Delta Will Put Your Carry-On In An Overhead Bin Above Your Seat? And, They Don’t Charge You For It?
I did a double-take on this one. It actually strikes me as a really good idea. I’m just shocked Delta isn’t charging for it.
Point Me To The Plane outlines Delta Air Lines’ “Early Valet” service. A Delta gate agent walked around the boarding area looking for 5 volunteers to hand over their bag. The service was free, and the gate agent made sure the customers’ bags were loaded in an overhead bin above their seat.
I do wonder if the airlines have appropriate ground staff to perform this more broadly. If so, I love the idea.
I imagine the airlines could easily charge for this service. In fact, I’m kind of surprised Delta isn’t charging now. Maybe they’re still in test mode?
The Final Two Pennies
The only reason I board a domestic flight early is if I need to get my bag in an overhead bin. There’s absolutely nothing onboard pretty much any domestic flight that makes me want to spend more time onboard. That’s what makes this suggestion so genius to me. Still, airlines and baggage aren’t always the greatest mix.
Would airlines consider coming to the club lounges to get bags for loading? That’s where some of their most loyal customers are prior to boarding.
What if they put a bag on the wrong flight? Ideally, it would get discovered when the other plane landed and nobody claimed a bag.
How do you determine which customers get to take advantage of early valet? Surely they don’t have enough bandwidth for everyone.
All kinds of questions….
The post Delta Will Put Your Carry-On In An Overhead Bin Above Your Seat? And, They Don’t Charge You For It? was published first on Pizza in Motion
Another question: can valet loaded bags be tracked on the Delta app?
Ask your dad 🙂
Chris, the answer is yes.
Asking…
No
This is a great idea. Lost bags should be rare since theoretically a passenger would see their bag either directly above their seat or very nearby. Tagging it should be easy too, if necessary. Might this speed up boarding and cause less gate lice?
The downside is another passenger simply moving that bag to make room.
Perhaps start with Diamond and Platinum and see how it works?
Geoff, I think it would be tough to expand past a couple dozen bags per flight given current staffing models.
I’ve put as many as 14 on a flight.
Hmm….
All those bags just sitting there, with a high probability that the owners aren’t going to board until late in the process. And after 15 or 20 people board, no way of knowing whether someone is opening the bag legitimately or not. Can’t think of any downside…
JEM, no question I see logistical challenges. I wonder how many people they could effectively roll this out to per flight.
5-15bags a flight. One valet employee. Only a handful of flights per day.
Toni, are you an employee doing this work? You can do 15 bags for one flight?
Does the TSA still require that checked luggage be removed from the cargo hold if the owner doesn’t board the aircraft? I wonder if the same rule also would apply in this case.
Only on international flights
The TSA says we are to be in direct control of our baggage at all times. Passenger bags sitting all alone in overhead compartments for who knows how long? Bad idea.
Flys2much, I don’t see this much different than checking a bag.
Their are on a secure airplane for about 25 min before you board.crew are on the plane.
Here’s a few reasons why this is a GREAT service:
1.) Stress Reduction; customers need not worry about finding a place for their carry-ons, the bag is already loaded directly above their seat.
2.) Optimized Locker Space; staff know how bags should be loaded to better optimize overhead lockers, allowing for even more bags to fill the space instead of one or two poorly loaded bags preventing other customers from using the overheads
3.) On-Time Performance; less time waiting for customers to find their seat and locate available overheads allows for on-time departures.
4.) Customer Assistance; some customers just can’t get that over stuffed bag over their heads
5.) Less Waiting; instead of having their bag “gate checked” to their final destination and waiting in baggage claim for its arrival, the bag is strategically and conveniently placed above their seat/row and carried off by them on arrival. Even if the bag is slightly behind them and a little less accessible than desired, it will still take less time to retrieve than waiting for it to arrive in baggage claim.
Justin, in agreement on all your points. Specifically, if the agents handling this work are targeting customers who look like they’ll struggle to get their bag up into a bin, they’re helping customers most in need AND speeding up boarding.
will a turn flight have additional ground time to enable the valet to put bags on planes while cleaners are busy moving up/down aisle trying to get the last bits and pieces left from previous flights?? Valets would also need additional time if those same previous passengers were taking their time getting off an inbound flight.
Inthebiz, I’m guessing they just don’t offer it on flights where timing isn’t optimal. It’s not a guarantee that they offer it.