Can You Get Your Checked Bags Faster?
The tapping foot, the restless legs, the staring at the seatbelt sign while willing it to turn off faster—nothing stretches quite as long as the time between landing and finally exiting the plane cabin. Whether you’re dashing for a connecting flight or looking forward to crashing at the hotel, the last thing you want to do is wait forever for your luggage to come around the carousel. But is there a way to make sure your suitcase arrives faster once you reach your destination?
There’s a commonly held belief that the first checked bags are the last off the plane. In certain cases, when you check your bag may have a slight impact on the timeliness of its arrival at baggage claim. However, the real answer is more complex.
-
How is Luggage Loaded on a Flight?
-
How Can You Get Your Checked Bags Faster?
Luggage distribution on wide body planes has everything to do with weight and nearly nothing to do with when a bag is checked. As people check their suitcases, bags are grouped into larger "cans" or big boxes that hold many bags and can be moved as a single unit. At loading time, cans are weighed and arranged in the baggage hold according to weight, which helps balance out the plane's load. In other words, how far back your bag ends up depends on the weight of the can and the needs of the plane, not when you check it.
On international flights, the timeliness with which your bag arrives on the carousel is determined by more than just unloading order. There are also TSA and CBP processes to contend with, so a bag that gets an extra layer of screening would take longer to come out than a suitcase that gets unloaded later but speeds through screening.
On narrow-body planes, "loose loading"—loading bags individually rather than grouping them into cans—is a common practice. In this case, when you check a bag, it tends to go into a holding area. Before takeoff, the bags are sent planeside and then loaded. In this scenario, it all depends on how the luggage is stored while it waits for the plane. If a bag was checked early, it might be at the back of the storage area, which would mean it would be last on the plane, and potentially first off. But ultimately, there's no telling how baggage will be arranged and loaded.
Upgrade
Upgrading to business or first class may help you get your luggage faster. Checked bags from premium cabins often get tagged with a priority sticker that moves them to the front of the bag line (though flyers report mixed results on some airlines).
Choose Your Airline Wisely
Both Delta and Alaska Airlines promise that checked bags will arrive on the carousel within 20 minutes or less after any domestic flight. If the airline misses that mark, Delta compensates travelers with 2,500 bonus miles, while Alaska offers either a $25 discount code for a future flight or 2,500 rewards points.
Keep in mind, though, that the claim process differs. Delta allows passengers to submit a request online within three days of the flight. Alaska, on the other hand, requires you to file a claim in person at the arrival airport within two hours of landing—potentially adding even more time to your trip.
But the cheapest—and most surefire—way to get through the airport faster remains to go all carry-on and to altogether avoid the wait at the carousel.
In that spirit, here's some carry-on inspiration: