Jaunted

Last year, more than 31 million bags -- around 1.4% of all checked luggage -- arrived late, industry officials say. Roughly 1.8 million bags never arrived. Some take unexplained detours.

When Chloe Good started a round-the-world trip last October, her backpack didn't even make the first leg, a hop from New York to Chicago on United Airlines. Replacing clothes, malaria pills and the bag when she reached Paris cost far more than United's $1,491.14 reimbursement check, she says. The 25-year-old Miami native says she exchanged so many calls and emails with United's luggage agent in India that he told her about his love life and invited her to visit him in New Delhi.

Aside from the cute possible relationship that almost emerged from this drama, we (and the inconvenienced fliers) want to know where the crap those 1.8 million lost bags ended up. They can't all be in the infamous Unclaimed Baggage Outlet store, can they?

This is why Mr. Price's job exists, and he's managed to identify some huge factors in lost luggage that perhaps will help airlines shape up. One such problem comes during the holidays, when air travel is busiest and airlines hire "temporary agents who bungle airport codes and send bags astray."

So until the baggage systems are fixed and human error drastically lessens at check-in desks, what does Mr. Price suggest we do? Buy a generous travel insurance policy of course, but we'd rather save the money and go carry-on.

Related Stories:
· Airlines' Expert On Missing Bags Fights Lost Cause [WSJ]
· Baggage Fees Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: WSJ]