Tips on preventing (or if necessary, dealing with) lost luggage

I almost always check my bag. I’m taunting fate, some say, but really, I’m just trying not to be a hypocrite.

It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when people bring overstuffed suitcases onto a plane and spend two minutes trying to shove it into an overhead bin that was built for purses and briefcases, not the library of alexandria.

Man, that annoys me.

But you can’t ignore the statistics. According to Travel & Leisure, more than 1 million bags were lost or stolen between May and July (I can only assume they mean 2007).

So what can you do besides brainlessly shoving overstuffed baggage into the overhead compartments? Travel & Leisure has a few suggestions on that front as well: put identification inside your luggage, in case a tag falls off and try to avoid short layovers. If you can’t get between the gates, how is your baggage supposed to?

They also have a few tips on filing a claim if your bag disappears anyway. Go check it out.