Luggage Tags Are Not Life Saving Articles

As frequently as security announcements interrupt sine waves throughout terminals across the globe, passengers say; “My bag had a ribbon on it. Flying friends, let me tell you an industry tip that could save you time and energy. We all have baggage…
Some carry too much, placing zipper bursting emphasis upon external factors such as; color, brands, or flashy tags, with little regard to internal qualities. I’m not referencing pajama thread count, I’m talking individual personal fabric. Humans in transit get upset when articles “shift during flight” to an alternate baggage chute. Instead of unzipping over stuffed frustration upon airline personnel, perhaps take a look at your sun washed face in a travel caboodle mirror, and reflect outwardly the goodness from within your heart. There is little need to waste precious energy on misplaced material items. Look at recent devastation in the Philippines, I imagine emphasis is on loved ones, not possessions.

Have fun if you check a bag. Attach a GPS, watch where it ventures, calculate accrued mileage, embrace the intriguing transference between carriers and cities.

When your anxious red eyes circle the carousel, remember how far transport has evolved since cargo moved via wagon. If a carrier “delayed” my skis on a powder vacation, I could relate. However, when unloading frustration of “delayed” dirty island shorts, when it’s 7 degrees out, please buckle your anger with “the metal fitting,” and treat the agent behind the counter with some warm decency.

I have witnessed moments where pianissimo apologies cannot ease the pain. The neck of a viola was severed off en-route to an audition. A honeymoon bag full of broken glass lay dispersed between rum saturated wedding clothes. A broken electric wheelchair left a passenger immobile, along with missing dentures and important medication. These are huge inconveniences, but there is no material item worth enough anger to validate spitting in my coworkers eye, (true story) if your bag does not arrive.

Having a red ribbon on your bag could have made it visible rounding the carousel. However, since your lovely (insert favorite carrier here) “delayed” your luggage, frankly it doesn’t matter if you had flares attached. This goes for Disney name tags, Cinderella, just married tags, photographs, duct tape, competing carrier tags, crew tags, or government we don’t care who you are tags.

This is my attempt to save you from purchasing environmentally unfriendly items, because they are not life saving articles, like some believe. What will you do with the seven seconds you saved identifying your bag ASAP on the carousel, anyway?! Will you save the world, the environment? Will you share kind words with traveling companions? I find it silly bag identifiers and ribbons get discussed more so than world hunger. Who cares if you have to wait for your bag to circle the belt? What if you stood next to that someone who changed your world?

80% of leisure passengers seem baffled their bag did not arrive connecting through four cities, and three carriers later, partly because their ticket was purchased on a third party site. When did we start assuming this process seamless? What in your daily life runs perfectly? If the grocery store is lacking Dole, do you go bananas?

Are you seriously still describing the details of your luggage tag? “I’m sorry, did you say the parakeet on the right side had blue eyes?” Please discuss with me something that matters in this lifetime.

Friends of the skies, keep flashy, stay kind and perhaps leave a little more “baggage” at home when traveling…