Lost Luggage

Have you ever wondered what happens to lost luggage? Well... in the United States at least... all of the major airlines have a deal with a company called The Unclaimed Baggage Center. After 90 days of searching for the lost luggage's rightful owner, the airlines sell the lost luggage to the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scotsboro Alabama. They then go through the luggage and donate a lot of it, throw some of it away and then sell the rest in their 40,000 sq ft retail store. Sort of Value Village on steroids. You can buy jewellery, sports equipment, electronic equipment, clothing, wedding gowns, toys, even barbie dolls stuffed with money (if you're lucky enough to find one)... also books, cds... you name it, it's there... anything that someone would put in their checked luggage or carry-on luggage... or that they would leave in a seat pocket. Sometimes there are even air freight cargo items...

Which makes me wonder... what happens with Canadian lost luggage??? Does it get sold to this outfit too? Or do we have our own Canadian version... Apparently not... In Canada, each airline is reponsible for lost bags. Both Air Canada and WestJet will try to find the owner based on the contents of the bag (so always put something identifiable inside your bag!!). If they can't find an owner, then they apparently post a description on Worldtracer that sits there for 90 days... After that, well... your bag is going to the big luggage carousel in the sky, with the contents either discarded or given away to charities...

So, the moral of the story is... always put something identifiable in your luggage... a business card, a prescription... sometime with your name and address on it. Don't rely on the outside luggage tag as those can get ripped off in the rough-dog-eat-dog world of the luggage carousels...