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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Lost Luggage

 Dear insansapinas,

One of my nightmares in travelling is lost luggage. So I see to it that I do not put my extra medication in my checked in luggage. Kesehodang pasan ko ang parang parmaseyutikang dami ng aking meds.


I also bring with me at least extra undies and shirt in my carryon. Ganiyan ako kaparanoid. Just in case, I get stranded, I will have something extra to wear.


And it just happened when I took a vacation recently and was stranded in Detroit on my way home because of the snowstorm that shut down Washington DC for a week.


My checked in luggage was dropped at the conveyor built on its way to Washington, DC minutes before I saw that my flight and all flights were cancelled.


In case, like this, airline may give you personal kit wihich includes one big shirt, comb, toothpaste, toothbrush,and shave for men. 


In the hotel, I met a Filipina who was worried sick because she did not have her medication for her hypertension. It was in her checked-in luggage. Cancelled flights and unavailable hotel reservations made her blood pressure go up.


Upon arriving at Reagan International Airport when flights were resumed, I was directed to the baggage area. And there I saw my luggage among the suitcases that were grouped according to their date of arrivals. 


How did I recognize my luggage? I put colorful name tag, a red strip  of neon tape across the body and a little ribbon wrapped around one of the handles. It had been my experience that suit cases looked the same when they are put together or they are circling in the carousel. To spot the luggage easily, you have to put something that makes it stand out.


This news said that mishandling luggage is reduced is a welcome news. Have you ever been in the baggage claim area? When I failed to get my luggage in the San Francisco Airport several years ago from Los Angeles, I was about to file a lost baggage claim. I saw opened suticases with contents sprawled all over the floor of the office where I was directed to see if I can find it.  I am lucky that my luggage was just misplaced.


This is the news:



According to statistics recently released by the Department of Transportation (DOT), in 2009, major U.S. carriers reduced the rate of mishandled, mangled and lost bags to the lowest level recorded since 2004.
Hooray, right? Don’t fall off your chair just yet. Last year, major airlines mishandled “just” 3.91 bags per 1,000 passengers. It’s an improvement over 2008's rate of 5.26, but data show more than 2.19 million pieces of luggage went missing in 2009.

Pinaysaamerika 

4 comments:

biyay said...

eses, antay ako ng antay na lumabas ang luggage ko. til isa na lang ang natira sa carousel, hindi pa yun ang akin. yun pala, na-pick up ng iba.kanya yung natirang luggage. buti na lang, bumalik din sya kaagad and nag-exchange kami. ewan ko lang bakit napagkalaman yung bagahe ko e maliit yung sa akin tapos pahaba yung sa kanya. pareho nga lang itim. mula nun, naglalagay ako ng ribbon o colorful name tag sa bagahe ko

Paulding said...

naalala ko tuloy yung isang alisbayan ko. sa me san andres yung condo na-rent ko. ang daming askal (doggie). siguro noong binuhat ng sekyu yung maleta ko naibaba sa etchas ng aso. sa port of entry napunta ako sa spot check ng luggage. eh nilagay ko pa naman yung mga underpants ko sa ibabaw para hindi na halunkatin. enden nakita ko yung frozen (white na) na ecthas sa paa ng maleta ko. heto na, natutunaw na! at biglang umalingasaw sabay sa pagbukas ng maleta ko! hahaha! pinaalis agad ako! alis jan! baho mo!

cathy said...

biyay,
minsan talaga napagkakamalan ang luggage. ako naman hanap ng itim na suitscase, yon pala dark green yong akin. toinkk

cathy said...

polo,
buti di sinabing weapon of destruction. hehehe