Who's Got the Bags?

A Florida insurance man who travels frequently by air has a novel way of keeping close to his large suitcase. He arrives at the airport with the bag manacled to his wrist. "Cape Kennedy courier--top security" he whispers to the gate attendant, whereupon man and luggage emplane, hand in handle.

Other dodges may soon be needed. Along with the continuing increase in air travel comes an impressive rise in complaints over lost, bashed-up or misdirected baggage. U.S. carriers last year hauled 176 million pieces of luggage, and lost or mishandled a mere .028%.

That is actually a good record--except to the half-million owners of that .028%. In any event, the airlines find it an expensive situation: tracing lost bags, repairing damage and settling claims cost them $5,000,000 in 1966.

Airlines officials like to farm out at least a little of the blame. "When 20 grey Samsonite bags are sitting on a delivery carousel," says a TWA man, "it is quite conceivable that Jane Roe is going to pick up John Doe's bag. And if she does not, there could always be some con man waiting around who will."

When the carrier is at fault--as when a clerk slaps a Carson City ticket on a bag headed for Chicago--the errant luggage is pursued relentlessly. When it can finally be established that a piece is lost, financial settlement is made. Naturally, people try to pull a fast one once in a while. A man arrives at the airport, does not feel like waiting around for a few minutes to claim his luggage, and then complains to the airline from his hotel. Right or wrong, he gets his bag custom-delivered to his room.

Audaciously, ATA and IATA designated last week as "World Wide Baggage Week, 1967." Included in the festivities was some hard thinking by 140 national and international member airlines, aimed at showing today's traveler that the industry cares about his grey Samsonite. One matter under study was a plan for an automated baggage delivery system developed by Teletrans Corp. of Detroit. A $100,000 prototype of the system will be tested on Aug. 15, and can be operational at airports by 1970.

With this system, the passenger himself is the only one to handle his baggage. He stows it aboard a kiddy-car-sized plastic cart and picks up a claim ticket. At the check-in counter, a clerk inserts the ticket into a sensor, sending cart and luggage along a track onto the proper airplane. At his destination, the passenger again inserts his ticket into a slot, whereupon the laden cart obediently trundles to his side. Estimated average time for the loading or unloading operation: three minutes.

Meanwhile, major airlines are trying to teach employees to care almost as much about possessions as the passenger. But as most baggage people agree, the training should also extend to the passenger himself. There is little that the airlines can do except suffer and scramble for the last-minute plane changer and under-the-wire in-checker. Their advice to the sentimental fellow who keeps all his old tags to show off that well-traveled look: to prevent confusion, keep it clean.

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