Travel advisory

Let me tell you. You pack more stuff than you need to travel.

All of you.

How do I know? After loading and unloading five airplanes yesterday (for those keeping score at home, an MD-88, a 737-800, two 757s and a 767-300), it is obvious you people take too much on vacation.

I know there are some people that need all their shoes (you know who you are) and there are others that need four outfits a day, but damn, all that stuff weighs a lot. And too many people scrimp on the luggage, meaning handles break, zippers bust and straps fray.

So a couple of words of advice from a newbie bag slinger: Pack lightly. Seriously. Think about all that stuff you're taking and ask yourself, do I really need all this stuff? And buy decent luggage: Swiss Army, Eddie Bauer, etc. It will protect your belongings and survive the torture we're going to inflict on it.

I work in the busiest airport in the world. Meaning I see all sorts of things. Like 3,000 pounds of swordfish from Boston. But I broke two bags yesterday, and guess what. They exceeded the 40 pound weight limit we would like for you to follow.

Just some advice to make your flight a pleasant one.

Oh, and if you're looking for a career where most of your coworkers give a damn about training you right and looking out for you, you may want to consider a job that puts your life in danger everyday. It changes everybody's prospective on doing the job right. Those planes can kill if you don't know what you're doing or if the other person doesn't know either.

 

Here's a handy rule of thumb about packing,

Lay everything out on your bed.

Get rid of half.

Pack your suitcase.

 

I make it a point to pack as many bowling balls as I can fit into my luggage

Seriously, though.. I can't imagine what you guys go through... I always try to pack light, and when I can I always carry my luggage on the plane... plus I don't want you fuckers losing it

 

Moddy, I know you've flown. Maybe you haven't seen the guys slinging the bags onto the conveyor belt...

Ragu, we had to learn 165 station codes before starting. And the final destination is in big letters on the tag, letting us know where things go. When we pack the plane, we separate transfers and local bags to make unloading easier. It's the same at any station. But it is a neat process. We have a saying, "Touch the bag, read the tag." Everyone has to check. And we count bags, too, to make sure the right number gets on board. It's a very complicated process, but it's fun.

 

That wasn't the CNBC program about American, was it? I know the host/reporter hung out with just about everyone in the airline - mechanics, pilots, CEO - but I can't remember if he was on the ground as well.

What those guys do is amazing. Short turnarounds are the key for airlines making money, since they're not earning anything when one sits in a hangar. So to unload, re-sort and reload like they do, in the time they do, is unreal.

 

It might have been Dirty Jobs on Discovery channel. I seem to remember him doing something like that at an airport.

 

Oh, my bad.

Yeah, started a couple of weeks ago. So far, so good.

 

So I can blame you for sending my luggage to west palm beach instead of Pensacola when i had to change plans in atlanta a couple of weeks ago?

 

I assume one should take the non-stop flight whenever possible? I always do, even though it usually costs more. I always fret about my luggage being lost.