PUSH Travel

Get Your Luggage Quickly at Baggage Claim

On a tight schedule and need to get moving to meet a client? This advice may help on an upcoming trip.

Though many of us in the sports tourism industry prefer to carry our bags on a plane, scenarios occur when we must all check a bag. Ever attend one of our national conferences that extend four or five days and have another trip before or after? Sometimes, that requires us to wait at a baggage claim carousel for what feels like hours. If you want to ensure you obtain your luggage quickly, there is no foolproof method. However, some “tricks of the trade” may help you see your luggage among the first bags off the plane and on the carousel at baggage claim.

Typically, those bags loaded into the cargo hold last are the first to be unloaded.

As a result, some passengers prefer to check their bags as late as possible. Though bags can be loaded on the plane in any order. One way to work around the order issue is to request that a gate agent check your bag before boarding. This means you must bring your luggage through security, limiting you to a carry-on size bag and no ability to pack liquids above the required size. Commonly, gate checking is free, and you will have a higher chance that your bag will be loaded into the cargo hold last. If you succeed, your bag should be among the first to come out at baggage claim. Though alas, as we all know, there are no guarantees.

One option designed to ensure quick recovery at baggage claim on a few airlines is tapping into priority bag services. A priority baggage service is presented to frequent flyers with specific status levels and may be offered to first-class and business passengers.

When checking your bag, request that the agent attaches a priority tag to your luggage; each airline has a different tag. Typically, all checked baggage with priority tags are to be unloaded before all other bags. This is not always true, but it does not hurt to try.

Most airlines offer incentives for long waits at baggage claims. Delta Airlines gives customers on domestic flights additional miles if their bag does not appear within 20 minutes of the flight arrival. You’ll have to fill out a form online to claim those miles.

No foolproof method guarantees your suitcase will appear first at baggage claim. But there are several ways to track where your bag is. Many of our sports tourism colleagues have been using trackers such as Apple AirTags in their bags. This will help to notify you that your bag has been offloaded from the plane and is making its way to the baggage claim.

RFID tracking is also used by some airlines to show your bag’s process by providing a notification when it is scanned as it makes its journey from baggage checking to baggage claim.

Here are a few final thoughts to help make traveling with baggage a bit smoother:

Be sure to remove all previous flight bag tags from your luggage before checking. Add a personal tag with your contact information on your bag, just in case.

An agent will tag your bag at check-in. Never forget to look at your slip to ensure your destination is correct.

Select a distinctive piece of luggage or attach a flare to your bag, making it easy to spot at baggage claim. Some passengers use unique luggage straps, bandanas, or ribbon tied to a handle.

Check out which baggage claim number or letter your flight has been assigned to, as they may switch them while walking from your gate to the baggage claim area.