Carry On! Fewer Checked Bags Cut Lost Luggage

Airlines lost 1.3M fewer bags last year as new fees convinced passengers to carry on
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2009 2:05 AM CST
Carry On! Fewer Checked Bags Cut Lost Luggage
American Airlines enjoyed the biggest improvement in lost luggage last year with a 26% dip in missing bags. It also generated the most in new baggage fees: $94.1 million.   (AP Photo/Rick Maiman)

Through their relentless fees, airlines have managed to put the task of transporting often-lost luggage in much safer hands. Last year—as passengers carried aboard the baggage they previously checked for free—airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags than in 2007, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 33% improvement was most noticeable in the fall, when most of the recession-hit carriers adopted service fees.
(More airline industry stories.)

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