing to do is have a drink in the lounge after the flight and bag will be waiting for you when you get to carousel.

Might have to be a long drink. Last Friday after arriving in SYD from ADL, at carousel had to wait for 30 minutes for the first bag to make an appearance. This was made even more frustrating by lack of bags on any other carousels, don't know where the handlers were during that time.

 

[bPeteb]

Qantas never, most recent experience to and from JFK from BNE, three bags, all tagged, all finally dropping out in last couple of dozen each time. Malaysian every time, always first couple of dozen, once in BNE first down on to the carousel. That morning we were in a cab 15 minutes after they opened the door.

 

[JohnK]

Might have to be a long drink. Last Friday after arriving in SYD from ADL, at carousel had to wait for 30 minutes for the first bag to make an appearance. This was made even more frustrating by lack of bags on any other carousels, don't know where the handlers were during that time.

What time on Friday was this lengthy wait? I generally arrive in SYD ~8:00pm and head to lounge for ~10m-15m and by the time I am downstairs my bag is the only one left on the carousel.

 

[cove]

We did the QF18 LAX-SYD that then fed into the QF581 to PER. In PER our bags came out in the early group probably because the bag transfer from International to Domestic would have been close to the departure time.