Luggage stolen at MCO

[threeboysmom]

Just wanted to give you guys the heads-up in what's going on at the Orlando Airport. I recently had my bag stolen upon arrival at MCO. I was told that this has been an on-going problem that they've been having, not only with Southwest (which I flew), but other airlines too. Make sure you get down to the baggage claim area IMMEDIATELY upon arriving!! I had my 4 year old with me and we made a stop at the rest room before going down to baggage. By the time we got down there my bag was already gone! Be on alert when you're there - watch very carefully for your bags as they come in from outside. There is a ring of thieves that grab them quickly and leave, even when surrounded by all the passengers. Amazing!

My bag was eventually found in a dumpster with my underwear (yeah!!), but not much else :( A very frustrating beginning to a vacation, but my son and I managed to have loads of fun regardless :)

Kimberly

[Kermit]

That's too bad. I thought that Southwest always checked your tickets to make sure you took the right bags. They don't fly anywhere around here, but they did when I lived in Dallas.

Glad you had a good time anyway. Have fun shopping for new clothes! :)

[GAIL HAYDEN]

no they don't check the tickets against the bags all the time. It is , at best, sporatic with all the airlines, not just SWA. MCO would be a nightmare to check the bag carosel (sp) is really large.
I am truly sorry that you lost your bag.

[B3LM]

Oh, what an awful way to start your vacation!!! Glad to hear that you were able to have a lot of fun anyway!

Beth

[DebbieB]

Our airport (PIT) used to check for claim tickets, but when the new terminal opened about 10 years ago they stopped. The only one I've seen do it recently is Las Vegas. I just read a report on cnn.com that Las Vegas got the best security score, so other airports should check out what they are doing.

Sorry to hear what happened. :(

[flyingcircus]

I think LAX and DFW still check- at least on the United side.

[Gary M]

They also match your claim check to the baggage at the New Orleans airport(MSY).

[Cora]

Thanks for the heads up, we'll be at MCO in 3 wks. BTW, I've travelled to LAX quite frequently for the past 27 years (I have family out there). Every single time they have checked my baggage checks, regardless of the carrier. I haven't been in 3 years but am leaving in approx 4 wks for LAX I'll be curious to see what happens.

Cora

[n2mm]

Thanks for the warning. That is just awful. Not something I would imagine could happen. We will make sure to go straight to baggage claim instead of stopping off. We go quite often and have never given this a second thought. I have never had anyone check my bags to make sure they were mine. I guess more folks will have to get robbed before they change security at the baggage pick up. Thanks for sharing that info!

[pdzabe]

I am very surprised to hear this! I hope the rest of your vacation went well. We always fly US Air and no one checked our tickets against baggage, but we did go right down to baggage area so were there when it came out. I always wondered how this didn't happen more often; I guess you have to be very vigilant at all times always watching. Was there any reason in particular your bag may have been picked? Just curious.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

They can rip off a bag even if you are standing right there, if they want to.
The baggage carosel makes has a long twisty way to go before your bags revolve again.
someone could be at the opening to where the bags come out, you could be at the third "bend" and the bag could be gone before it hits your area.
This is the first I have heard of this type of thing and cannot help but believe if it was an issue they would have people there checking baggage claim tickets against the luggage.
Regardless of that fact, it is a pretty stinky thing and I do feel bad for the original poster.
BTW, is the airline going to reimburse you for any of your loss?

[flyingcircus]

There are professional thieves in the airports! I was at ORD a couple of years ago with my 2 little ones at McDonalds. As I was holding one kid, and putting a straw in the drink of the other, someone reached in my bag and stole my wallet. Of course I didn't see it, but my 4 yr old DD did. We went to the airport police, filled out forms etc.. Chicago police told me there are chains of thieves that actually buy plane tickets in and out of airports only for stealing!!
Sure enough, 2 days later I get a call from United in SFO saying that someone found my wallet in the MEN"S bathroom in SFO.

I know this is horrible, but we have to be aware of those nasty people out there!!:(

[skeezixspud]

I don't want to imply that I doubt you. I'm just surprised, because my experience recently was so different. Could it be that all of the talk about restricting carryons is encouraging thieves to think that more passengers are putting valuables in checked bags?

We flew SWA into MCO on Sep. 21st, and arrived at 11:30 pm. They were checking baggage tags on checked and gate-checked luggage (the agents had dogs, yet), and I heard a couple complaining that they could not find their bag claims. They were told they would have to go to the SWA baggage office and get a confirmation before they would be allowed to take their bags. It took awhile to get out of baggage claim; they were very thorough and had the whole carousel roped off with only one entrance/exit.

[threeboysmom]

sheezixspud - my bag was stolen on 9/18. No one was there checking claim tickets against bags. My sister got her bag without a problem and the same with my Dad's. Only my bag was missing :( Maybe MCO began tighter security in the baggage claim area as a result. Too late, in my opinion. I was told by an employee in the office that this was an on-going problem. When they found my bag in the dumpster, there were a few other suitcases/bags in there as well. I guess as a result, SWA decided enough is enough and cracked down on the problem. I'm glad though that they are now checking all claim tickets against bags. If only they had done that just a few days earlier :(

Gail - SWA has told me they will reimburse me for the items in my luggage. They want receipts to match the items and unfortunately, I didn't keep most of the receipts. Some items were a few years old. So it will be interesting to see how they handle the reimbursement. Of course when you go on vacation you always pack your favorite things :( (well, at least I do)

pdzabe - the only reason why I can think they targeted my bag was that it was black and looked like most of the other bags snaking around. That would give the thief more chance of grabbing the bag and not being noticed by the owner. If it were a hot pink bag, for example, the thief would never be able to get away with it if the owner were anywhere in the vicinity. Just my opinion though..... From now on though, I will be marking all my bags with brightly colored material/ribbon so they are easily noticeable.

[DebbieB]

Good idea about the ribbons. I had an incident when returning to PIT last year. I saw my bag coming around the carousel and I had a small red ribbon on the handle. An elderly woman about 5 people to my left grabbed it first! I turned around and walked over to her and her husband as they were leaving and looked at the tag (my business card that was discussed in another thread) and sure enough it was mine! They said, no it's ours, we have a red ribbon, I kept pointing to the tag and finally it dawned on them it wasn't theirs. They would have went home with my bag! They could have been scammers, but I don't think so. So now I have yellow & blue ribbons, red is too common, lots of people use red.

[dcedwards]

Wow...sorry to hear about the theft. Here in Phoenix they are really strict about it. We fly SWA all the time and when we pick up our bags at Phoenix they check each piece against the claim ticket. The bag does not leave the area unless there is a claim ticket to match. Period. They have workers at the carousels also as well as at each entrance/exit to the baggage claim.

We will be very careful when we go in November. We've never had a problem. But, I do hope that they are cracking down in Orlando. I don't mind matching of claim tickets. At least it better ensures that the right people leave with the right bag.

I would be interested in hearing if anyone else has been to Orlando at the SWA baggage area and if they are checking claim tickets. Perhaps I will do a post. It would be interesting to see if they were actually cracking down on it. I hope so. But, we will make sure we get right down there.

Here in Phoenix you don't have to worry about it. It takes forever for them to even start to think about what carousel they will put your luggage. You could almost stop at the snack bar and still have time to spare. Oops!!! Just a short commentary.

[BansheeBlue]

Oh no, what a way to start a vacation... and why is it that when THEIR security measures were more than slack, it's YOU who has to pay for it in stress and $$$? I mean, honestly, providing receipts for clothes and toiletries that you've owned for ages? Ug.

It sounds awful to say, but thank you for giving the warning. And thanks for the tips on trying to make luggage thief-unfriendly. Whether or not MCO is going to consistently check claim tickets or not, my bags are going to have ribbons and stickers and jingle bells if I can get away with it...

[Andrew Bichard]

This doesn't sound good.

I arrive at MCO in a few days time.

Because I use a wheelchair and need help getting off the aircraft, I have to wait for the ground crew to arrive. I am *always* the last person off. My bags are usually set to one side waiting for me by the time I arrive at customs.

I assume the danger of theft occurs not in the customs hall, but at the second reclaim area just inside the main doors. By the time I get over there, most everyone else has cleared. Maybe the thieves will have moved on too!

Andrew

[GAIL HAYDEN]

If memory serves, international flight baggage pickup is inside a secure location, not with domestic flights. You have to pull those bags through customs, sooooo, unless a theif can get through security to get to this customs area, you should be in great shape.
The theft occurred in the domestic pickup area.
Bansheeblue,
With all that is happening, the big push for security is before you fly, not after you land.
I have traveled a lot and have only once in all that time see anyone check luggage tags against the luggage. I do wish they would.

[Andrew Bichard]

Gail,

It is true that international luggage arrives in a secure location. But after passing through customs, your luggage goes back onto a conveyor for the trip from the sattelite back to the main terminal.

Despite moving as fast as I can, my luggage always gets to the second pick up ahead of me.

Thanks for the warning though. I will move as fast as I can.

Andrew

[MikeP]

I would bet you are correct about your bag being targeted because it was rather common. I too have black luggage but to make mine easier for me to identify at the baggage claim we have neon green and neon orange luggage straps that we wrap around them. I did that so we could identify them quickly as they came around but I guess it would also help deter a thief that was looking for non descript bags.


BTW, DFW is hit or miss on matching luggage tags upon pick up. I fly in and out of DFW pretty regular usually on Delta or American and they probably have someone there to check the baggage claim 30% of the time that I have flown.

[Claudia1]

We have occasionally wrapped the locks/zippered areas with duct tape. This is based on the assumption that it takes the thief time to undo it and duct tape also makes a noise. It is a bit embarassing to be rolling duct-taped bags through the terminal, though. I had not heard of theives grabbing a bag and running with it.

In hind-sight, it may be a great idea. Maybe they think that the owners are too poor for good suitcases and nothing worth-while is inside!

[Liz]

I'm so sorry your vacation started out in such an awful way. What a great attitude you must have to still say your trip was lots of fun!!! Way to go!!!

We're still using cherry red Samsonite luggage purchased in the 70's! It was a very fashionable and stylin' color back then but sure stood out among the other suitcases on our last trip!!! Its still in good shape so I'm not going to replace it yet. We thought our luggage was lost on our last vacation because all 3 of our pieces came out together the very last. Guess they were too busy laughing in the back to put it on the conveyor!!!

[inkkognito]

What a scary thread!!!
Hubby and I have festooned our luggage with hair ribbons and loudly colored tape, so at least we'd have half a chance of noticing right away if someone took this. We did this after our luggage was "stolen"...not on purpose, but some person took our bags AND his own at Port Canaveral after our Disney cruise. He never was really able to explain how, but he took them all the way to Ohio. We eventually got them back with everything intact, but it was a scary experience as it took quite a while for us to even find out where they were. I can't even imagine the horror of having a bag actually stolen.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.******************

[Ralph&Pam]

We had been using ribbons to mark our luggage for a number of years. Of course, with red ribbons on black Samsonite soft sided suitcases, there was no assurance that the bag coming down the conveyor belt was one of ours. So many people have black, Samsonite, soft sided bags with red ribbons on them that you sometimes have to look at the name tag to be sure it's your bag. Last year, we purchased some bright blue luggage straps that are two inches wide and long enough to go around a large suitcase in the longest direction. (They were also available in red and in a rainbow stripe at about $8 each in a local luggage emporium.) Now I can spot our bags as soon as they come out of the back luggage handling area. I always wait near the first stretch of the conveyor belt so I can pick off our bags before they get too far along the circuit. Once it is in sight, I can fight the crowd to get to the edge of the belt so I can remove the bag. I suppose it's another thread to discuss why so many people allow their young children to crowd right up to the edge of the conveyor belt where people are trying to lift off suitcases that can sometimes be quite heavy. I know the kids are anxious to get their suitcase and be about their vacations, but it seems to me that it could be a dangerous place to be if someone swings a heavy bag off the conveyor and loses control. I've helped more than one slightly built person lift a suitcase that must have been right at the limit of allowed baggage weight. It's amazing how much you can pack with these wheeled bags.

In any case, these wide straps have the additional advantage that they provide a little more protection from a bag opening accidentally and spilling its contents on the tarmac as the zipper lets go. We saw this happen while sitting in a plane at ORD as the luggage was being loaded into the cargo hold. It was raining at the time, and I felt really sorry for the person who's bag later came down the conveyor belt with the still wet clothes stuffed back into the bag which was now wrapped with duct tape. Even though the airlines provide some compensation in such circumstances, it is still a major hassle to have to deal with such a thing at the start of your vacation (or even upon returning from your vacation, for that matter).

Ralph

[dcedwards]

I called SWA Customer Service today and told them about this particular thread and voiced my concern since we will be traveling next month. The agent seemed very concerned...took down the information and said they would look into it. I mentioned that perhaps they were concentrating so much on security at the other end -- boarding -- that they also needed to look at security at this end -- baggage claim. She did seem concerned so we will see if it does any good.

[BansheeBlue]

You're a star! Thanks for calling and giving the airlines the message that they need to take care of their clients!

[hercamore]

Sorry to hear about your bag being stolen...how easily this can happen at this type of baggage carosuel at MCO. Hope you recd some type of reimbursement for your loss.

Last summer, at MCO my suitcase was the first one off the carosuel and someone immediately took it thinking it was theirs. I don't think this was a scam as the family just stood there with my suitcase as I was rushing over to them to get it back. I could see them take it because I had a lime green strap and lime green tag on it. I guessed it was mine.

Anyway, they gave it right back to me after checking the name tag. On my last two trips to disney, we now stand at the area where the bags come off the unloader so as not to let them ride around the carolsuel.

I really recommend that you very colorfully decorate those black suitcases that everyone has. It really helps identify your bag from a distance.