Yesterday's high-anxiety layovers

Glad you made it, thanks for the story.

Carryon has its privilege, even if you've access to the lounges.

Welcome back to the PNW, Alan. Too bad you had to use baggage claim as your pre-departure lounge. But at least you were comfortable, presumably, on the flights. Your baggage experience is one reason many on this forum recommend carry-on, especially with layovers. But I can't say I follow that advice often.

Happy future adventures, and good luck getting those airfares!

I usually check my bag on the way home. I'm tired, and I don't want to deal with my bag, which usually weighs more than it did on the outbound flights.

Broken outside transfer belts don't happen all that often - that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Honestly, I would’ve left. having done that they will deliver your luggage to you. No reason I’m going stand there 2 1/2 hours waiting on them to get their luggage off the plane.

I’m getting my my flight

We were in that position at Dulles in May. Our flight from Athens left late so we had a tighter connection. Went through with global entry and I got my bag pretty quickly. Then it all stopped. For 45 minutes. Lots of panicky people, some of which left to catch flight without luggage. We were about at that point when luggage started coming again and my husband got his bag. We were last ones on plane.

We don’t usually check but had because of hiking poles. It does add another layer of excitement.

@Carol: Yes I was consider abandoning the bag, but that was about the time they moved to a different belt.

Re: Carry-on vs. checked: My last several trips have been bike trips, and this trip included 8 days biking at Lake Garda and the coast. By the time I've packed bibshorts, jerseys, shoes, helmet, saddle, pedals, etc. in a carry-on, there's no room for anything else. Not to mention the weight of the above takes me over the carry-on limits. I did try to pack the above in my carry-on in 2015, and the Lufthansa gate agent in ORD weighed it and made me gate-check it.

I am guessing being in Portland you don't have the option of not connecting in U.S? I am in Miami area and often have choices as to where to change planes (not too many direct flights unfortunately). After our Dulles episode, I decided that I will change planes in Europe if I need to check so I don't have to deal with the potential baggage fiasco again. I would rather wait for luggage when I am not trying to also catch another plane!

We have the option of connecting outside the US in Portland, but from AlanJ's post it was a smoking hot deal. Other than a great deal, I always try to connect in Europe. Our choices are Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, Reykjavik.

I will accept Seattle as another option. If you miss your connection there is one every hour or more.

@shannon and @Beth: Yup. For PDX to Europe we Portlanders get Condor to FRA, Delta to AMS, IcelandAir to Reykjavik, or BA to LHR (summers). Otherwise you cannot get there from here. My preferences have been SFO, SEA, or YVR. DEN can work on paper but the connections coming out of PDX tend to be really tight.

Coming back from Lisbon Sept 2019 I made landfall at IAD, then had another six hours of Shoot. Me. Now., even in First. Since then I vowed that Chicago was as far east as I was willing to touch down, and that was marginal. As noted, it was a smoking hot deal (or as smoking as I was going to get-- under $3500 for my first First+Business experience. When I booked I was seeing $4500-$5000 on Delta and others and was thinking Business would be out of reach. And while Swiss' Business hard product is a little dated (2-2-1 alternating with 1-2-1 on the A330) the service and food was top notch.