If you're one of those people who gets to the airport four hours early so your checked bag is the first one off the plane when you land, it might be time to rethink your strategy.
A baggage handler recently went on Reddit, and offered to answer questions about the whole process.
Someone asked if there's any truth to the idea that how early you check in at the airport determines when your checked bag will come down the conveyor belt at your destination.
Some people think if your bag is one of the first ones ON the plane, it'll be one of the first ones OFF when you land. (Some also think the REVERSE is true, and it'll be one of the LAST off.)
The baggage handler said there's SOME truth to it, but the carts of luggage don't always get loaded in order, so there's no guarantees. And if you have a connecting flight, that changes things too.
He also shared some tips on the best and worst types of luggage.
He said the worst are bags with no wheels, or bags with four wheels where ONE wheel is broken, since it won't roll correctly. And the best are the bags with a hard outer shell and soft lining inside.
And another baggage handler was in the news earlier this week, warning people not to tie colorful ribbons to their bags to help identify them.
He said those ribbons can interfere with the scanning process, and that can delay your bag . . . and in some cases, make it miss the flight entirely.
According to him, having a suitcase without identifiers like ribbons and old travel stickers gives it the best chance of arriving without any issues.