American Airlines, Delta, and Air Canada are petitioning the TSA to allow passengers to “tag” their own checked luggage. In addition to printing your own boarding pass, the airlines want to let the customers also print out and affix their own bar coded luggage tags.
Currently, some foreign carriers allow passengers to do this but none in the U.S. The airlines claim it cuts down on time and cost. Really? After affixing the tag, the passenger still has to get on a line, albeit a dedicated one, so an airline agent can check your ID, scan the tag to make sure it’s correct, and put in on the conveyor belt. All they’re not doing is printing out and affixing the tag.
I’ll stick to my one carry-on bag. It makes life so much easier.
Airlines may test do-it-yourself traveler bag tagging
(Frank II)