Smart Luggage

I was reminded coming back the first of the month from the Rhine River cruise with The Travel Factory Gang, standing at the luggage carousel, of how many folks own black luggage. The reason I paid attention to that color is because my two bags were black. It seamed the every third bag was black!!

You would be surprised how many of those black and other colored bags were taking their ride around the carousel without a luggage tag of any kind. In other comments I've given, the tip is to make sure your luggage has a personal bag tag with your name, address, and phone contact on it. I was reading a column from the Dallas Morning News written by Christopher Elliott where he quoted that in 2016, “domestic airlines lost or misplaced 1,700,975 bags or about 2.7 bags per 1,000 passengers”.

Most tour operators include luggage tags with their final documents, and some of them are really nice....hard plastic or leather. Of course, when a piece of luggage is purchased, all of them that I have observed when shopping for them have some kind of personal tag included with the purchase. The problem is that I have seen many bags, with the bag tag showing, but when you look at the tag, no name or address is on it.

As I have mentioned in past tips, it is a good idea to also have some kind of personal information inside the bag, just in case the outer bag tag is torn or ripped off in transit, the handlers can still see who owns the bag by looking at the information inside. Some clients have reported that they take pictures of their luggage with their phone, because if they do get misplaced, having the pictures make it a lot easier to locate; even better if they have been properly tagged.

Also, especially if you own black bags, have some other identifying item on the handles. For years we have had a string of red yarn on our handles, and it sure helps in spotting them among all the other black ones. Some folks strap their black luggage with a multi-colored strap around the middle of the bag...those are quickly identified. One person I noticed had neon duct tape in an “X” on the middle of their bag. Really, anything will help in identifying it among all the other black bags.

If you think about it, it really is an amazing process to be able to check your luggage at an airline counter in Zurich, Switzerland, and after making a change of planes at JFK in New York, finding your black, red-yarned piece of luggage rolling around the DFW carousel. Elliott reports that the airlines are in the process of adopting radio-frequency identification technology that is designed to improve luggage handling and making transfers much more reliable. This will, no doubt, make finding your lost luggage easier to find, especially if you have it properly, personally tagged.

I don't know why the luggage manufacturers persist in putting out black bags, but they do, and we keep buying them, so the tip for the last post of 2017 is to remember to make sure that you have put proper personal identification on that new luggage, and devise some way to identify it among all the other hundreds of bags enjoying their ride on the carousel.

And, another important tip for 2018 is when you are making plans for a vacation, remember to save time and money by calling the experienced travel counselors at The Travel Factory who are charged up in helping you manufacture the vacation of your dreams. We are easily located on the south side of Abilene at the Plaza at Park Central, between Rosa's and Chick-Fil-A, or give us a call at 325-698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040. Find us also at www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.

Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!