I never check luggage on airplanes. If I can’t get everything into one carry-on bag (and I almost always can) I ship everything else ahead by FedEx Ground. What I pay FedEx is usually less than what most airlines charge these days for a checked suitcase. Also, I don’t have to shlep my stuff around the airport, there is also much less chance that my luggage will be lost, stolen, or damaged in transit. Plus, I can leave the airport as soon as I get off my plane. I don’t have to wait at the luggage carousel for my luggage.
Checked bags. If you do check luggage on an airplane, don’t just put a luggage ID tag on the outside of your bag. Airport conveyor belts and luggage boarding ramps rip luggage tags off bags all the time. Tape a card with your name, address, and phone number on the inside of your suitcase as well. An airline can’t return a lost bag if they don’t know who the bag belongs to. If you are traveling with valuable items in your checked bag, take photos of the contents of the bag with your cell phone in case your bag is lost or some of the contents are stolen. It is also a good idea to open your bag in the baggage claim area and make sure everything is there. If you discover that items are missing after you get home, it is unlikely you will get reimbursed for your loss.
Expensive Luggage. Never check expensive luggage on an airplane. Professional luggage thieves can value luggage more accurately than luggage salesmen. They can easily tell the difference between a genuine $5,000 Louis Vuitton suitcase and a $100 knockoff. A professional luggage thief knows that a $5,000 suitcase is far more likely to have expensive jewelry or electronics inside than a $100 counterfeit bag. I once saw a $13,000 Louis Vuitton suitcase in a store window at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. A few hours later, the suitcase was gone. Somebody bought it. Traveling with luggage like that is just asking for trouble.
Drugs. If you are traveling with pain pills or any other possibly addictive drugs, put a copy of your prescription order or a letter from your doctor explaining why you take this drug in your bag with the pills. It could avoid an embarrassing situation or lengthy travel delay. You may have a perfectly valid medical reason for traveling with a bottle of opiates in your suitcase, but a drug sniffing dog in the airport baggage room has no way of knowing that when he zeroes in on your suitcase and starts barking. This happens all the time.
Distinctive markings. Make your checked luggage distinctive. The single biggest cause of lost luggage is that somebody accidentally picked another passenger’s bag that looked like theirs. Put something colorful on your bag that won’t fall off or get easily ripped off.