Travel advisory

[bydesign77]

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.

 

[JR]

Here's a handy rule of thumb about packing,

Lay everything out on your bed.

Get rid of half.

Pack your suitcase.

 

[Lucas Wiseman]

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 ****ers losing it

 

[Moderator1]

Bag slinger? WTF?

 

[The Big Ragu]

bydesign, I can't remember where I saw this, but it was very recently on TV... A reporter hung out with the baggage handlers and tried to keep up with them. It looked like they are quick to give a vet not keeping up crap, but they were laughing at the reporter. It was amazing how quickly they worked. It was also amazing how much they help each other out. If a guy finishes his assigned flights he pitches in elsewhere. It was also amazing from watching these guy move bags around that more luggage doesn't get lost. All they needed was a quick glance at the tag and the bag was quickly being carried to the right belt/pile. And it looked like a mess down there, but they had the system down pat. They even were separating the bags going onto flights based on which were final destination and which would be getting sent to another plane at the arrival airport.

 

[bydesign77]

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.

 

[Moderator1]

Yeah, BD, I know what one is here. I didn't know you was one here. That was my WTF.

 

[Hustle]

bydesign, I can't remember where I saw this, but it was very recently on TV... A reporter hung out with the baggage handlers and tried to keep up with them. It looked like they are quick to give a vet not keeping up crap, but they were laughing at the reporter. It was amazing how quickly they worked. It was also amazing how much they help each other out. If a guy finishes his assigned flights he pitches in elsewhere. It was also amazing from watching these guy move bags around that more luggage doesn't get lost. All they needed was a quick glance at the tag and the bag was quickly being carried to the right belt/pile. And it looked like a mess down there, but they had the system down pat. They even were separating the bags going onto flights based on which were final destination and which would be getting sent to another plane at the arrival airport.

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.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

bydesign, I can't remember where I saw this, but it was very recently on TV... A reporter hung out with the baggage handlers and tried to keep up with them. It looked like they are quick to give a vet not keeping up crap, but they were laughing at the reporter. It was amazing how quickly they worked. It was also amazing how much they help each other out. If a guy finishes his assigned flights he pitches in elsewhere. It was also amazing from watching these guy move bags around that more luggage doesn't get lost. All they needed was a quick glance at the tag and the bag was quickly being carried to the right belt/pile. And it looked like a mess down there, but they had the system down pat. They even were separating the bags going onto flights based on which were final destination and which would be getting sent to another plane at the arrival airport.

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.

 

[bydesign77]

Yeah, BD, I know what one is here. I didn't know you was one here. That was my WTF.

Oh, my bad.

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

 

[AgatePage]

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.

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?

 

[SoSueMe]

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.

 

[User 1019]

BD, tell your coworkers I'm sorry about that extra 200 pounds I had a couple years ago.

Oh, and good luck with your new gig, man. It sounds fun.

 

[wickedwritah]

I hear those bankrupt airlines treat their employees better than the profit-making newspapers.

 

[John]

bydesign, I can't remember where I saw this, but it was very recently on TV... A reporter hung out with the baggage handlers and tried to keep up with them. It looked like they are quick to give a vet not keeping up crap, but they were laughing at the reporter. It was amazing how quickly they worked. It was also amazing how much they help each other out. If a guy finishes his assigned flights he pitches in elsewhere. It was also amazing from watching these guy move bags around that more luggage doesn't get lost. All they needed was a quick glance at the tag and the bag was quickly being carried to the right belt/pile. And it looked like a mess down there, but they had the system down pat. They even were separating the bags going onto flights based on which were final destination and which would be getting sent to another plane at the arrival airport.

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.

I saw that episode. Pretty impressive.

Before a trip I always pack what I want to take, then get rid of about half. More often than not, I never miss the stuff I tossed.

 

[pallister]

I do my part by never flying.

 

[imjustagirl2]

Dude, between the shoes, the makeup, the hair curler, the hair straightener, the day clothes, the evening clothes...it's not easy!

 

[Claws for Concern]

Packing less is a lesson I definitely learned when I went to Europe last year for the Winter Olympics in Italy and to other places, too. I had weather issues to deal with, but I easily could have left some stuff back home.

 

[Gold]

I am an underpacker and my wife is an overpacker. I will never forget our first trip back east to visit our parents, where there was a washing machine and a dryer. I wanted to pack on the weekend before we were going, and she said not to worry, she would pack.

I can back from work that day, took one look, and said we were going for a couple of weeks, we weren't moving back there.

Unless you are going to a remote jungle, there will be stores wherever you are going so if you forget something, you can buy it.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Most of my road trips are drive trips.

So I pack what the **** I want.

Which is oftentimes too much.

But my lacrosse sticks come in handy on the road. It's ****ing hot down here in the South. I tend to sweat. As Det. Crockett once said, "You gotta go with the heat, Rico."

Now, a plane trip, that's different.

Well, no it isn't.

I pack too much on those, too.

But those TSA Nazis only allow two bags. So I adjust.