10 ms·

I think most people don't check bags because airlines lose luggage all the time.

csunbird 7y ago
or because airlines charge very high prices for ability to check in your luggage.
TeMPOraL 7y ago
Do they though? Or is that just people's perception? It's a common case in life that people operate on extremely inflated perceptions of risk, often related to how news invert risk perceptions (the more you hear about something on the news, the less likely it is to happen; journalists and article writers don't report on stuff that happens regularly).
- MegaButts 7y ago
  I was speaking anecdotally, but after an airline lost my luggage once I made a point to never check a bag again unless I absolutely had to. And the process for getting reimbursed for lost luggage is an enormous pain in the ass.
- lozenge 7y ago
  People's holiday time is precious, they don't want to risk having to spend a day clothes shopping.
- TomVDB 7y ago
  The last 2 times I checked my luggage, at least one piece didn't arrive. In one of those cases, it was our camping gear that we needed a few days later (luckily we got it the morning we left the hotel for that campground, which was a 4 hour drive from the hotel). The other case, it was literally all my cloths for a 5 day stay. It arrived 2 days later. (The airline paid for essentials.) I know that the official statistics of lost luggage are very low. I'm sure that these number don't come close to reality, probably due to some technicality (e.g. 'lost' only counts when it never showed up, instead of showing up after a few days.) When you plan vacations that go from one place to the other, with hotels, cars, and activities booked everywhere, the last thing you want to happen is throw it all into disarray because your luggage didn't arrive. (And, yes, we usually plan for a day or 2 close to the airport in case flights get cancelled etc.)
- 4ad 7y ago
  I am a frequent traveller and they lose my luggage all the time, about 5% of my trips. In case you are wondering, this is at western airports and with "good" airlines. Funny (?) enough, most often they lose my luggage on direct flights. Quite frequently when I finally get my luggage back, it is damaged. As another anecdata, my mother visits her home country every year, and they have lost her luggage EACH TRIP for over 15 years now.
unreal37 7y ago
I will say too, I bought a brand new $100 luggage, and the second time I used it, the airline damaged it. Tore a small hole in it. I am not sure about losing luggage, but they damage them more often than that.
outworlder 7y ago
They do, specially in the US. I took three trips coast to coast in the past two years. There were luggage losses in two of them. Airlines are really crap.

or because airlines charge very high prices for ability to check in your luggage.

Do they though? Or is that just people's perception? It's a common case in life that people operate on extremely inflated perceptions of risk, often related to how news invert risk perceptions (the more you hear about something on the news, the less likely it is to happen; journalists and article writers don't report on stuff that happens regularly).

MegaButts 7y ago
I was speaking anecdotally, but after an airline lost my luggage once I made a point to never check a bag again unless I absolutely had to. And the process for getting reimbursed for lost luggage is an enormous pain in the ass.
lozenge 7y ago
People's holiday time is precious, they don't want to risk having to spend a day clothes shopping.
TomVDB 7y ago
The last 2 times I checked my luggage, at least one piece didn't arrive. In one of those cases, it was our camping gear that we needed a few days later (luckily we got it the morning we left the hotel for that campground, which was a 4 hour drive from the hotel). The other case, it was literally all my cloths for a 5 day stay. It arrived 2 days later. (The airline paid for essentials.) I know that the official statistics of lost luggage are very low. I'm sure that these number don't come close to reality, probably due to some technicality (e.g. 'lost' only counts when it never showed up, instead of showing up after a few days.) When you plan vacations that go from one place to the other, with hotels, cars, and activities booked everywhere, the last thing you want to happen is throw it all into disarray because your luggage didn't arrive. (And, yes, we usually plan for a day or 2 close to the airport in case flights get cancelled etc.)
4ad 7y ago
I am a frequent traveller and they lose my luggage all the time, about 5% of my trips. In case you are wondering, this is at western airports and with "good" airlines. Funny (?) enough, most often they lose my luggage on direct flights. Quite frequently when I finally get my luggage back, it is damaged. As another anecdata, my mother visits her home country every year, and they have lost her luggage EACH TRIP for over 15 years now.

unreal37 7y ago

I will say too, I bought a brand new $100 luggage, and the second time I used it, the airline damaged it. Tore a small hole in it. I am not sure about losing luggage, but they damage them more often than that.

outworlder 7y ago

They do, specially in the US. I took three trips coast to coast in the past two years. There were luggage losses in two of them. Airlines are really crap.