Going on vacation this year? What are the chances you’ll lose your luggage?

By web gangsta | Published:

Have you ever lost your luggage while on a trip?

We have – it was on the return trip, which made things easier; and the airline did deliver our bag within 24 hours….. ringing the doorbell at 3am.

We can’t complain – the bag did show up on our doorstep, late but unharmed.

Trace Me luggage tracker
Trace Me Luggage Tracker

But we may be the lucky ones. Every year we hear horror stories of people losing valuable luggage on planes. Why celebrities are packing thousands of dollars in jewelry into checked luggage instead of carrying it onto the plane with them is beyond us, but it seems to happen almost weekly.

ACCORDING TO SITA, an organization that tracks airlines’ baggage performance, airlines are improving their luggage handling.  Instead of losing about 7 bags for every 1,000 passengers, airlines have gotten down to losing about 3 bags for every 1,000 passengers.  And if you think about it, that’s really not so bad. Could it be better? Certainly.

So which are the WORST AIRLINES MOST LIKELY TO LOSE YOUR LUGGAGE? Let’s take a look…

While some smaller airlines (American Eagle) have poor showings in the report, out of the major airlines, these are the WORST FIVE FOR LUGGAGE HANDLING:

  1. Southwest / AirTran
  2. United
  3. American
  4. Alaska
  5. US Airways

Baggage handling is improving significantly, all said.

How can you minimize issues when checking luggage?  While you may not be able to avoid changing planes on your trip, you should do what you can to avoid changing airlines.