"Airlines In Nepal Didn't Lose My Bag"

At last week's NBAA convention in Atlanta, there were plenty of opinions on the reasons for the boom in business jets. One that popped up in almost every conversation was the continued decay of the airline travel experience.

Fact is, if you're close to making a private jet pencil out, a few horrible days travelling through airline hubs can really help convince you to take the step. Lost, damaged and just plain stolen luggage is a growing part of that declining airline experience.

The US Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that June and July ranked among with worst months in 20 years on record-keeping for airline baggage complaints.

The Washington Post reports that over the last five years alone, reports of mishandled bags have more than doubled -- from 3.84 reports per thousand bags handled, to 7.93.

Airlines blame a jump in the number of checked bags after the TSA imposed restrictions on what could be in carry-ons, and staffing levels are down due to layoffs during airline bankruptcies.

Somewhat curiously -- given the airlines themselves made this decision -- carriers also blame luggage woes on the abundance of regional aircraft, which can't carry as many bags as their larger mainline brethren.

The Air Transport Association -- lobbying group for the nation's airlines -- was quick to make an arguably tenuous connection between lost baggage, and the nation's aging ATC system.

"The primary reason behind mishandled bags is delayed and misconnected flights," said ATA spokesman Dave Castelveter. "And we're seeing record delays this summer... No airline tries to [lose bags]... The carriers are trying the best they can given the existing situation."

Whatever the causes, frequent fliers seem more and more aware of the growing problem.

"It's just a disaster. They never lose my bags in other countries," said Joshua Marcuse, a 25-year-old management consultant and frequent traveler. "Seriously, I could be in the jungle in Latin America, on safari in Africa, in India or Nepal. The airlines in Nepal didn't lose my bag."

It isn't merely the great unwashed masses who are complaining. As ANN reported, California congressman Bob Filner... well, freaked out... when his bags failed to arrive in a timely manner after an August flight into Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. The confrontation -- in which he allegedly shoved a United Airlines employee -- resulted in the worker filing assault charges.

"I was tired after a delayed flight and frustrated by the subsequent further delay of the entire flight's baggage," Filner explained.

FMI: www.airlines.org