Question about connecting flights and luggage!

[newtocruising99]

Hey there,

 

We are flying out of Toronto next Saturday. We leave at 6:45am on American Airlines and connect through Chicago. We have a 2 hour wait until boarding on the AA flight to Orlando. This really makes me worry about my luggage. So I just have to pray and assume that it will make it to Orlando? I know i'm paranoid but i really don't want to be days without any luggage. I guess there's no way in finding out if for sure my luggage will be on the connecting flight to Orlando and not to Atlanta for all i know... ahh!

 

Pam

[GoinCruisin]

Hey there,

 

We are flying out of Toronto next Saturday. We leave at 6:45am on American Airlines and connect through Chicago. We have a 2 hour wait until boarding on the AA flight to Orlando. This really makes me worry about my luggage. So I just have to pray and assume that it will make it to Orlando? I know i'm paranoid but i really don't want to be days without any luggage. I guess there's no way in finding out if for sure my luggage will be on the connecting flight to Orlando and not to Atlanta for all i know... ahh!

 

Pam

 

Yes, you are being paranoid... they aren't going to let your luggage loose to go get drunk in the bars and miss it's flight :D LOL! I've had MUCH longer layovers... of course, luggage can always get lost, but believe me... they do this 100's of times a day... layovers are more common than direct flights... why would your luggage miss the flight?? LOL

[LKYGSR]

Best thing you can do is make sure when they put the tags on at the airport that they are for the correct destination airport (Orlando). Beyond that, not much you can do. Relax, enjoy being on vacation and remember a much greater percentage of baggage reaches it's destination compared to what gets lost.

[Guienevere_Arianette]

Could you carryon? At least that would make you feel more secure :)

[GoinCruisin]

Could you carryon? At least that would make you feel more secure :)

 

OMG! The only thing I could fit in a small carry on suitcase would be my shoes, LMAO!!!!! I WISH I could fit everything in one small suitcase... maybe for a one day cruise.. but probably not :p

[Brneyznfl]

I wouldn't worry about the layover. I'd much rather have a long layover versus a short connection time. At least I'd know they have plenty of time to get my luggage over to the new gate! :eek:

 

I've only had a problem one time with lost luggage when I sailed on the Destiny out of San Juan. Fortunately I flew down the day before because Delta lost my luggage and it was delivered at midnight at the hotel!

[cruisinjerseygirl]

I always worry about this too but like someone else posted the best you can do it make sure that they put the proper tags on your bags and the rest is out of your hands....I have done many trips with connecting flights and everytime I worry like crazy but there is no point in worrying if you can't control it I suppose.

[rjack22]

You should be fine! Two hours is plenty of time.

 

On my recent cruise I had only a 45 minute layover which was diminished to only 25 minutes by the time I got to the connecting airport. I fully expected my bags not to make it, as I barely did myself. But my bags did make it!

 

You will be fine. Just take a carry-on with your essensials.

[FlyerTalker]

When the tag is being printed out, ask to check it as it is being put on the bag. This is very important, because with the increase in kiosk use, tags are getting spit out and then agents sort out which tags go on which bag. Your tags should read MCO in large letters with the correct flight number (AA xxx) and should also have ORD and the flight number in sequence on the tag. Same for the receipt stubs that you get - proper flight numbers and cities. If not, speak up loudly and quickly -- hopefully before the bag goes down the belt.

 

Two hours is a good connect in Chicago. Plenty of time to handle potential delays on the inbound, time for both you and your luggage to make the connection without running, and even some time to grab a bite to eat. Have a newspaper or book so you aren't just sitting around.

 

You can get more terminal info on T3 at ORD at THIS LINK (large size PDF) or THIS LINK (print size PDF). The main ORD website is HERE.

 

Remember that you will pre-clear customs and immigration at YYZ, so allow plenty of time for that. Be prepared with your passports and any other information you need.

 

Have fun and relax. When things are in someone else's hands, recognize when you have done your part and that worrying only gets you stress.

[LHT28]

I also put a note in the front pocket of my suitcase with the

ship's name and sailing date, port of departure

My name & cabin number

 

Make sure all other airline tags are off your case before you check it in.

 

I have seen some luggage with several tags on then sitting by the baggage carousels they may have been confused as to where they were heading this trip.:D

[piper28]

I'd say normally two hours is fine for luggage. If luggage is going to get lost, it's probably going to happen regardless of how long you have between flights. Last trip, one bag didn't make it on way to cruise (with overnight stay forced because of weather, so plenty of time), and on way back 3 bags didn't make it (5 hour layover in atlanta). So basically, it's just luck of the draw. No real sense worrying about it until it happens.

 

(Although if one's wife suggests that maybe it'd be a good idea to cross-pack some of the luggage, responding "nah, we're not going to lose the bags anyways, so it's not worth it" might not be the best response.)

[singelsethc]

We have flown American a lot and have had no problem with them cruising. Last time we were at Miami and my luggage came in late (1 piece) and I was worried they lost it, but after inquiring they said it just came in late through the terminal. No lost luggage yet. I heard some things with Royal Caribbean and lost luggage through delta, but not with American. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

[jimc_usa]

I am pretty sure you can take your baggage receipt to the Gate Agent and she/he can track the bags.

[piper28]

I am pretty sure you can take your baggage receipt to the Gate Agent and she/he can track the bags.

 

The dirty little secret of airlines is that they really don't have a good way of tracking luggage. For all that they put tags with barcodes on them, those barcodes aren't scanned to keep track of where bags are. So if your luggage doesn't make it, when you report it, they really can't tell you where it is. (Oh, they may make a claim for where it is, but they probably don't really know.)

 

 

Oddly, once it's been reported missing, they do seem to be able to keep track of where it is better (once it's been found).

[FlyerTalker]

Not true, regarding scanning of barcodes. Ramp agents at most carriers have handheld scanners and scan the tags as they are going up the belt loader into the belly of the aircraft. If you are ever in a right side window seat, try to watch bags being loaded and you can see the process.

[Globaliser]

And on larger aircraft which use containers for baggage, the bags going into each can should be logged, so that the airline knows exactly which can to pull out of the aircraft to get a particular bag. That's why if you're on a fully-loaded 747 with about 350 passengers on board, and one person fails to show up at the gate, it only takes 10-20 minutes for the airline to find his bag and remove it from the aircraft. The baggage handlers don't have to unload the entire aircraft's baggage to get one bag off.

 

Originally, this process was done by pulling one of the small tear-off strips off the bag tag - if you look at a complete bag tag you'll see a number of these on every tag, each printed with the bag tag number - and sticking that onto a card associated with each can. That card is sometimes known as a "bingo card", for obvious reasons. But now, it's usually done by scanning the barcode instead to create an electronic "bingo card" for each can.

[piper28]

All I can say is those scans aren't connected to any central system. The airlines do not have a central tracking method for the bags. (And have admitted it in the past, although it can be tough to get them to admit it). Maybe they can determine on a plane by plane basis there whether a bag is on that plane, but a gate agent elsewhere can't find out that the bag is on that plane.

 

(FWIW, in all the times I've watched bags getting loaded, I've never once seen someone scanning tags on the luggage while doing it. They just pull the stuff off the cart and toss it on the moving ramp. Maybe the guy at the top might be, can't generally see him).

 

(Also FWIW, having just dealt with luggage not making flights in both directions on my last cruise, I can atest for them not being able to figure out where things are).