> In most likelihood by the time you arrive your airline should already know that the bag didn't make it... Depends on the airline. Some (Southwest, iirc) don'

> In most likelihood by the time you arrive your airline should already know that the bag didn't make it... Depends on the airline. Some (Southwest, iirc) don't scan the bags at all after check-in unless they find a stray bag somewhere in the system. They'll notice and scan your bag eventually it's misrouted or misses a connection, but it takes time. Some others scan at every handling point and can be more proactive in reaching out if the computer notices a problem. But this increases the cost of bagging handling operations for the airline.