I don't fly very often (not at all for many years, just the two thereafter described flights), but I recently experienced how true you are !!

In March, I had to visit a customer near Toulouse, in south-west of France, to work a few hours on his computer system.
It was either a 7 hours journey by train or a 1h flight.
So I decided for an internal Air France flight.

As a technician, I always have some tools in my bag. That means the bag has to be checked as luggage and can't be carried in the cabin. And, sure enough, no knife etc.. on my person.. I hate that ... but ...
Flight without problem and on time.
But at the customer's site, bad news : the delivered machine had received some schock during its own transportation and was no longer installable.
So back home... and another visit to the same customer a week later.
same deal, same Air France flight ; the second within a week.
And sure enough one flight too much ..
I arrived safely in Toulouse but not my bag ...

Hopefully, the customer had enough tools so I could start working before my bag arrived and I did finish the installation as planned.

Hopefully again, the bag was not really lost and arrived some 4 or 5 hours later. Why ?? I still don't know... I checked in largely in time. And anyway there is a Paris-Toulouse flight every half hour ... <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
At Air France Lost Luggage office in Toulouse, I was a bit furious about that situation and about the delay. The hostess tried to calm me down by saying this kind of incident happens very very seldomly... Not something to tell ME, at that moment ! <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
I told her that a 50% failure rate - seen from my side !! <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> - was not my definition of an unusual occurence...
+ I spend a few years working for another air company and had an insider's knowledge of such problems. Some stories are quite amazing, as much for companies mistakes as for pax stupidity or, on the opposite, pax swindling...


Next time, I guess I will use the train, even if it takes some hours longer, on my own time :
let's say 8h from my home to Toulouse, by train, including the time needed to go to the station.
almost 4 hours by plane, including time to the airport, check-in time, luggage checkout (if it arrives..).
Back and forth, I will at least loose some 8 hours..
Main problem being trains are scarce within a day span... which mean I will have to leave the day before.
OTOH planes take off every half hour ... <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />
Not an easy choice...

As for sending my tools by Fedex or some other similar outfit... I don't trust them enough either... and that would mean I have no tools at least the day before + the following day...
Except if I bought a second set of tools... let's think about it some more ....