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Where Unclaimed Baggage Goes to Die (And Live Again)

April 28, 2009 at 8:46 AM | 0 Comments

Ever lose your luggage on a flight and wonder what happens to bags that never get reunited with their woeful owners?

Well, a good deal of it ends up in Scottsboro, Alabama at a massive thrift store called the Unclaimed Baggage Center. UBC buys unclaimed luggage from airlines in bulk, to the tune of 7,000 new items a day (that's a lot of lost bags!) Then everything is sold to the public out of their Alabama warehouse, and we do mean everything. Clothes, cameras, iPods, exotic souvenirs, prescription eyeglasses, and of course the bags themselves.

They've also got a museum where they put aside the stuff found in lost bags that's just too good to sell—for example, a life-size version of the creepy Hoggle puppet from the movie Labyrinth and a slew of 3,000-year-old Egyptian artifacts. Seems like those could have been reunited with their rightful owners, but oh well, finders keepers.

Related Stories:
· Unclaimed Baggage Center [Official Site]
· US Air Eats Luggage For Breakfast [Jaunted]
· Shopping coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: J-Rad]

Travel Woos: Crouch of Shame at American, Before SXSW

March 18, 2009 at 10:34 AM | 2 Comments

Yes, we know it is woes, so don't bother correcting us, but if you take the time to watch the entire video you just might get the joke. If you do decide to watch the video you will see Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar take you through the grueling, painstaking process of the airline crouch of shame, brought on by the 50lb baggage restrictions.

Luckily, it looks like Shira has the process down, she even has a couple tips for our overpacking readers -- jeans and shoes weigh the most, so layer up. Shira was on her way from LAX to AUS for SXSW via AA -- enough acronyms for you?

Related Stories:
· Jaunted Embed Shira Lazar [Jaunted]
· Baggage Scale Crouch of Shame [Jaunted]

Ryanair Will Fine You £30 If You Have Too Many Carry-Ons

January 22, 2009 at 11:53 AM | 2 Comments

Checking in luggage, checking in at the airport, choosing the seat you want… we already knew Ryanair was the airline that’ll sting you for as much as it can. But just when Europe was getting used to its crazy rules, it’s gone one further.

Ryanair is now only allowing passengers one item of hand luggage on its planes, whether that’s a suitcase or a teeny purse. Ordinarily, this would be no problem. We would just get a big bag, stuff our camera/laptop/handbag inside it to go through check-in and decant it all the other side of security. Besides, the cabin crew would be too busy posing in their scanties to even notice.

But not anymore. Anyone who arrives at the gate with more than one piece of hand luggage will be stung for a flat £30 ($42) and then will have the offending bag relegated to the hold. The crackdown comes after one passenger apparently arrived at the gate with five whole pieces of hand luggage.

Maybe now it's about time to look into travelling on a slightly more reasonable airline.

Got your own carry-on hell story? Let us know.

Related Stories:
· Is Ryanair The World's Crassest Airline? [Jaunted]
· Baggage stories [Jaunted]
· News: Ryanair introduces £30 excess hand luggage charge [Press Release]

[Photo of plane: elward-photography]

Vlogging Superstar Falls Victim To Baggage Scale Crouch Of Shame

December 18, 2008 at 9:45 AM | 1 Comment

We like former Defamer Molly McAleer lots, so we were horrified to hear that our internet crush missed a recent flight because of one passenger's baggage scale crouch of shame. Molls reports:

I finally arrived in Boston at 11-something pm after missing my morning flight because 10 extra minutes of sleep, 15 minutes of late cab drivers and 20 minutes of an inconsiderate Persian woman unpacking and repacking her suitcases in front of me at the check-in point when she learned that there was a baggage fee. Apparently the bitch lives under a rock cause I showed up with 1 bag and about 200 bucks in cash prepared for the worst.

We'd never accuse any of our savvy readers of not knowing about checked bag charges, but the holidays are nothing if not an opportunity for amateurs to gunk up the works. So spread the word to your less-traveled friends before they fly home for Christmas: Carry on only, or be ready to pay up.

Related Stories:
· This Is the Place I Fly To So I Can Eat Sandwiches [Molls She Wrote]
· What Airline Employees Really Think of Your Luggage [Jaunted]
· What's To Be Done About The Baggage Scale Crouch Of Shame? [Jaunted]

What's To Be Done About The Baggage Scale Crouch Of Shame?

December 15, 2008 at 2:05 PM | 2 Comments

Back in the days before pricey luggage fees and seemingly weekly airline bankruptcies, carriers didn't ever seem to charge for overweight bags. But we've recently heard about shady baggage scales from Tucson to St. Lucia, a disturbingly awful trend that can cost you at least $50 for every "overweight" suitcase you check.

Of course, the problem is that most hotel rooms don't come with scales--and even if they did, would you really be geeky enough to balance your Samsonite on there before heading to the airport?

In other words, the airlines have us by the rucksacks: If you're gonna check a bag, you have to trust the scale at check in. Overweight bags have led us to perform the dreaded crouch of shame more than once, digging through our dirty underwear in front of everyone, stuffing extras into our carry-on to lighten our checked load. But what's to be done about the hidden baggage scale scourge?

Do you have any tricks to determine which scales are bogus? Is one airline more guilty of shady scales than the others? And have you ever had to do your own crouch of shame? Let's commiserate in the comments.

Related Stories:
· More Airport Scales We Can't Trust [Jaunted]
· Baggage Scale Crisis Continues in Caribbean [Jaunted]
· Jaunted Open Threads [Jaunted]

[Photo: tttallis]

How To Fly With Your Skis

December 15, 2008 at 12:45 PM | 1 Comment

Everyone, it seems, is hauling the skis out of the closet and trying to figure out how to get them to the mountain without paying a checked baggage charge. But unless you're paying for business or first class seats--which usually cover the cost of your bags--you're probably going to end up forking over some cash. But at least you have some options of who you'll be forking to:

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What Airline Employees Really Think Of Your Luggage

December 12, 2008 at 11:45 AM | 0 Comments

If you're doing any dead zone travel this week or next, don't think that just because the airport is empty everyone's happy to see you. Nope, a tourist is a tourist is a tourist--at least according to humor site Holy Taco, which has put together a handy compendium on what people are thinking when you travel.

While the inner monologues of taxi drivers and baggage handlers giving your suitcase the Rex Grossman treatment are funny enough, we got the biggest laugh out of what every airline check-in agent must think at least a dozen times an hour:

Is that the only baggage you’ll be checking? Let me tell you about how we’re charging for that now, so that you can act really shocked and outraged, even though there’s not one thing I can do about it, and you already knew about this months ago because every news outlet in the entire world has reported on it.

Our tip? Don't be that guy. Brush up on the rules before hitting the airport, either at your airline's official website or on FareCompare's airline fee chart. And if you want to skip the judgy airline employee altogether, check in online before leaving home. You can even do that if you plan to check bags; just drop them off at the designated counter when you get to the airport and you're on your way.

Related Stories:
· What People Are Thinking When You Travel [Holy Taco]
· Do You Dare Dead Zone Travel? [Jaunted]

[Photo: juicyrai]

Baggage Scale Crisis Continues In Caribbean

December 9, 2008 at 2:15 PM | 0 Comments

After Tucson and New York, we were hoping to be done with faulty luggage scales at airports. But the scourge is now menacing the Caribbean, at least according to one tipster who hit us up on the complaint line:

My honeymoon cost me $50 more than expected due to what I'm sure were faulty scales at the American Airlines counter in St. Lucia's Hewanorra International. Somehow between arriving in St. Lucia and leaving, our luggage gained 15 pounds. I actually removed some items from our luggage that weren't needed anymore, and we didn't buy much of anything to bring home.

I would say we probably added five pounds of souveniers and removed the same in items that were not returning with us, such as some toiletries we came with that were full on arrival but almost empty on leaving. If my baggage weighed five pounds more, I'd be fine with it, but 15 pounds more is another story--especially when that extra "weight" requires me to shell out money!

Obviously we haven't checked all of American's scales in the Caribbean, but given the carrier's track record, it seems possible there are some shenanigans afoot. This being the third instance of faulty scales we've heard about in less than a month, this is now officially an awful trend.

Related Stories:
· New York Airport Scales Now Accurate, No Thanks To American [Jaunted]
· Airport Hell coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Noël Zia Lee]

More Airport Scales We Can't Trust

December 3, 2008 at 11:55 AM | 1 Comment

Tucson International is the latest airport to have luggage scale irregularities after New York's Department of Consumer Affairs revealed just before Thanksgiving that scales used by American Airlines at JFK were inaccurate. The Arizona Department of Weights and Measures says all 15 scales used by Delta and United at TUS failed inspection.

While officials didn't say how inaccurate scale readings were, what we do know is that United charges $125 for bags over 50 pounds and Delta asks $25 for items between 50 and 70 pounds.

We'd normally say "You shouldn't be checking bags anyway," but that's hard advice to head if you're packing your skis or snowboards this winter.

Related Stories:
· Two Airlines' Luggage Scales Fail at TUS [Tucson Citizen, via]
· New York Airport Scales Now Accurate, No Thanks To American [Jaunted]
· Airport Hell coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Noël Zia Lee]

New York Airport Scales Now Accurate, No Thanks To American

November 24, 2008 at 11:13 AM | 1 Comment

As if you needed another reason to not check your bag: New York's Department of Consumer Affairs has cited American Airlines for using inaccurate scales at its check-in counters--after the agency told the carrier to take the faulty machinery out of service.

The DCA checked all 810 scales at JFK and LGA and found 102 of them to be improperly calibrated, though inspectors wouldn't say if displays were reading heavier or lighter. Though every other airline told of a scale problem immediately remedied the situation, American didn't, said one DCA employee:

American Airlines is the biggest violator, and they continued to use 10 scales after they were issued a stop-use order. It's kind of curious that all 10 were only with one airline. We are going to check on them regularly.

The Department of Consumer Affairs says all scales--except the 10 it's condemned--are now accurate. Still, passengers transiting NYC airports would be wise to look closely when checking bags: If you spot a red "condemned" sticker, demand a different scale and file a report with the DCA.

Related Stories:
· Airport Scales Enforcement Sweep [NYC DCA]
· JFK Scales of Injustice [AP, via NYP]
· Airport Hell coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Noël Zia Lee]

X-Ray Machine Art: Lulz with the TSA

September 29, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments

Evan Roth is an artist known for his boundary-pushing work. His latest project is no exception. He's creating a series of metal plates with messages carved in to them that will only show up when going through an X-ray machine.

They're made to be stowed away in your carry-on luggage as a surprise to stressed out TSA employees. Hilarity and/or a full search will surely result!

Roth has yet to test these plates, so if anyone out there has a spare X-ray machine laying around, get at him.

Related Stories:
· Evan Roth [Official Site]
· Airport Screener X-Ray Message Plates [Gizmodo]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]

Travel Party Report: Extreme Travel with Abercrombie & Kent

September 19, 2008 at 11:05 AM | 0 Comments

Yesterday, Jaunted went to check out Abercrombie & Kent's newest offerings at New York's Rockefeller Center.

A&K was showcasing their awesome Extreme Adventure trips with displays that replicated some of the many challenging expeditions they offer. These vacations are serious business: Stuff like skiing to the South Pole, traversing Norway by sled dog and white water rafting in New Zealand. As opposed to Abercrombie's usual luxury tours, Extreme Adventures (as the name implies) put your abilities to the test in very demanding environments.

They were also displaying a new line of rugged bags from Tumi's T-Tech line. The Polycarbonate, Hydro and Adventure collections are designed for high performance but are stylish enough for everyday use. Seen in the photo above--behind the camel--are a few pieces from the Hydro series: These bonded polyurethane bags are 98 percent water resistant and will withstand temperatures of 20 degrees below without cracking.

Head over to the T-Tech site for more on the bags; you can also sign up to win a once-in-a-lifetime trek to the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Related Stories:
· A&K Extreme Adventures [Official Site]
· Tumi T-Tech [Official Site]
· Adventure Travel coverage [Jaunted]