Where lost luggage goes to die
Despite all the criticism, airlines are doing one thing right. They’re selling bargain shoes, samurai swords, iPods and even lingerie — all at prices of up to 80 percent off.
You’ll find a treasure trove at The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Arizona.
More than two million of the roughly 700 million suitcases checked on US airlines last year didn’t arrive with their owners. The vast majority were returned within 24 hours, typically on the next flight. But 68,000 never made it. After 90 days unsuccessfully trying to reunite passenger and parcel, most airlines sell the bags here.
Each day, the store sets out 7000 new items, and it’s not just luggage. Plenty of miscellaneous belongings are left in seatback pockets.
Unclaimed Baggage was started in 1970 by Doyle Owens, a part-time insurance salesman in Scottsboro who had a friend working at a bus line in Washington. One day the friend asked if he wanted to buy lost luggage from buses.
Four years later airline luggage was added. Since then, the shop has expanded to car rental companies, commuter trains and is eyeing cruises, says the Sydney Morning Herald.
By David Wilkening
David
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