Watch for tag mixups

At baggage check-in for a flight on United from Newark airport in November ’06, the agent was being “efficient” by printing out two or three sets of baggage tags at once, then summoning the travelers one by one. She asked for picture I.D. of the person next to us, looked at the I.D. (a passport) and then proceeded to attach our luggage tags to that person’s bag, thumping it down on the moving belt.

My wife, watching closely, said, “Is that our bag?”

The agent turned around, took a few quick steps to catch up with the rapidly disappearing bag and pulled it off the belt. She then tagged it properly.

The agent had looked at the picture on the I.D. but had not checked the name.

The moral of the story is make sure that the bags the agent attaches your tags to don’t belong to a well-dressed person about your size.

MICHAEL MAHONEY

San Francisco, CA