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Ever since the Department of Homeland Security disallowed travelers to carry bottles of liquids or gels (above 3 ounces) onto planes, people have checked more luggage. As a result, more luggage is being lost these days, and Thanksgiving travel could be a real treat for those of us who will be flying. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports:

The U.S. carriers reporting flight delay and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 8.25 reports per 1,000 passengers in September, up from both September 2005's 4.56 rate and August 2006's 8.08 mark. For the first nine months of the year, the carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 6.44 per 1,000 passengers, up from the 6.19 mark recorded during January to September 2005.

The New York Times says:

The Transportation Department reported that 107,731 more fliers had their bags go missing in August than they did a year earlier, a 33 percent increase. It got worse in September, with 183,234 more passengers suffering mishandled bags than a year earlier, up 92 percent.

Globally, about 30 million bags are mishandled each year, according to SITA, a company that sells software to airlines and airports for baggage and other systems. Airlines spend about $2.5 billion to find those bags and deliver them to waiting, often angry, passengers.

All but about 200,000 bags are eventually reunited with their owners each year -- a number that sounds pretty high on its own, but that represents less than 1 percent of the billions of bags that are checked annually.

Efforts are under way to fix two of the worst baggage operations in the United States -- at US Airways in Philadelphia and at Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which operates as Delta Connection here. Both airlines had scrimped on workers and equipment at these airports. But it is far from certain whether these hubs will be running smoothly by Thanksgiving.

Because of the relatively primitive technology used by airlines to track baggage, passengers typically only learn that their luggage missed their flight after a futile wait at the carousel. Then, travelers must hunt down baggage agents, fill out forms, and wait for hours or even days for someone, often unannounced, to deliver their bags.

What should you do if the airline loses your bags? MarketWatch has a few suggestions.

See this report from the DOT [PDF] on mishandled baggage. Check out page 30 for recent reports filed by passengers.

On-Time Airline Reports 

You can click here and see what percentage of flights arrive and depart on time at your local airport. (Look at pages 20 to 23 of the November 2006 report.)

Big-Bucks School Fundraisers

In previous Al's Morning Meetings, I told you how schools are moving way beyond candy and Christmas-wrapping sales. The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported some of the new swanky ways schools raising money are returning big bucks:

A gala at the downtown Hyatt. A casino night in the St. Pete Times Forum. A wine sale at a Hyde Park jazz concert.

High profile charity events? Think again. All are public school fundraisers held in the Tampa Bay area.

While plenty of students still sell candy or gift wrap to raise money, fundraising efforts at some local schools are becoming surprisingly sophisticated. And successful.

The Safety Harbor Elementary PTA brings in about $40,000 a year, some of it from auctioning gift baskets that include spa packages and tickets to Buccaneers and Lightning games. The PTA at Hillsborough's Bryant Elementary held a casino night and silent auction at the swanky XO Club in the St. Pete Times Forum. Its take, coupled with other events: $120,000.

But the area's fundraising king has to be Gorrie Elementary, an A-rated school in Tampa's affluent Hyde Park.

Every year, Gorrie hosts a cocktail gala with a sit-down dinner. The event typically brings in $100,000, said Gorrie principal Susan Foster.

At the beginning of the school year I told you one of my kids' PTAs decided not to sell anything this year but asked, instead, for parents to donate $60 for each kid they send to the school. It is part of a national trend away from school fundraising sales. As I suspected, the new anti-selling plan has not been as profitable as selling books of coupons. So the PTA is asking us for more dough. Sixty bucks a head seems way high for many families trying to pay bills and get through life.

Urgent Call For 911 Operators

The Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal says there is a national need for more 911 operators. The stress and long hours contribute to a high turnover rate. Sixty percent of the people who start training in that city do not finish. The story says:

"It is an issue in many areas in the country," said David Jones, former vice president of the National Emergency Number Association and considered an expert in 911 issues. "Overtime is a fact of life in most communications organizations. Obviously, working mandatory overtime is not good, but somebody has to take the call."

The Cop's Wife

I like this piece in The (San Bernardino, Calif.) Sun profiling the life of a police officer's wife and family. The story's "About the Series" box on the right (It's a bit covered by ads.) explains:

The idea for The Sun's "Unintended Victims" series was born in tragedy not quite a year ago -- Nov. 13, 2005 -- when innocent 11-year-old Mynisha Crenshaw was slain by gang members seeking vengeance for the killing of one of their crew a few days before.

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