How to keep track of your luggage

We decided to spend Christmas in Asia with our daughter this year. Rather than spend a long time in one place, we chose to spend a week in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2 weeks travelling through Vietnam, then a final week in Bali. We selected one piece of luggage each and packed only what was necessary. When we arrived in Bangkok, both our suitcases were missing. Managing luggage before, during and after a flight whether lost or found, require a few planning steps.

Packing

Although we are travelling for 5 weeks, tropical countries don’t require the layers of clothing that Canadian winter does. We decided that a carry-on might limit space for things we might buy along the way since the countries we are visiting sell clothes in their markets for very reasonable prices.

I travel with my computer and camera equipment in a daypack so it is usually at its weight maximum once I add a few things I don’t want to be without on arrival. I chose a medium, solid side wheeled suitcase, and Peter chose a soft duffel bag with internal backpack straps. We knew that we had several flights and car rides to  hotels every few days. We also had 3 people in a vehicle. Smaller seemed wiser. Compared to the 2 large and full bags I took to Cambodia last winter, this was a real downsizing for.

Carry on necessities

In addition to my camera, laptop and external drive, I include in my carry-on luggage anything I feel I wouldn’t want to replace. My contact lenses in their case come with me, but not the bottles of solution. The cleaner I use is not available in Asia so I pack big bottles in my checked bag. This is another reason that just a carry-on is too challenging for me).

Beijing, China was our layover on the way there and that airport is not very warm. My sister had to buy a parka for her layover a couple of year ago. I packed a fleece jacket, toque and gloves for our short stay there since it was December. I didn’t need the gloves, but the toque and jacket were very welcome. Most of the staff in the airport were in what we would consider “outside coats”. 

The other items in my carry-on included my jewelry, my Kindle reader, a water bottle, a neck pillow for the plane and my noise cancelling headphones. Any medications would be advisable to include as well.

Of course I also bring along any travel documents, including my passport, boarding passes and my e-visa for Viet Nam. I usually take along a travel toothbrush when we fly for more than 12 hours, but somehow it didn’t make it this time.

You can really tell what you value most when you see what you pack in the bag that is going with you. 

We’re in Bangkok…Our luggage is in Vancouver

We travelled from Calgary to Vancouver, Canada to Beijing, China to Bangkok, Thailand before carrying on to Chiang Mai, Thailand the next day. Our first leg was delayed while WestJet tried to sort out a mechanical issue. Eventually they put us on another plane to Vancouver where we arrived 40 minutes into our 79 minute layover.

It would appear that our bags never made that flight and were a day behind us all the way. After completing our time in the immigration line in BKK, the luggage carousel was pretty empty. Although we flew WestJet to Vancouver and AirChina the rest of the way, Thai Air was responsible for writing up baggage claims.

The agent not only wanted our baggage claims, but he also wanted all the boarding passes from our complete journey. I assumed that they served no purpose after you found your seat for each flight, but I was wrong.  The baggage claim stickers were on the back of the first boarding pass. Usually I like to have them on the back of my passport so I know exactly where they are. I will check on that next time.

Lost luggage–Found!

The agent told us our bags had not made the AirChina flight to Beijing after only one quick phone call. Both suitcases would arrive at midnight the following day, about 24 hours after our arrival. As we would be in Chiang Mai by then, the agent told us they would be put on the first morning plane and be delivered to our hotel about 10am.

Montreal Convention 1999

We were not offered any compensation information and were told to contact the AirChina number written on the claim form. I looked on their website but missing luggage compensation was not described at all, except to say that a claim for lost luggage could be mailed to them. I am still not sure if the responsibility was actually WestJet’s. 

The Montreal Convention 1999 is a legal document that protects passengers’s rights when flying. There are lots of good blogs explaining the details, but is essentially requires an airline to reimburse you up to about $1000 for items that you require between the time you arrive at your destination on an international flight, and the time your luggage arrives. 
I only bought a couple of toothbrushes and some paste since I had everything that was important to me.

Amazingly, our suitcases were delivered right to our hotel within an hour of the time given to us. Both bags arrived with several RUSH tags affixed from each of the airports we had visited. 

Plan ahead

Because we had all the paperwork required by the airline, and we had packed our carry-on with the things we cared about most, wearing the same clothes for a couple of days was not a big deal. Our itinerary was on our phones so we were able to start our next adventure without our luggage.