Dumb Flying Question

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

If one is checking a bag for a domestic flight, does one bother to lock one's suitcase anymore?  

Aren't checked bags subject to opening and inspection once they are on the "checked bag" carousel?

[emma1420]

I generally don't lock my bags, but I know people who do with the TSA approved locks.  Sure the TSA screening staff can still pinch your stuff, but it's a little more challenging for others to get into your bag.

[chiver78]

what emma said. anything of any real value that I need to bring with me, I pack into my carry-on bag - which is small enough to go under the seat in front of me. no chance of ever having to gate check that one.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Yup.  The flyer in question will pack anything of value in his/her backpack which will fit in the overhead or under the seat in front of him/her.

However...the checked suitcase contains 2 four foot lacrosse shafts and some toiletries which MIGHT cause some suspicion in anyone actually looking at the x-ray screen as the bag makes its way through the checked-baggage process.

I figured that since it might get opened anyway, might as well not bother to lock it?  

[NancysSummerSip]

Oct 13, 2015 11:09:30 GMT -5 emma1420 said:

I generally don't lock my bags, but I know people who do with the TSA approved locks.  Sure the TSA screening staff can still pinch your stuff, but it's a little more challenging for others to get into your bag.

I use a TSA lock. The TSA wants to bother with it, fine. But I don't want or need anyone else in my stuff. Unless, of course, they want to take care of my dirty laundry for me. I hate doing that when I get home.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Where does one buy a TSA-approved luggage lock?

The suitcase is a Delsey and comes with a tiny padlock and 2 keys.  IF the passenger wants to lock his/her suitcase, will that work, or does he/she need something different?  

[movingforward]

I have never even thought about locking my suitcase.  I never check anything but clothes and a bunch of hair products (I have naturally curly hair). 

[chiver78]

Oct 13, 2015 11:19:51 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Where does one buy a TSA-approved luggage lock?

The suitcase is a Delsey and comes with a tiny padlock and 2 keys.  IF the passenger wants to lock his/her suitcase, will that work, or does he/she need something different?  

CVS. or if you want to meet me for coffee, I can loan you one of mine.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Oct 13, 2015 11:26:08 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Oct 13, 2015 11:19:51 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Where does one buy a TSA-approved luggage lock?

The suitcase is a Delsey and comes with a tiny padlock and 2 keys.  IF the passenger wants to lock his/her suitcase, will that work, or does he/she need something different?  

CVS. or if you want to meet me for coffee, I can loan you one of mine.

I'd love to meet you for coffee any time, not just to borrow your lock!!  

Unfortunately, certain people waited until the last minute to pack and are left without time to go buy a TSA-approved lock.  Unless they can over-pay for one at the airport.  IF they get there with time to spare.

Oy.

[chiver78]

ha, nice. that certain person can absolutely overpay for one at the airport. which terminal would DS be flying out of? I think most of the stores are actually past security, so he would be overpaying for a lock for his flight home. I'm doing the mental walk-through of terminals B and C right now, and I can't "see" any of those stores before check-in. sorry.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 13, 2015 11:19:51 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

Where does one buy a TSA-approved luggage lock?

The suitcase is a Delsey and comes with a tiny padlock and 2 keys.  IF the passenger wants to lock his/her suitcase, will that work, or does he/she need something different?  

You can buy a TSA approved lock just about anywhere they sell luggage.

I have never locked my luggage.  If TSA is going to open it and check things out (and I guess they do about 10-20% of the time IME and leave a card in your luggage), I don't want to make things more difficult for them.  I figure if I leave it open, maybe TSA won't look so hard.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I figure I will make it easier on everyone to just give them access.

The titanium lacrosse shafts ARE going to raise some curiosity.  

[chiver78]

ha. no more than the wire cutters, circuit board, and communication cables I brought with me to a job site in Northern Ireland a few years back. that was fun.....NOT.

[debthaven]

I don't have a TSA lock (I don't need one here) but yes I lock mine.

I use a cheap little lock, if somebody wanted to break it they could probably do it very easily. But I figure if somebody has "itchy fingers", they're more likely to pass my suitcase over and choose one without a lock. 

[Deleted]

Oct 13, 2015 12:33:03 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

I figure I will make it easier on everyone to just give them access.

The titanium lacrosse shafts ARE going to raise some curiosity.  

I sure hope they're still in the bag when you get there. A few years ago, we saw a minor league baseball team retrieving their checked bags. One had probably 100 baseballs in it.  One of them said that balls always get stolen.  I hope the people who handle your bags are too clueless to know that titanium is an expensive metal.

My rules:  leave it unlocked because they'll break locks if they want to.  Sometimes I buy little plastic clips that show if the bag has been opened; might be a deterrent.  NOTHING valuable goes into checked bags and that includes medications, which are a popular target.  Resign yourself to the fact that if something is damaged or missing, the TSA will blame the airline and vice versa, and you will have no recourse.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 13, 2015 15:03:41 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Oct 13, 2015 12:33:03 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

I figure I will make it easier on everyone to just give them access.

The titanium lacrosse shafts ARE going to raise some curiosity.  

I sure hope they're still in the bag when you get there. A few years ago, we saw a minor league baseball team retrieving their checked bags. One had probably 100 baseballs in it.  One of them said that balls always get stolen.  I hope the people who handle your bags are too clueless to know that titanium is an expensive metal.

My rules:  leave it unlocked because they'll break locks if they want to.  Sometimes I buy little plastic clips that show if the bag has been opened; might be a deterrent.  NOTHING valuable goes into checked bags and that includes medications, which are a popular target.  Resign yourself to the fact that if something is damaged or missing, the TSA will blame the airline and vice versa, and you will have no recourse.

Exactly.  We brought back the legal amount of booze from Mexico and the duty free shop packed it such that it was relatively well padded, but you could see the volumes and number of bottles.  There was absolutely NO need for TSA to break through the padding to see what was there, but they did.  When they repacked it, the tequila bottle banged against the Kahlua bottle during the re-check in process and broke.  Not only that, they broke the seal on the Kahlua bottle as well and it leaked.  My luggage was a mess.

[Deleted]

I guess DH and I have been lucky with checking alcohol. We've put expensive scotch in checked bags, in tin canisters padded with T-shirts inside, and they've always gotten home with us. I used to joke that when DH picked me up from business trips to London, where I always made a run to our favorite whisky shop, he waited by the baggage carousel rather than the passenger arrival gate!

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I am happy to report that ODS, and all of the contents of his suitcase, arrived safe and sound.  

Thank you for all of the tips, advice and sharing of personal experiences!!!  

[TheOtherMe]

On my last 3 trips, every time I opened the suitcase, both directions, the tag was in the bag that TSA had searched it.  I put nothing of value in my checked bag.

[wvugurl26]

I guess it depends, I've never had my bag searched international or domestic.

I'm glad his flight went well GRG.

[Deleted]

Oct 20, 2015 7:07:43 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I guess it depends, I've never had my bag searched international or domestic.

Chicago is particularly bad.  I had a cheap wind-up alarm clock that folded into a plastic "clamshell" case and snapped shut.  When I got home from an international trip through ORD I found that it had been stabbed, probably with a screwdriver, by someone too clueless to open the case.  I continued to use it with a gaping hole in the case and a few screws loose till I finally threw it away.