Baggage Claim

I know I vaguely refer to my hatred for the baggage claim a lot....but I'm going to get into it today.

Setup:
Most baggage claims are located near the passenger pick up zone of an airport. So, for example, in Denver, you take a tram between the main (ticketing/baggage) area...and the gate areas. So when you deplane, you have about 15 minutes of transport before you even arrive at baggage claim. This is an interesting idea...and i can see why they thought to do it this way. Obviously, the longer you're in transport, the less time you're sitting there thinking 'omg where the hell is my stuff'.

However, when you arrive in Denver, spend 15-20 minutes in transport....then sit there for 40 minutes waiting for your stuff...it's a little less charming a lot more annoying.

I realize the industry is going through some tough times, and I imagine it's diffucult to find reliable people to be baggage handlers (especially when you factor in that they aren't well paid AND have to pass security checks). i know they're short staffed. But why can't newer airports have built in conveyers that will literally transport your stuff from gate to carousel (thus eliminating the need for someone to drive the cart back and forth...they'd be freed up to unload more bags from other planes. Granted, it would be tricky and expensive to build a system of hundreds of individual conveyer belts (and a NIGHTMARE to maintain them) but it would work.

Something else that drives me crazy is when they unload 12 planes of luggage onto 1 carousel. This is particularly an issue at the Phoenix airport. In terminal 4, there are 8 luggage carousels, and usually 4 of them are barren...while the other 4 are crowded with literally....hundreds of bags pouring out, stacking, crushing, toppling, collapsing, and just a huge mess. The carousels are each 'claimed' by an airline...so for example if there happen to be 12 Southwest flights landing at the same time...and only 4 Southwest carousels...they'll triple-load each of them, while the Delta & USAir carousels are totally empty. Aren't airports sophisticated enough to have some sort of load-balancing software for their baggage? the PHX terminal literally has 2 ladies that sit at a podium and make all the decisions manually. they have a list of all incoming filghts, and they get walkie-talkied every time 1 lands. they make an announcement overhead about which carousel it will go on! it's completely manual! can you believe that!!

Anyway - i didn't realize that airlines were so territorial about their luggage carousels. Does anyone know why this is? Why cant' they share?


People:
Completely independant of the setup of Luggage Claim is the ridiculous behavior that people exhibit while AT luggage claim. My favorite 3 examples are:

1. The Lone Wolf
This is the guy who has been sent by his whole group (usually....10 people are standing behind way far away and they have sent their 1 representative). now, let me start by saying that i APPLAUD this behavior. this is smart. you dont need the whole family there to get everyone's luggage. you send a representative, then you use the kids as 'shuttles'. so when some bags come off, the kids run and grab them and take them back to the rest of the herd. then there's lots of space, no stray luggage is lounging around...THIS IS GOOD. what's NOT good...is when the kids (or other members of the party) dont do their job and the lone person just stacks the stuff behind them....basically surrounding themselves with a huge luggage FORT. then noone within 10 feet of the guy can get to the carousel! then....it takes the poor guy a year to clear out the fort, because noone is his family will help him! this is a frustrating experience for not only the other passengers, but this poor sucker whose family is lazy.

**the lone wolf scenario also works well if people rotate in & out of the 'hot seat'. realizing that not everyone in the gruop will recognize everyone else'e bags, of course.


2. The Family Reunion
This case is basically the total opposite of the above. when someone has come back from overseas....from a long trip....etc, usually the whole family greets them and then they tromp over to get luggage all together. Now...we're typically only awaiting 1 (maybe 2) bags here...yet there are approximately 45 people herding around the belt...basically preventing anyone else from getting their bags and getting on with their day. i dislike this behavior. if you have THAT much to catch up on that you can't split up for 10 minutes (ok...30 minutes), then you and your crew should retreat to the back of the area....have your catchup session..then when everyone else has gotten their bags and left, you can stroll up, easily ID your bag, and skedaddle! easy! and way easier for everyone else.


3. The overzealous chute guy
My favorite of the three (well, the fort-builder might be my favorite). This is the guy who stands literally 1 inch from the chute. although...you dont know which direction the belt is going to rotate, so it's a 50/50 gamble for him. but..you better believe that when the siren wails, the red lights flash, and that belt gets going, he's going to tackle you down to get that #1 spot. usually...he lines his children, wife, co-workers, or (the worst) his briefcase and other roller bag...right up next to him, so noone else can get too close. then other annoying people just snuggle up right next to him and they become the 2nd closest person. making a totally impenetrable barrier between you (and all the other normal, sane, patient passengers) and your luggage. so while you might be able to SEE your bag...you wont be able to go get it for about 50 yards, becuase you have to keep walking until you find a tiny opening.

however, the plus side of this overagressive guy is that 99.99% of the time, his bag is the last one out. so it's ok :)

that's all i got. i'm sure you guys have a lot of comments on baggage claims. it seems to be a popular source of frustration at airports around the world. I will say, ( and i think i've commented on this before). some of the terminals at DFW have individual baggage carousels for each gate, which is just phenomenal. you walk out of the plane, across the hall, there's a door...and there you go. you can see it from the plane. no sharing, no endless walking, and it's nice and convenient. i bet they even have conveyer belts taking the bags most of the way there :)