Tips for arriving with your luggage intact

Last week, when Cortney Cameron picked up her luggage at baggage claim in San Francisco, she was left holding the bag - an empty one. Apparently the zipper on her suitcase popped and all her belongs escaped. Some of her clothes arrived in a bin. The rest traveled solo on the conveyor belt. Individual pieces of her lingerie showed a sense of humor by spreading themselves out in unusual shapes as they made their rounds. Cortney considered abandoning the wayward undergarments, but practicality won out. She found a friendly storekeeper who gave her a couple of disposable bags. Cortney left the airport with her belongings in two plastic totes. She felt like an official bag lady.

Cortney isn't the only one to air her dirty laundry in baggage claim. When Martha Myers travels, she puts her dirty laundry in a plastic bag. When she packs for her return home, she lays the bag on top of her other clothes in her suitcase. It keeps her clean clothes separated from the dirty ones and makes unpacking easy at the end of her trip.

But on her return flight from a deep-sea-fishing trip in Florida, agents must have smelled something fishy. Her bag was singled out for additional security. When the suitcase arrived at baggage claim, the plastic bag was gone and pieces of her lingerie hung loosely from the seams of her luggage.

While damaged luggage usually suffers from overly exuberant agents who aren't known for using kid gloves when they load baggage, occasionally they get a little too fired up - literally. Last December, a United Airlines agent boarding a flight from Syracuse to Chicago, apparently placed a bag near the exhaust vent of a baggage belt that was loading luggage into the belly of the plane. When somebody lit the belt, the bag did the same. I'm sure the owner was smoking, too, when she got the news.

Luggage incidents often lead the list of airline complaints. The problems are twofold. Whether bags are lost or damaged, they require similar action. Here's what you can do to avoid losing it when they lose it or break it.

• Know what you packed. Make a record of what is in your suitcase. Before Kathy Kuffner packs her bag, she lays everything on her bed that's going with her and she snaps a picture of it. If something is lost or stolen, she has a photo as well a list of the items.

• Pack frugally. Leave the family jewels at home. Don't expect to receive the true value for lost items. The airlines put a ceiling on the amount they will reimburse you.

• Choose a practical bag. A thief will show more interest in a butter-soft leather bag than in a cheap nylon bag. And if an airline damages it, they're apt to call it 'normal wear-and-tear'. On the other hand, pay-up for strong zippers and buckles and sturdy fabrics. Luggage should not be just a pretty face.

• Report your complaint immediately. Go to the baggage service counter as soon as you realize there's a problem. Ask to see a copy of the airline's obligations and fill out the appropriate forms. Get a copy of the forms, a phone number and an e-mail address for tracing purposes and the name of the agent who helps you.

If you can't leave baggage claim armed with your luggage, at least be armed with the facts. Never go home empty-handed or you may suffer a slow burn for several months before the incident is resolved.

Gail Todd, a free-lance writer,worked as a flight attendant for more than 30years. She can be reached via e-mail at gailtodd@aol.com.