Dozens Of Pieces Of Lost Luggage Dumped In Trash

[babylonsister]

http://www.ketv.com/news/10615072/detail.html

HOUSTON -- Authorities are trying to figure out how dozens of pieces of luggage belonging to international air travelers ended up in a trash bin behind a Houston pet store.

FBI Special Agent Rolando Munoz said 68 pieces of luggage from various international flights were discovered. He said the luggage was turned over to Continental Airlines to sort out.

Harris County sheriff's deputies said the luggage belonged to people who flew internationally on Continental, Lufthansa, British Airways and US Airways, Houston TV station KPRC reported.

Sgt. Dana Wolfe, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office, which first responded to the luggage report, said tags on the bags showed some of the travelers were going to or from London and Dubai.

Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark didn't know if the contents of the bags were stolen. She said the airline would investigate along with law enforcement authorities.

more...

[saigon68]

1. So much for "Homeland Insecurity"

LOL

[theHandpuppet]

3. Yep, just what I was thinking, too

"Homeland Security" -- what a punch line.

[Wickerman]

2. If you were at an airport baggage turnstile this week

that picture would serve as a grim reminder of how ineffective Homeland Security truly is. Hundreds of lost and delayed bags for each airline. Trying to find my daughter's bags was absurd. We were in a virtual sea of lost luggage. Her bags got separated from her in Dallas and we didn't get them for another 20 hours. So much for matching bags with passengers. :eyes:

[Hawkeye-X]

4. No kidding.

We got home from New York to Denver this Monday, and the baggage claim was full of unclaimed luggage.

I'm wondering, WTF.

We almost lost one, but wife insisted we wait a bit longer, and finally the claim machine hiccuped it.

Hawkeye-X

[Tellurian]

10. Yep, huge haul. Nice Inside Job..

At GWBush airport no less.

[babylonsister]

20. Actually, the luggage was found outside of the airport, and in

some instances, luggage was found that wasn't even supposed to be going through Houston. Things that make you go hmmmm...

[Tellurian]

28. Oddly enough,

from the link:

"Authorities said the bags belonged to travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport."

And Continental Airlines, (and their staff) based in Texas, is the common thread to the luggage theft.

[MountainLaurel]

22. Funny you should mention TSA

I'm sitting here trying to decide whether to put a pair of tiny scissors into the knitting bag I'm taking on my flight tomorrow and whether my makeup should go in my checked baggage.

Grrr.

[KansDem]

25. Be safe. Put your scissors in your check-through luggage.

I play saxophone. I flew to a friend's house last summer and took my horn for a jam session. My reed knife went into my luggage as I was afraid airport security would confiscate it if I tried to take it with me onboard, along with my instrument (I usually carry it in my case). I've had it for 35 years and didn't want to lose it to one of the new airlines' confiscated-property auctions.

Be safe...don't give them an excuse to take your things.

[SoCalDem]

29. My son never DID get one of his bags.. somewhere between London & Florence

he "lost" one. The bad thing was that he was going there to school, and the money they gave him did not even begin to cover what he lost :grr:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. "Homeland Security" at the airport...

Only exists as some strange security geek show, to harass and create fear in travelers. In this manner, they have something to show for all the billions they are pissing away.

When you get down to brass tacks, it really means little that is substantive.

[saigon68]

35. I watched them go through an 85 year old nun's luggage

They had her hold up her undershorts for all to see.

Its the Neocon way to control "THE SHEEP"

Motto: BE AFRAID BE AFRAID "I am here to save you," shouted Dick "Five deferments" Cheney

[madrchsod]

6. that`s what dhl,ups,fed ex and the mail is for

just ship the stuff if one is going to a residence.

[pitohui]

9. oh yeah that's real practical...not

each checked bag weighs up to 50 pounds and more on some airlines

i'm sure international travelers will want to spend hundreds of dollars extra to ship packages by ups to a hotel or residence

i actually knew some poor fool who tried this, to tahoe, needless to say the hotel never acknowledged receiving their luggage, first clue -- they don't expect bags to arrive by ups and have no idea who they belong to, why couldn't a bomber arrange to blow up a major resort this way, by shipping bags to the hotel, er no, you are kinda expected to bring your bag along with you

any time you do something out of the ordinary you are going to increase the chance of confusion

ups never found tahoe visitor's bags or figured out who had signed for them, but i suspect they were delivered directly to the garbage once the person who signed for them realized they hadn't been shipped to a current hotel guest or any hotel employee

as for a "residence," yeah, i'm sure the overwhelming majority of internat'l travelers are going to be staying in a residence

sorry to be sarcastic but your suggestion is just plain useless for most people

people do not need to be spending hundreds of dollars extra for something that SHOULD be included in the price of their ticket, namely, secure and safe delivery of checked bags

[Book Lover]

11. BS - I've done this for corporate travelers and myself

If you call ahead with your package/luggage tracking number, and don't travel like an idiot (50 lbs?! What the hell are you lugging around?), this is a very sensible suggestion.

[pitohui]

15. sure you have, honey

sorry, i'll retain my skepticism that real people w. real luggage do this successfully on any regular basis

most airlines allow two pieces of checked luggage, weighing 50 pounds EACH, and still flyers are crying that they are paying excess baggage fees

you may have missed the part where iah is an INTERNATIONAL airport, because of the soft dollar, many INTERNATIONAL travelers come here to, hello, go shopping - the mention of the stolen christmas gifts might have been your first clue

don't tell these people to ship to such countries as mexico, where stolen parcels from the mails and delivery companies are a fact of life

continental needs to get on the stick and just stop the damn "misloads" of the damn luggage

if you are satisfied to pay for a service and not get the service and then pay again to someone else for the same thing, then, fine, you are happy to be a poor consumer who pays over the odds to get the service

most people rightly demand that they receive the service they are paying for from the company they have paid for the service

continental airlines is not ryan air, they pretend to be a full service legacy international airline and a part of the contract they owe consumers is to get the luggage to where the consumer is flying

simple as that

most people don't have time to screw w. sending their luggage by united parcel service to an international destination because continental airlines couldn't be bothered not to lose their luggage

and don't even get me started on delta, the star of last christmas season's lost luggage soap opera

if you never travel, telling people to spend hundreds of dollars on extra shipping fees probably sounds like a cool idea, but people who regularly travel and don't want to get in trouble for excessive expenses billed to their company can't be playing these games

[Book Lover]

17. Ah, OK

You got screwed once, and now that is The Way Things Are. Gotcha. Guess I'll just have to believe those FedExes to Zagreb, Trieste, and Madrid were blessed by the pixies or something...

By the way, what did the period ever do to you that you never use it? Or the shift key? And what does "pay over the odds" mean, anyway? On second thought, please don't reply. I'll have to chop through the jungle of your poor grammar again.

[Maddy McCall]

26. LOL

:thumbsup: ... not so much at your suggestion as your reply to the previous poster.

:rofl:

[Divernan]

27. I pretty much agree with you, Pitohui. I suggest luggage locks.

I have far better things to do with my travel dollars than pay extra to ship bags ahead. For a couple of bucks you can get the TSA approved luggage locks for your check through bags. They are sturdy, combination locks, which can also be opened via a keyhole in the bottom, by the TSA. They come in bright neon colors, which makes the typically black bags easier for owners to spot. I fly at least once a month and have given up on lugging the wheelon bags through the airports and rushing to get connecting flights. I just take a small carryon with meds, cell phone & charger, book & snacks. I wear/take no jewelry other than my watch. It also helps that I am a very frequent flyer on Continental so get a "priority" tag on check through luggage. (You need a minimum of 25,000 air miles per year to qualify for this.) Bags with these tags are first off the planes and first to come down the luggage chutes. Over the years - knock on wood- none of my luggage has been lost, but several pieces have been damaged, i.e., wheels knocked off.

When flying between small islands, I have had the local airlines take off, leaving my bags sitting on the luggage cart - there were just too many bags to fit into the very small prop planes. The bags were promised and actually delivered on the next flights, and brought to my little hotels. It's the island way, and sometimes you really have to just relax and go with the flow.

[Benhurst]

7. It'll teach the damn furners a good lesson. When you travel to a

Third World militaristic state, don't check your luggage.

[pitohui]

8. oh yeah co/iah has lost my luggage

i asked them to specially mark it "priority" and they still managed to misload it, how do you lose a first class bag from new orleans to houston, it's a 55 minute flight for crap's sake

i feel sorry for the mexican lady who had a computer in her checked bag, but continental airlines specifically says they are not responsible for computers and other valuable electronics put in checked luggage

carry your computer and valuable gifts on board with you (i realize this means you can no longer buy wine or alcohol for a hostess gift but i don't make the rules)

put your cheap clothes and dirty laundry in the checked bag is my advice

[wakeme2008]

12. My mother lost one bag for two day BETWEEN to Hawaii islands

:shrug:

[pitohui]

16. i bet your mom didn't lose the bag, i bet the AIRLINE helpfully lost the bag

what can we do? i try to put everything in carry-on but with the new "war on a state of matter" it's pretty hard to pack all you need just in the carry-on

[Bark Bark Bark]

23. i asked them to specially mark it "priority"

You have to fly First Class to get a Priority tag--and then you don't have to ask.

Priority tags aren't handed out for free just because someone thinks they're entitled to special treatment over the rest of Coach (who likewise ask for special treatment themselves).

Clowns pay redcaps to slip a Priority tag onto their bags, but that fools no one in the bagroom, so it's a complete waste of the clowns' money.

[sofa king]

13. I will say one thing, though.

I'm amazed to hear stories of people losing luggage and getting it back. This is a fairly recent phenomenon, only since the federal government got more involved in luggage handling, I think.

True story: back in the '80s, a friend of mine "lost" his brand-new never-used skis on a trip from DC to Logan. He was pissed off, and started using his DC connections to find out what happened to them. Then, about a week after he returned from his trip, the skis were "found," only with about a week's worth of wear on them. My friend commented that he had a better chance of finding his lost skis on the slopes than he did at the airport.

One of my family members lost a bag this holiday season and all seemed lost until, about an hour into the "search," someone mentioned that there were prescription drugs in the bag. Then all of a sudden the airline knew exactly where the bag was, when it got there and how they were going to get it back and deliver it by car on Christmas night.

Those of you who lose your luggage this holiday season might want to keep that trick in mind: pack a prescription, even if you don't need it. Seems that it jogs memories, somehow.

[opihimoimoi]

14. Its all Clintons fault...might as well blame him too.....

Most likely is a nefarious crew bent on stealing money, etc...had to be more than 1 thief

Now who would that be??? Hmmmmmmm

And how could this happen? Hmmmmmm

Time for the Bag Squad in their capes and dark glasses....Hmmmm

[truthisfreedom]

18. We need Congress to pass a law that makes it a requirement for airlines to use RFID tags on each bag

and track the positions of every damned bag by having scanning points all over the airport and a computer keeping account of all movements.

Passengers should have the option of hiding the RFID tag inside their luggage so it can't be torn off and thrown away.

[mnhtnbb]

19. I NEVER check a bag with the airlines. If I can't do carry-on, I don't go.

[Radio_Lady]

33. We've checked luggage and also used only carry on.

The funniest experience was when we were delayed from Newark, NJ to Madrid, Spain.

We checked our luggage through from Boston to Madrid, Spain. Our short hop flight from Boston-Newark left an hour or two after a snowstorm delay.

As we arrived at Newark, the 8:00 PM flight to Madrid was just pulling back from its gate. We thought about recovering our luggage (pretty much all our clothing was in there), as we had been told that the luggage always accompanies you on your flights. However, we were told it would take 1 1/2 hours to get our bags. Newark was such a mess that night that we gave up. My husband called Spain frantically to explain we'd been delayed. The airlines put us up at a hotel overnight -- I swam in their indoor pool the next day in a bathing suit from their "lost and found", and shampooed my hair with dish detergent ("Joy" works!) but kept it our of my eyes. Several other couples had missed that flight, and we all sat in the bar watching TV and playing cards.

The next night, we boarded the 8:00 PM Madrid flight. When we finally arrived in the Spanish afternoon, the tourist guide said they knew we'd missed the flight because....

OUR LUGGAGE ARRIVED THE PREVIOUS DAY, BUT WE WERE NOT ON THAT FLIGHT! Everything was held safely in Madrid, locked up to anticipate our arrival.

[mnhtnbb]

36. The last time our luggage didn't arrive with us--it WAS carry-on!

We were leaving LaGuardia and a snowstorm was on the way into the city.
Delta kept telling us, flight is delayed due to incoming equipment, but it will go. We waited for 4 hours before saying, forget it. We got put on a Delta shuttle to DC--figured we'd pick up the train the next day to get home to NC--only they took our bags away from us saying there was no more room for carry-on, and we should collect them at baggage claim. We waited, and waited, and our bags didn't come off. By the time we'd filed our missing luggage claim, we just BARELY caught the last metro into DC, where we walked to our hotel. There were no taxis anywhere.

The hotel put us in a room without heat--so at 2 a.m. we were switching
rooms. The next morning we walked back to Union Station and caught our train (Nothing was flying in the snow storm). Eventually--after hours of delays--we reached Cary, NC, and got off the train. We had phoned our son from the train, who worked the phones to find us a taxi willing to take us the 10 minute ride to the airport to get our car--and charged us $40. We got in our car and slowly made our way home.

Now, the bags. Eventually Delta sent them to Charlotte (we flew out of Raleigh/Durham), but they had no connecting flights to RDU, so they sent them by courier to RDU and then drove them up to our house. Our bags arrived 4 DAYS AFTER we'd left New York, with carry-on. The only thing positive was that we were going home--and not having to deal with a trip without clothes for that long.

I have almost gotten myself thrown off subsequent Delta flights for arguing with flight attendants that want to make me give up my carry-on.
On the way to a family wedding two years ago, I pleaded with other passengers to make room for my carry-on, and they did!

[Bark Bark Bark]

21. HERE'S A COUPLE OF TRAVEL TIPS

...from someone who handles bags for a major airline (not one involved in this mess):

#1: Stop packing so much crap. I'm not a pack mule, but passengers and management alike don't seem to comprehend that. That's why I have two braces--one with a metal splint--that I have to wear ALL THE TIME for the rest of my life. Thanks a lot. Your bags get wrecked, the overweight-bag fees go into the company's pocket, and I get a f&$%ed-up back. Everybody wins!

#2: Use common sense. Take off all the OLD tags before check-in; I don't care where you've been, poser. Buy sturdy luggage and pack against rough handling. Don't think that zipper's going to stay closed by itself. Don't overstuff the bag; it's in for a bumpy ride. Don't pack anything in checked baggage you can't live without. Don't let your stupid little brat bring his toy weapon. Don't put important papers--or anything, for that matter--in the open side pocket of your bag; at some point, it WILL be upside down. AND PUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS SOMEWHERE INSIDE THE DAMN BAG. If the tag comes off and there's nothing else, do you really think you're going to see that bag again?

#3: Do NOT make your pet come with. I hate people who insist upon subjecting their pets to this.

#4: Most importantly, stop running across the country (a) at the same exact time as every other idiot (b) during the worst weather of the year. Go fight with your stupid relatives in summer. THINK, Sheeple.

EDIT: Oh yeah, almost forgot--#5: Show up to the airport two hours in advance. People were happy to do that for years after 9-11; made 'em think they were "doing their part for the War Effort." Now we're getting more and more originating "hot" bags. You can't help a tight connection, but don't show up an hour before departure at the start of your trip.

[SoCalDem]

30. AND.. if you are going to visit family

USE UPS/FedEx and send your damn stuff ahead..use it there, wash it and send it back to yourself before you leave

result: no hassle travel..:)

if you;re NOT going to grandma's house

remember:

almost every place on earth sells toothpaste, shampoo, perfumes etc..

perhaps you could go a day early, plan a little shopping trip ...

Everyone shops on trips anyway, so why bring all that crap from home with you.. Buy it "there" wear it, use it, and then box it up and send it to your home address... leave the shampoo etc for the hotel staffers to dispose of.:)

[Radio_Lady]

31. Simplistic (and EXPENSIVE) thinking like that is no help. We should be able to expect

reasonable handling of our luggage on trips where we pay hundreds of dollars for our tickets.

We're too busy (and often don't have knowledge of the destination city) on vacation to do a full shopping.

We pack reasonably, use TSA locks, put identification AND A TRAVEL ITINERARY in our luggage.

So far, we travel all over the world -- domestic and international. We have had a few pieces of luggage delayed (which is an awful feeling in itself), but each time, delivery was completed in a day or two.

Do you actually use UPS/FedEx YOURSELF, or are you just tooting this horn for some other reason?

Thank you for listening.

Radio Lady in Oregon

[SoCalDem]

32. When I used to go visit the kansas family, we always shipped stuff ahead

but of course if you are on a quickie business trip you cannot do that.

We quit traveling since it's such a hassle these days..(except for our free trip to tahiti in '03)..the only carryon stuff we took then was my husband's meds (he's diabetic). We took ONE bag between us.. I took ONE pair of sandals, which I wore..and the stuff we bought was minimal, so it did fit in the bag. (he actually brought more stuff than I did :)..)

I used to be a travel consultant (did if for almost 10 years) so I learned long ago to travel light. and yes I do buy toiletries where we end up. spilled gunk inside luggage is a nasty mess to clean up and I figure is I am spending hundreds..thousands of dollars, surely I can spring a few bucks for toothpaste/shampoo etc :)

The most stuff I ever took on vacation was for a cruise, and I regretted it. Most of the stuff i brought, I didn't even wear, and coming back through customs was a horror show when we had to open the luggage and try to stuff it all back in while also trying to hail a cab and make it to the airport.

[Radio_Lady]

34. We fly frequently to Hawaii to our timeshare villa. We pack very

lightly because every place we stay has washers and dryers. I do a lot of hand laundry myself.

Also, the Goodwill store on Beretania Street, Honolulu, is one of the best I've ever seen. We pick up all kinds of clothes, toys, and household goodies when we go there.

At the end of the visit, we usually re-donate much of the things we've used (toys for the kids, used clothes, etc.).

Shipping items ahead to Hawaii or other faraway destinations is impossible for us. We're retired and not able to afford that luxury (it isn't a business expense for us!).

Since many of the timeshares do have "amenities" (soap, shampoo, conditioner, hand lotion, mouthwash, razors, etc.) I always take advantage of those (sometimes Goodwill has them, too). Whatever is left over still unused gets popped carefully into my suitcase, well protected with Saran wrap between the top opening and the cap, and then double insulated in zip-lock bags. I've never had a problem with any liquids, and have transported probably hundreds of these items in my luggage over the years.

This Christmas, I took a big basket of these disposable items to the local half-way house in the next town, where the residents -- who are moving into subsidized housing after homelessness -- prize them very much.

Thank you for your comments.

In peace,

Radio Lady in Oregon

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. I tried that in England

The part about buying shampoo, etc. worked fine, especially after I found the £1 shops, which sell small sizes, but my trip involved spending a week at a music festival with a group and then traveling by train on my own for ten days. I therefore decided that I would pack up my Sunday-go-to-classical-concert clothes and my fancy shoes and ship them home.

Sticker shock.

To send four lightweight summer dresses, a pair of shoes, and a pile of concert programs back to the States cost £27 by SEA MAIL. (That's about $55 at current exchange rates.)

Now in Japan, you can ship your suitcases all over the country for about ¥2,000 ($18) per bag by a type of service known as takkyuubin. The hotels are used to this and will gladly hold the bags of anyone who has a reservation. It's a terrific service, available at almost any convenience store. You just take your suitcase into the nearest 7-11, fill out the address tag in Japanese (people who don't speak Japanese have been known to print out the Japanese web page of their hotel and ask the clerk to fill out the address tag), pay your ¥2,000, and walk out, confident in the knowledge that your bag will show up at your next major destination in 24 hours, while you survive nicely with a day pack.

[Bridget Burke]

41. About #2: Buy sturdy luggage....

I was returning from California with a large, old bag; don't travel much. It was OK when I was dropped off at the door. By the time I got to check-in, the zipper had completely given way.

The lady at the desk patched it up with several yards of packing tape. It got to Houston when I did.

Back at home, I unpacked & pitched the bag in the trash.

I promise to use a better one, next time I fly!

[Phrogman]

24. Announcement I heard at Bush Intercontintal airport in Houston:

"Negative comments regarding the security measures now in effect may result in detainment or arrest"

[mnhtnbb]

37. How appropriate. Brought to you by Bushco.

[Lost4words]

38. Dimson calls it goods and services!

8643

[Lydia Leftcoast]

40. I was in England during the whole "terror plot" brouhaha, and a LTTE

over there asked an obvious question: "Why aren't baggage handlers subjected to a security check on their way OUT?"

[napi21]

42. Baggage handling by airlines EVERYWHERE is terrible!

My son works in Sicily, and had to attend a business meeting in Hawaii 2 months ago. There was a hickup in his flight connection from Rome to Philadelphia, and he was forced to stay in a hotel overnight. Of course, they couldn't find his luggage, but assured him it would be waiting for him in Hawaii. It wasn't! When the attendant in Hawaii ran a check on it, she said it had accidentally beenn forwarded to INDIA!!!!! He finally got it back AFTER he returned to Sicily 2 WEEKS LATER!!!!

I told him that was the most rediculous baggage story I've ever heard!