TillbrookTravel

Checking luggage is a bit out of date nowadays, but with short haul flights now charging us premium for the luxury of carrying our own suitcases and with long haul’s frequent insistence that our bags need to be able to fit under the seat in front (seriously, where am I meant to put my snacks?) it is making a come back! While checking luggage makes your airport day easier (no more running over people or having to sit on top of it as you eat breakfast) it comes with challenges. Whether your bags arrive late, go missing, or get bashed about, there’s a lot of worries when we check our present cargo into the hold! This list should help you avoid some of these anxieties, and provides some tips should the worst happen!

1) Make sure to get the right travel insurance

While pretty much all travel insurance options include ‘baggage’ allowance, make sure to read the fine print. Insurers like Direct Line offer bonus insurance options like ‘delayed personal belongings’ cover, which means if your suitcase is off on its own little holiday, you can buy the clothing essentials you need while you wait for it!

It’s also important not to pack anything of value in your suitcase that you can fit in your hand luggage – and if you do need to pack it, make sure it is insured separately to the rest of your baggage allowance (tip – be careful not to pack anything banned by your airline in your suitcase (for a number of reasons) because that makes for an awkward insurance claim!)

2) Pack carefully

On the note of packing, think carefully about what is going into your suitcase. Avoid anything of sentimental value, anything of actual value, and anything breakable. Unless you are paying for a delicate handling service (and even then, I would exercise caution), I wouldn’t trust baggage handlers to treat your suitcases with care – and I trust the plane’s hold even less! Take it from someone who has watched the suitcase with her new Christmas ornament fall from a great height out the bottom of the plane, you do not need the stress of broken glass in your luggage! If you must pack something delicate (as I did with my vast collection of Disney Ears this summer), make sure to wrap them carefully in clothes and then use a luggage strap to hold them securely in place.

Tip – if you are travelling with more than one person, make sure to split your clothes between cases, and think about what outfit combinations you need (make sure these are in the same case, or you’ll end up with a black bra and a white vest top instead of an outfit you’ll want to wear!)

3) Track your luggage

Ok, so this is something we hugely regret not doing, but saw on the reviews of Virgin Atlantic’s lost luggage delivery service (long story – painfully long story) that another traveler does this and let’s just say we are totally stealing this trick!

While we’d like to think all airlines are helpful when your luggage goes missing, we know from experience that this is not always the case. Whether it is an issue of poor customer service, or if the airline is swamped dealing with far too many lost cases, it can sometimes be really stressful trying to locate your missing luggage. By using a tracking device, like an Apple Airtag or Eufy SmartTrack link, you can find your own case, and avoid having to rely on a local courier’s map!

4) Know your weight allowance

This sounds obvious, but every airline has a different weight allowance, and add on costs in the airport are notoriously expensive (because, let’s be real, if you’re halfway across the world, what are you going to but pay?) Make sure to check the luggage allowance before you pack, and to factor in the potential weight of merchandise on your return – if you need to check another bag, try to book this in advance, or you will be hit by the crazy airport fees!

5) Plan in additional time – and make it part of your travel intinerary

The last thing you want to do after a long flight is wait around at an airport waiting for your luggage to finally grace the carousel with its presence. But this part of checking your bag is unavoidable. My best advice as a notoriously impatient traveler (guilty…) is to factor this in to your itinerary. If travelling in pairs or a group, send half your group off to buy coffee and snacks while you wait. If travelling alone, make sure to have that audiobook downloaded! Although sometimes you could only be waiting a few minutes, on average most planes take about 15 to 45 minutes to unload your suitcases, so make sure to be prepared for this!

Finally, hold airlines accountable!

Many people, if their lost bags are returned to them, are just relieved to have their bags back, and forget about the stress of having to wrestle with couriers, unhelpful staff and waiting around in an unknown place for additional hours. It is important to acknowledge when an airline gets it right (shout out to ‘Joan’ at Virgin Atlantic!) and when an airline gets it wrong (everything else that happened with Virgin Atlantic- grumble grumble) and to log your feedback in the right way. It’s no use shouting at some poor representative, make your feedback count by leaving a review or logging a formal complaint. Just make sure to also do the other side and send in compliments when people go out of their way to help you!

Want more information on lost luggage? Follow this link to a neat website that shows you statistics about airlines and their lost luggage! Where Airlines Are Most Likely To Lose Your Luggage (2024) (brilliantmaps.com) (We have no affiliation to this website, I just found it interesting when we lost our suitcase this summer!)