Airlines lost 30 million bags last year-200,000 of them permanently

[mandy]

If you've ever been frustrated after an airline lost your luggage, you're in the good company of millions of others. An estimated 30 million bags were temporarily lost by airlines in 2005, and 200,000 of those bags were never reunited with their owners, according to an industry report released Monday.

"The industry needs more sophisticated baggage reconciliation systems and greater use of self-service such as check-in through kiosks and on the Web," Francesco Violante, SITA's managing director said. "This will all help to simplify travel, reduce delays and baggage misconnections."...

full article: http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/NmhgACNIpP...2005.xhtml

The 30 million lost bags represent 1% of the total bags handled by the airlines.