Carry On! Fewer Checked Bags Cut Lost Luggage

Airlines lost 1.3M fewer bags last year as new fees convinced passengers to carry on

By Ambreen Ali, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 2, 2009 2:05 AM CST

Copied

Carry On! Fewer Checked Bags Cut Lost Luggage — American Airlines enjoyed the biggest improvement in lost luggage last year with a 26% dip in missing bags. It also generated the most in new baggage fees: $94.1 million. (AP Photo/Rick Maiman)

Through their relentless fees, airlines have managed to put the task of transporting often-lost luggage in much safer hands. Last year—as passengers carried aboard the baggage they previously checked for free—airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags than in 2007, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 33% improvement was most noticeable in the fall, when most of the recession-hit carriers adopted service fees.
(More airline industry stories.)

Report an error