Luggage

With the deregulation of the airline industry and the proliferation of cheap fares, more people than ever before are flying. But more people means more luggage, and more luggage means more lost luggage. Most misplaced baggage just doesn't get to the plane in time and usually catches up with its perturbed owners within a few hours. Nevertheless, 2 percent of the owners of lost bags are not so lucky. Following are tips for ensuring that your luggage doesn't become part of these statistics: Passengers should check the claim ticket when the luggage is checked to make sure that a bag meant for Columbus, Ohio, has not been ticketed to Colombia, South America.

Louis Vuitton luggage, like the classic Packard car, is one of those things that people collect, restore and occasionally use. Actress Ruth Gordon and her husband, writer-director Garson Kanin, owned 20 pieces of Vuitton luggage. They had hat boxes, steamer trunks, a shirt trunk, a book trunk, two garment bags, a cosmetic case and a train case - every piece built to Kanin's specifications. After Gordon died last August at the age of 88, the trunks and cases - filled with her clothes, costumes and memorabilia - were sent to William Doyle Galleries in New York for sale, and they brought good prices.

A South Jersey man who screened luggage at Philadelphia International Airport pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to stealing four laptop computers and a PlayStation game system from the luggage of airline passengers. Troy Davis, 36, of Willingboro, faces zero to six months behind bars when he is sentenced in January. Authorities said that Davis had been assigned by the Transportation Security Administration to screen checked luggage at Terminal A. The government's plea memorandum said that Davis admitted taking the items to federal agents on March 31. Investigators later determined that the stolen goods belonged to two passengers, one bound for Miami and the other to Puerto Rico on March 31. Davis' thefts had been observed by a baggage handler for American Airlines, the court document said.

Philip Bramson's iPod vanished from his checked luggage on a flight to Mexico, and recovering it seemed impossible. "It was hidden in my luggage, so it could only have been seen through the X-ray or a pretty thorough search," he says. "The only place this could have happened is during the luggage handling in JFK. There was not enough time in Mexico between when we landed and I was given my luggage. " It's an awful feeling when you open your suitcase after a long flight and notice something is missing.

TOLEDO, Ohio - An Ohio man was accused of zipping six bulldog-mix puppies into a suitcase and leaving it next to a trash bin after his contact information was found on the luggage tag, authorities said Wednesday. A Toledo Area Humane Society officer filed two misdemeanor charges of abandoning animals against Howard Davis, 53, of Toledo, this week. He was not arrested, and could not be found for comment Wednesday, but is scheduled to appear in Toledo Municipal Court on Friday.

US Airways officials are pledging to fix the airline's horrendous performance in handling luggage at Philadelphia International Airport. They should attack the problem as if it's their last chance to get it right. As The Inquirer documented on Sunday, US Airways' baggage system in Philadelphia is by far the worst in the airline's nationwide operation. The hub in Philadelphia loses passengers' bags four times more often than the airline's overall rate for lost luggage - which is no great shakes either.

They seem to be in all the magazines - glitzy camera ads, proclaiming that this or that prize-winning photograph was made with a particular brand of equipment. The advertisements feed the tendency of some photographers, especially young ones who admire the work of established professional photographers, to dwell on equipment over talent or technique. Perhaps the most egregious example of this came at a slide show given by a National Geographic photographer. The photographer, who specializes in picturing wilderness areas, had just wound up his talk before a rapt audience; the lights came up, and he asked for questions.

Maybe somebody decided the 76ers were carrying too much excess baggage. Whatever, coach John Lucas arrived for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers missing a piece of luggage. The bag disappeared from the Sixers' hotel headquarters in Denver, where they dropped a 108-100 decision to the Denver Nuggets Saturday night. Lucas said he was missing six designer suits, a number of shirts, shoes and various accessories. "I wore the same suit in Denver that I wore the night before in Sacramento.

Personally, I've always wanted my name at the top - of the card, that is. Perfect gifts, these personalized correspondence cards and envelopes with a liner that matches the pretty faux-lizard box it all comes in, and it can be ready in plenty of time for gift-giving. By Crane & Co., the 20 cards with envelopes can be ordered up until Dec. 12 for $39. They also come in pink, navy, brown, green, black, royal blue, yellow, light pink and light blue. (1) Here's a pretty stocking- stuffer for the child whose forthcoming spring semester includes studying abroad in a romantic place (as if studying was really happening)

WHILE PATRICK and Karen Noonan were beached, their luggage enjoyed a leisurely Mediterranean vacation, all by itself. The story begins Friday morning, July 1, when the Noonans went to Philadelphia International for a flight to Barcelona. They were to land in Spain early Saturday with enough time to board a cruise they had booked. The short version of the story, according to Karen: After 12 agonizing hours at our airport, with no clear explanation to passengers, their US Airways flight was canceled because of mechanical problems.

TOLEDO, Ohio - An Ohio man was accused of zipping six bulldog-mix puppies into a suitcase and leaving it next to a trash bin after his contact information was found on the luggage tag, authorities said Wednesday. A Toledo Area Humane Society officer filed two misdemeanor charges of abandoning animals against Howard Davis, 53, of Toledo, this week. He was not arrested, and could not be found for comment Wednesday, but is scheduled to appear in Toledo Municipal Court on Friday.

Question: I recently bought two one-way tickets from Madrid to Cancun, Mexico, through Cheaptickets.com. I found tickets that were within my budget and called the online travel agency to verify all the details, including the baggage fees. A company representative assured me that the fees listed on the Cheaptickets website were accurate and that I would have to pay a reasonable 60 euros per bag. So I booked the tickets on Air Europa. But when I arrived at the airport, I discovered the flight was not operated by Air Europa but by Iberworld Airlines - and its baggage fees were excessive, to say the least.

PHILADELPHIA Fund set up for family of slain merchant Chinatown leaders and the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs yesterday set up a fund to help the family of a Chinese takeout owner who was slain Friday during a robbery in his Tacony store. Checks may be made payable to "Huang Family Benefit Fund" and mailed to the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp., 301 N. 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. The money will go toward helping the victim's wife and their three daughters - 6, 2 and 8 months - who need to find housing and no longer have the income of the store, which is not reopening.

Philip Bramson's iPod vanished from his checked luggage on a flight to Mexico, and recovering it seemed impossible. "It was hidden in my luggage, so it could only have been seen through the X-ray or a pretty thorough search," he says. "The only place this could have happened is during the luggage handling in JFK. There was not enough time in Mexico between when we landed and I was given my luggage. " It's an awful feeling when you open your suitcase after a long flight and notice something is missing.

LOS ANGELES - A military demolitions expert who completed three tours of duty in Afghanistan was being held yesterday on federal charges that he had tried to transport explosives on a civilian airplane in Texas during the holiday weekend. Army Sgt. Trey Scott Atwater, of Hope Mills, N.C., waived his initial federal court hearing set for yesterday afternoon, said Daryl Fields, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the western district of Texas, in a telephone interview.

Children who haul their own luggage can opt for bags shaped like penguins, pandas, ladybugs, and even aliens, adding more playfulness, and perhaps even a toy playmate, to the trip. TrendyKid's new child-friendly luggage sets in the above styles include a lightweight 17-inch hard-shell wheeled bag with an adjustable pull handle and internal garment straps and a zippered section for organizing gear. The matching 13-inch backpack has adjustable shoulder straps and an internal pocket. Fun enough for adults of a certain ilk, too. Travel Buddies wheeled suitcase/backpack sets are $89.99 at www.trendykid.com ; 1-888-873-6395.

WHILE PATRICK and Karen Noonan were beached, their luggage enjoyed a leisurely Mediterranean vacation, all by itself. The story begins Friday morning, July 1, when the Noonans went to Philadelphia International for a flight to Barcelona. They were to land in Spain early Saturday with enough time to board a cruise they had booked. The short version of the story, according to Karen: After 12 agonizing hours at our airport, with no clear explanation to passengers, their US Airways flight was canceled because of mechanical problems.

DEAR ABBY: My son is single and enjoys vacationing with us every summer. He pays all his expenses. My married daughter has become jealous. Her financial situation is such that I would have to pay her expenses if she were to vacation with us. We also have a compact SUV, so when our luggage is in the car, there's room for only one other person besides my wife and me. Am I showing partiality to my son, who does not have a spouse to travel with...

Lesson of the day: Steer clear of Patti LaBelle 's stuff. A West Point cadet caught a brutal beating from the singer's bodyguards in the parking lot at Houston's Bush International Airport in March for standing too near her limousine and luggage, a lawsuit alleges. Richard King , a senior at the U.S. Military Academy, is suing LaBelle and three of her entourage for unspecified damages after suffering a pummeling and concussion. "Apparently, defendant LaBelle believed King was standing too close to her [no doubt expensive]

Mormons: Wrong to belittle gays SALT LAKE CITY - The Mormon church, responding to a giant protest petition by gay-rights activists, said Tuesday it disagrees with gay rights activists on some issues, but shares the community's concern over acts of cruelty against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals. Church spokesman Michael Otterson read an official church statement after the Human Rights Campaign delivered a petition signed by 150,000 of its members to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' headquarters.