Looted luggage can trip up your trip

Ah ... time for spring break. You've booked a flight to Florida or Hawaii, snagged an off-season fare to Rome or London or planned an East Coast trip with your son or daughter to check out colleges.

You're thinking about what to pack and how to get through the security lines with new rules restricting liquids and gels in carry-ons.

If you're planning on checking your bags, there's something else to consider:

Mishandled, lost or pilfered luggage is a big problem, and it's getting worse.

With more people flying (U.S. airlines flew 3.8 million more passengers in January than a year earlier) and more people checking bags, complaints filed with airlines rose to 8.19 for every 1,000 passengers in January, an 18 percent jump from January 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The actual numbers of complaints for all of last year weren't high — about 6.7 cases for every 1,000 passengers who flew within the United States. But it was the highest rate since 1990, and it didn't include international flights or complaints filed directly with the Transportation Security Administration which screens and sometimes opens checked bags.

Last month's news reports of thefts of cigarettes, laptops and credit cards from checked baggage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the arrest of two baggage handlers working for Menzies Aviation, a private company that contracts with Alaska Airlines, should serve as a wake-up call if you're planning to travel by air soon:

• Travel with a carry-on bag only, if possible. If not, then carry on with you any items that you can't do without, such as medications or important documents, should your luggage be delayed or lost.

• Don't put anything valuable in checked bags, especially electronic equipment, cameras, laptops, etc. The airlines don't cover these if they are stolen or damaged.

• Lock your checked bags. TSA officials and airlines recommended that passengers not lock their bags when security increased after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They now advise using TSA-approved locks for bags checked through U.S airports.

Minimizing the risks

More people began checking their bags after a ban on liquids and gels in carry-ons went into effect late last year. Revised rules now allow for small amounts of shampoo, etc., in carry-ons (three ounces or less), but the number of checked bags is still up by around 10 percent at Sea-Tac, says Jennifer Peppin, TSA's spokeswoman in Seattle.

TSA screens checked bags behind the scenes for explosives. Most bags are cleared without being opened, but if something creates suspicion, screeners will open your bag and leave a note inside.

Inspectors will cut a lock if they have to, but they can open TSA-approved locks with a special tool, then relock them, preventing baggage handlers or anyone else from getting in your suitcase.

At least that's the theory.

The locks don't prevent thefts by the screeners themselves, and they're not foolproof. Just ask seasoned travelers such as Marc Strachan at Integrated Talent, a Seattle video and production company.

Strachan and his co-workers travel frequently with cameras and other video gear. Sometimes they send the equipment ahead, but other times they have to check it on the airline.

"We've had more than one instance in the past year alone where TSA representatives in Seattle have removed our TSA-approved locks to inspect our equipment (which looks quite suspect in the x-ray machine), and not replaced them on our cases and bags," he said in an e-mail message.

"They literally throw the locks inside."

So far, nothing has been taken, but Strachan says he fears it's just a matter of time.

The decision comes down to how to best minimize the risks. The bottom line is that a TSA lock is better than no lock, says Kevin Coffey, a Los Angeles police detective and owner of Corporate Travel Safety (www.corporatetravelsafety.com), a company which advises businesses on travel safety and sells anti-theft products online.

The temptations are great with so many travelers checking bags and so many people handling them.

"If a dishonest luggage handler wants to get into your bag, he or she will," Coffey says. "If they can open it really quickly, they'll do that, but if it's locked and they can't, they'll go onto the next one. They're looking for a quick, easy hit."

Filing a claim

Figuring out who's at fault can be a hassle — the airline, TSA, or, in the case of six U.S. airports, including San Francisco International, private screening contractors for which the TSA does not handle claims.

TSA says it resolves most of its claims within three months, but the settlement rate hasn't been high — just 47 percent, according to a Congressional report last May — for an average $150 per claim.

If your luggage is damaged or pilfered, here's what to do:

• Report the loss to your airline within 24 hours. Keep copies of your ticket and baggage claim check.

• File a claim with TSA, or in the case of airports in San Francisco, Kansas City, Sioux Falls, Rochester, Tupelo, and Jackson Hole, the private screening service in charge. See claims.tsa.dhs.gov, or call 866-289-9673.

• If you suspect the theft happened while your bags were at Sea-Tac, file a report with the Port of Seattle police. Call 206-433-5401. If you're in the airport, go to a pay phone and dial 911, or file a report in-person at offices inside the main terminal near Concourse B.

Best advice:

Travel light. Minimize your risks by locking your checked bags. Whatever you do, take the laptop onboard with you, or better yet, leave it at home. Ditto the iPod and cellphone. You're on vacation, remember. What better excuse to unplug.

Carol Pucci's Travel Wise column runs the last Sunday of the month in Travel. Comments are welcome. Contact her at: 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com