Priority luggage, enough is enough.

[AVC]

When you think about it:

Small planes like the 737 are hand loaded via a conveyor belt, and heavies like the 747 are "containerised".

Problem is, both types are unloeded into a mini road train. So let's say your priority bag is first out of the hold, whether it be loose or in a big shiny box, it gets laoded onto a cart until it's full (for hand loaded) and the train moves forward one trailer length and the next trailer is loaded. Then the little train zips off to the belt. Where we can presume there is more than one guy unloading it all onto a belt, mixing priority with non.

For priority to work they would need to hold the luggage until it's last loaded, so it's first off. Then they would need to take the prio luggage straight to the belt once it's all out of the hold.

 

[moa999]

Certainly I have seen them loading the road train on a 737. The Priority bags were placed at the front of the train, general baggage at the back.
Bags were loaded back first, so the priority ones were at the front.

Issue is it depends on a few groups of people
1. Initial loader on trolley
2. Loader onto plane
3. Unloader from plane
4. Loader onto belts.

 

[samh004]

My priority baggage worked well at Horn Island or so I was told, pity I was in Darwin :shock:

Good to hear for my trip in June, so long as it doesn't end up in DRW

Works well for me, but then I don't check anything in

 

[CaviAck]

I have also been advised by the check in staff in CNS to use paper tags as they believe the RF tags to be unreliable - maybe it's worse when leaving from a regional port - do they have the same electronic equipment - no idea really? I have also had the unusual situation where all other bags had come off and been collected (CNS again) when I went to baggage services to report they went out back and sure enough there was my bag (they just hadn't put it on the belt, again maybe with no paper tag they didn't know where it was going??
Although I have to say that it doesn't seem to get much better with paper but at least they do arrive.

I've noticed that at CNS they use handheld scanners and sometimes they have to scan it a few times before it works, not sure about major airports like SYD/MEL/BNE, haven't seen them in action at the desks.

As for priority, I once caught a flight with a college from HBA to CNS last year. His flight came in from HBA and the same plane was used for SYD-HBA, he was a WP1 and had business tags (the kind that sticks out and wasn't just printed on the paper tags). When it came to pick the bags off the belt, priority bags worked alright, for the ones that checked in at SYD. It seemed all the luggage from SYD came out first and any other connecting flights came out after that. Went something like SYD priority, intl connections priority and non priority, rest of SYD, priority domestic connection, rest of connections (there were a few mixed up but that was the general groupings). This was off a non-BSI 73H.

I checked in at SYD as a NB and my bags came out just before the priority domestic connections.

 

[ajw373]

Different area does not always mean separate, as is the case with the Q400s etc, where they will get loaded last, in the hope being first out onto a different trolley will see them in first to the carousel, if the aircraft is in a tight turnaround timeframe that will often mean they all go in together resulting in no priority on the belt.

I don't believe that priority luggage is a "benefit" of Q400 flying. Beside if they were last in and first out then they would be on the bottom of the baggage trolley and hence last out on the carousel!

 

[robbie1984]

Virgin seem to be able to manage it much better for me and the use mostly 737's so I dont think the excuse of not having a separate area sticks. The worst port I've found either on QF or VA is CNS so I'm not sure why it seems so bad there. Everywhere else has been often the first bag out.

 

[ajw373]

When you think about it:

Small planes like the 737 are hand loaded via a conveyor belt, and heavies like the 747 are "containerised".

Problem is, both types are unloeded into a mini road train. So let's say your priority bag is first out of the hold, whether it be loose or in a big shiny box, it gets laoded onto a cart until it's full (for hand loaded) and the train moves forward one trailer length and the next trailer is loaded. Then the little train zips off to the belt. Where we can presume there is more than one guy unloading it all onto a belt, mixing priority with non.

For priority to work they would need to hold the luggage until it's last loaded, so it's first off. Then they would need to take the prio luggage straight to the belt once it's all out of the hold.

With 737's that is normally what that do. Ie the priority baggage goes onto a dedicated trolley that gets loaded last (normally in the front hold). It gets offloaded first onto dedicated trolleys that get to the belt first. The issue however is bags that arrive for loading late, due to a late check-in pax or delayed transfer also get mixed up with the priority baggage, thus giving some with priority the impression they are being hard done by. Also as they often unload the back at the same time it is quite possible that some of those bags may arrive before or at the same time as the priority bags.

All cough aside the only time where priority really matters is on the larger aircraft that take more time to unload. On a 737 it matters diddly squat weather ones bag takes 5 minutes or 8 minutes to unload and appear.

 

[Blackbird]

I had this problem in CNS last November. Bag did not come out at all after 737 flight from BNE.
Delay was 25 mins.

Spoke with the baggage guy on duty (very helpful.)
Said that the as Qtags have no label on them, handlers don't know where bag is going.
As bags come off the plane in CNS, there is no scanner at the aircraft.
Bag is set to the side and has to be taken to the tranship area for scanning to find out where it is going - CNS or connecting flight.
This occurs after all the bags have been unloaded from the aircraft.
737 poblem as 767 bags are in pallets.

So you get priority bags at regional airports (CNS/TSV) on 737 aircraft when there are possible connecting flights.
Priority is LAST.
So use normal paper tags best option.

 

[TheEmu]

I am based in Townsville and have had my luggage go missing (particularly on qf978) more than 6 times in 1 year. It usually turns up within 24 hours. The Townsville Qantas check in staff have advised us not to use the Q-tags as they are the cause of it. Complaints to Qantas regarding the Q-tags resulted in an offer to send some new tags, but I have three sets (silver, gold and plat) and each have been lost a similar number of times.

Sounds at least like they're consistent and non-discriminatory!
Never had luggage go missing (rarely check any in) but have been similarly advised by TSV check-in staff. I flew QF978 last night and checked a bag in (originating from SYD (QF540)) using the bag tag and bag drop station. Bag came out in the last half dozen.

 

[1022]

And are baggage handlers an airport employee, or an employee of the airline?

They're all QF employees on something like $80k aren't they? Didn't they all go on strike last year when it was suggested that perhaps they are already a pretty sweet deal considering the...ahem...intellectual demands of the job. Clearly looking at the colour of Q tags is an absolutely unreasonably, onerous demand...

 

[MH_fan]

They're all QF employees on something like $80k aren't they? Didn't they all go on strike last year when it was suggested that perhaps they are already a pretty sweet deal considering the...ahem...intellectual demands of the job. Clearly looking at the colour of Q tags is an absolutely unreasonably, onerous demand...

OMG. I hope you're kidding about that salary.

 

[CaviAck]

OMG. I hope you're kidding about that salary.

He isn't, QANTAS staff are one of the better paid in the industry! (thank the unions)

 

[trippin_the_rift]

When QF say priority baggage, they mean you will get a 2x2cm black square on your tag indicating it's a priority bag.

It doesn't signify your bag will get any kind of special treatment.

 

[CaviAck]

When QF say priority baggage, they mean you will get a 2x2cm black square on your tag indicating it's a priority bag.

It doesn't signify your bag will get any kind of special treatment.

When did QF switch over to printing a black square? I know for early July last year they were still using add on tags, like AA do, that stick out from the paper tag.

 

[MH_fan]

He isn't, QANTAS staff are one of the better paid in the industry! (thank the unions)

Now, I am officially outraged. Junior doctors who have far more responsibility and longer hours get paid less than that!

 

[dfcatch]

Now, I am officially outraged. Junior doctors who have far more responsibility and longer hours get paid less than that!

But the doctors get the perk of sticking their fingers up people's bums

Surely that counts for extra $$$

 

[MH_fan]

But the doctors get the perk of sticking their fingers up people's bums

Surely that counts for extra $$$

Only if they get to use at least 2 fingers! :mrgreen:

 

[samh004]

When did QF switch over to printing a black square? I know for early July last year they were still using add on tags, like AA do, that stick out from the paper tag.

Ages ago, since shortly after NGCI went live.

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>

All cough aside the only time where priority really matters is on the larger aircraft that take more time to unload. On a 737 it matters diddly squat weather ones bag takes 5 minutes or 8 minutes to unload and appear.

Sometimes it does (with a 737) ... where taxis are in short supply or where the queue is filling fast. One experience in HBA where there were only 3 taxis waiting. By the time my 'priority' bag struggled into view on the carousel, they were all long gone, then a 15 min wait for next batch to arrive. Can be similar in Sydney at peak times. A 5 min delay for bags can mean an additional delay in the taxi queue, sometimes significant if there's a surge of pax joining the queue in the meantime.

 

[Danger]

I think we've discovered the real reason Q tags were introduced: so frequent flyers can't easily determine just how bad priority baggage is.

Different area does not always mean separate, as is the case with the Q400s etc, where they will get loaded last, in the hope being first out onto a different trolley will see them in first to the carousel, if the aircraft is in a tight turnaround timeframe that will often mean they all go in together resulting in no priority on the belt.

When you think about it:

Small planes like the 737 are hand loaded via a conveyor belt, and heavies like the 747 are "containerised".

Problem is, both types are unloeded into a mini road train. So let's say your priority bag is first out of the hold, whether it be loose or in a big shiny box, it gets laoded onto a cart until it's full (for hand loaded) and the train moves forward one trailer length and the next trailer is loaded. Then the little train zips off to the belt. Where we can presume there is more than one guy unloading it all onto a belt, mixing priority with non.

For priority to work they would need to hold the luggage until it's last loaded, so it's first off. Then they would need to take the prio luggage straight to the belt once it's all out of the hold.

I feel another footnote coming on.

Priority baggage: your bags will be among the first to arrive @#!*&^%.

@#!*&^% Priority baggage is available on selected Qantas operated, trans-continental, wide-body jet aircraft flights departing between 10am and 2pm weekdays (excluding public holidays and days of baggage handling strike action).​