I never like to check bags unless I am skiing. I have had the experience of losing too many bags for weeks at a time. This simply becomes a huge inconvenience and it is costly. Airlines provide you with barely enough compensation to buy a pair of underpants and socks.
So that is my rule. In addition, there always seems to be a hopeless wait time over busy periods for the ground staff to get your bags from plane to carousel. Of course, there are good airports and bad airports. Good airlines and bad airlines. But the golden rule I use is always to hide my bag behind a post if the plane is full and small. This has easily checked out before.
When the check-in attendant asks you if you have any more bags than your simple carry on, I always state that this is it. When you get to the gate, and the bag happens to be too big and they spot it as a rebel carry on, they take it from you. But, at least you have minimized half the risk because you know now that the bag will be on the plane as it’s checked at the gangway entrance. Now you only have the receiving airports ground staff as your final obstacle. This happened to me on my recent flight from Lyon to Rome. And of course, what could be worse than Aeroporti di Roma for that final possible glitch. Yes, the delightful Fiumicino Airport lost my bag.
I reported it lost after waiting endlessly for the carousel to churn around. That sinking feeling you get. The quick check to ensure you have your baggage receipt. Then the forms and the bureaucracy. The absolute lack of enthusiasm to find your bag. One of the three people sitting doing absolutely nothing and telling you, “It’s here, but it’s busy, and we don’t know where it is!” LBS or “lost bag syndrome” can haunt you for days, affect your sleep, and cause hyperventilation. They have got my Paul Smith suit!
So, if you have to check a bag, make sure you have a backup of sorts. Mine turned up the next day. I actually thought to myself that things maybe had improved dramatically at Fiumicino and that it was a new world where bags didn’t get lost, toilets were always available and clean in arrivals, and taxi drivers weren’t looking to rip you off as you wearily exited the doors. Maybe aliens had taken over the country after all. A new prime minister, a new world order. Nah, Italy wouldn’t feel the same.
online cialis