My bags failed to arrive when I did. Here are seven lessons it taught me

My partner and I have rushed to board our connecting plane at Munich International airport, en route from the US to Athens, and I already ascertain that our luggage hasn’t made the flight.

The blue dot on my smartphone’s luggage tracker hovers like a magician’s silver ball over a building beyond. I’m jinxed; the same thing happened on this route six months earlier.

On landing in Athens three hours later, I review the dot. It remains in Munich. Shortly after, a text arrives from the airline – our bags will arrive seven hours later on another flight. We make a beeline for the lost luggage counter where chipper staff tell us we can continue to our destination to which a courier company will deliver our luggage. But there’s a catch: this will be “sometime in the next few days.” (It’s so optimistically Greek. I stop myself from pointing out Odysseus’ 20-year journey; I’m sure they’ve heard it before).

We discuss alternatives. We could wait the entire day and meet our luggage on the evening flight. We could drive to our destination minus toothbrush, toothpaste and clean underpants, and pray that the luggage delivery gods will display Hermes-like speed. Or, we could blow the budget on a day room at the luxury airport hotel. It’s a hard choice in a jet-lagged state.

I am tired and unwashed, cold and grumpy. I’m sporting a flimsy cotton top, having made the mistake of dressing on a 30-degree day for Greece’s winter weather and keen to limit my carry-on (despite my profession, I’m a terrible packer). We decide to wait.

When the plane eventually arrives, on time and with our over-stuffed bags, we manoeuvre our hire car into the blackness, caffeinated to the eyeballs. It turns out it was a good call. The next morning we awake warm, snug and positively “minty”.

So, from bitter experience, here are some luggage strategies for the next journey:

• Always pack your carry-on with medications, a toothbrush, a spare pair of underpants and a clean top appropriate to the destination’s weather.
• Use luggage trackers. These link to smartphones and are invaluable to track the whereabouts of your bags and/or sporting equipment.
• Download the airline’s app and opt to receive live alerts. In many cases, you’ll receive information on the status of your bags before you enter the terminal.
• If you receive a message alerting you to delayed luggage, go immediately to the info/lost luggage desk, don’t dawdle at the carousel “just in case”.
• Before you leave, take a smartphone photo of your luggage. When completing the missing luggage forms, you’ll be asked to provide a detailed description.
• Understand travel insurance fine print. If you decide to continue to your destination without your luggage, you may be covered for some clothing and incidentals; generally this applies after a certain amount of time has lapsed.
• And don’t pack items you’d never want to lose.

See also: Seven essential things I always pack (and three I never do)