Several years ago, a friend of mine went to the airport to pick up a relative coming in from Germany. Everything went like clockwork. The flight was on time, customs were quick, her suitcase came onto the carousel as one of the first, and before they knew it, they were back at home. Since the relative had a nice surprise in her bag, she was eager to share it, but ‘dang,’ the suitcase wouldn’t open. The keys didn’t work; the latches didn’t work. Reluctantly, they finally used the screwdriver. You guessed it. The contents were someone else’s. Nothing in the suitcase belonged to the relative.
This little intro makes clear how important it is to make certain the luggage you pick off the carousel is actually your luggage. Having luggage tags with your name and address is always useful, but that alone may not always be sufficient. Luggage tags have been known to get lost or, in your rush to get out of there, you forget to check them altogether.
For years now black has been the preferred luggage color, and black luggage tends to look very much alike. Luggage identifiers to the rescue! Some people crochet their own – colorful little pompoms, which they attach to their bags.
Others attach neon colored grips to the handles on their bags.
Others again attach stickers to the sides of their luggage.
Personally, I’ve been making good use of colorful belts that rap around the case, but that also is not the perfect solution, because the Automobile Associations sell them to other people as well. Nevertheless, the combination of luggage look, size and identifier will make it less likely for you to pick someone else’s suitcase off the carousel.
A look at the little picture at the beginning may convince you that crocheting your own identifiers will give you the most unique product, but if you don’t know how to crochet, and you don’t know anyone who can do it for you, one of the commercially produced identifiers may catch your eye.
Good luck. Use luggage identifiers, and don’t pick a stranger's luggage off the carousel
