Anyone that spends a lot of their life on planes has surely enjoyed the pains caused by 
lostluggage. I usually use carry-on rolling suitcase to avoid having to check to avoid any issues as well as the delay it causes while having to wait for the bags to be unloaded onto the belt.
But, last weekend I had to check baggage as I was going on my honeymoon for 8 days to St. Maarten. We were flying JetBlue from Boston through JFK then onto St. Maarten. Upon arrival into St. Maarten our bags didn't arrive. It took 3 days and tons of phone calls to locate our bags. What was even more distressing was that we were on our honeymoon. If it had been a business trip I don't think I would have cared as much. When we flew back to Boston, our bags were again lost at JFK. Well, actually they weren't "lost", an entire cart wasn't loaded on the plane so there were about 15 of us who didn't receive our bags that night. The next morning JetBlue put the bags onto their first flight from JFK to Boston and had them delivered to us a few hours later.
While it was a hardship and worried my wife and I not having our luggage with us, especially while we were in St. Maarten, there were a few things we had done which made life a little easier:
But, I turn to you, and want to know what are some of your tips to make life easier when your luggage is lost?
Photo by: Chrispitality
lostluggage. I usually use carry-on rolling suitcase to avoid having to check to avoid any issues as well as the delay it causes while having to wait for the bags to be unloaded onto the belt. But, last weekend I had to check baggage as I was going on my honeymoon for 8 days to St. Maarten. We were flying JetBlue from Boston through JFK then onto St. Maarten. Upon arrival into St. Maarten our bags didn't arrive. It took 3 days and tons of phone calls to locate our bags. What was even more distressing was that we were on our honeymoon. If it had been a business trip I don't think I would have cared as much. When we flew back to Boston, our bags were again lost at JFK. Well, actually they weren't "lost", an entire cart wasn't loaded on the plane so there were about 15 of us who didn't receive our bags that night. The next morning JetBlue put the bags onto their first flight from JFK to Boston and had them delivered to us a few hours later.
While it was a hardship and worried my wife and I not having our luggage with us, especially while we were in St. Maarten, there were a few things we had done which made life a little easier:
- We were able to provide JetBlue with a lot of detail about our luggage. This helps especially when you have standard looking baggage. I was able to provide such details as "there's an orange Philippines inspection sticker on the right side of the suitcase in the middle". I can bet no other luggage had that exact marking on it....
- I always believe in dressing for the place I'm flying to. Therefore, even if it's the dead of winter in New England, I'll wear shorts and a t-shirt if I'm headed to the airport on vacation. Though not winter around Boston right now, I had worn basketball shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. This let me still go swimming, be comfortable while walking around and have fun on the beaches until our suitcases arrived.
- My wife packed a carry-on that had a lot of her clothes in it including changes of clothes for different activities (dining out, water sports, swimming, etc.). While I wasn't that smart, it helped her out a lot.
- I ALWAYS bring all of my electronics, chargers, books and anything else to keep me constantly entertained in my carry-on. While it can sometimes be a pain going through security, I just feel more at ease having it with me.
- We tried to just enjoy our honeymoon instead of worrying about our luggage!
But, I turn to you, and want to know what are some of your tips to make life easier when your luggage is lost?
Photo by: Chrispitality
Delta once lost my luggage when I was heading to speak at a convention. I did not dress for occasion as it was a long flight and did not want to be "wrinkled up" when I arrived. I ended up having to buy clothes from the Ritz Carlton's boutique which was costly. I called Delta, gave them my receipts and they refunded me every dime. From now on...I pack like your wife and fly like you do. The best of both... Just in case!
JS
www.twitter.com/momentivate
My wife and I do a great deal of traveling while bringing out business on the road with us. We ran into a similar luggage issues early on, so basically we now carry on everything. We purchased Backpacker bags, look like hippies, and take everything with us.
Of course, in order to do this, you probably have to be a) willing to pack light and b) a little crazy. But it ensures that you will not lose anything, and makes you much more mobile on work trips or vacays.
AJ
I always pack at least one change of clothes like your wife and others have suggested in a small carry-on. But since I do a lot of international travel and tend to shop for clothes overseas, to ensure that I can get my luggage coming home I also take a photo of luggage with my iPhone and email it to myself. That way I can show the photo to the customer serice agent, and I can also access the internet from the agent's computer to print out the photo to attach to the report. It has helped before!