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The Stories are True.
Odds are that none of this will happen to you.
But you've no doubt seen accounts in the press about the difficulties faced by some travelers as they move about the world again. The problems are legion and the reasons myriad. Cancelled flights, mishandled bags, hours-long delays inside and outside airports, from the rental car counter to passport control to baggage claim.
Allow me to share some of the stories I have heard and read recently--just a few examples of heartache that can be avoided by not checking bags.
Your first of two flights is delayed.
Will you make the connection? Will your bag make the connection? The answer is not always the same. But if your bag is with you, at least you know that if you make the connection, so will your bag. How many of us have made a tight connection but stressed out waiting to find out if our luggage has accompanied us or will follow us the next day (if we're lucky)?
Your flight is cancelled.
Are you being rerouted? Will that new flight be today? Tomorrow? Is there a connection? Are your flights with the same airline, or worse, is it it with a connection using two other airlines? Who is ultimately responsible for reuniting you with your bag? A travel advisor colleague just returned from a trip where she literally wore the same jumpsuit every day for two weeks, washing it constantly in her hotel room or yacht cabin sink. If she didn't believe before that she could pack light, now she knows it for sure!
How many hours before your flight do you need to arrive if you're checking a bag?
Maybe a lot earlier than you think. Under most circumstances, three hours is the normal advice for international flights or busy domestic airports. But recently the return line at the rental car counter or the check-in line at the airline ticket counter has been observed snaking through the lobby and out the door. Security wait times have stretched to two hours at some airports. Have you already obtained your boarding pass on your phone? With your carry-on bag, head straight for security.
What about staffing issues?
We all know that staffing issues are affecting many industries right now. Is it sick flight attendants, unhappy baggage handlers staging an unannounced work action in Amsterdam, or the British airways customer service agents at Heathrow voting on whether to strike a few weeks from now, at the peak of summer holidays? Not checking a bag can minimize your need to interact with humans or wait for humans to perform tasks, and that can take some of the stress out of travel this summer.
Slow bag claim?
Breeze right past those carousels and into your destination with your carry-on bag. I have seen tales of people waiting literally hours for their bags for various reasons, and if you have any further time deadline that you are trying to meet upon arrival, this inconvenient–or possibly trip-altering–delay could be rendered unnecessary. Even a pre-arranged private transfer may be entitled to abandon the booking with no refund after a certain fixed waiting period is exceeded, and then how will you get to where you need to be?
Last but not least: plain old "lost bag."
This fate cannot befall you if the bag is with you, end of story.
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