How to make sure your luggage doesn't get lost when flying, according to an airline executive

• Danny A. Cox's job is to make sure flights leave on time and guest issues are addressed at Breeze.
• He says the best way to avoid lost baggage is to arrive early and not pack bulky items like coats.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Danny A. Cox, the vice president of guest experience at low-cost startup airline Breeze Airways. It has been edited for length and clarity.

As the vice president of guest experience at Breeze Airways, my day-to-day work involves concerns with the contact centers and airport operations and bouncing between strategy and tactical problems.

When the day begins, I focus on STAR flights, which stand for "Start the Airline Right." The term refers to early morning flights that can cause cascading delays if postponements occur. Early in the morning, I check the first seven or eight aircraft to see if they left on time, then I switch my attention to turn flights, which get to a location and have to quickly turn around or continue on. On the airport side, I have to check that aircraft can fly out the next morning on time.

For the contact centers, I work with attendants to ensure that guests get answers when delays or disruptions occur. For efficiency's sake, I try to get the guest as quick an answer as possible, so I source responses from teams and update our website. But for long-term improvements, I work with our technology team to ensure that the concern of one guest doesn't repeat itself.

One of the biggest misunderstandings I hear is that airlines lose bags on purpose. Seriously, an airline doesn't want to lose your baggage, and even though you may be more inconvenienced than the airline, it's too costly for us to deal with lost baggage. You're sharing the pain with the airline.

Here's my best advice for handling a lost bag and making sure you never have to worry about lost baggage again when flying.

Wear your coat

Individuals often end up putting coats in a suitcase and bringing more cases than they really need. That leads to a higher volume at the airport, which leads to more chances of disruption or separation from the bags. Keep coats on you so you can travel as lightly as possible — you can always shove it above your suitcase in an overhead compartment.

Arrive early and tag your bag

If you're going to check a bag, arrive at the airport earlier than you'd expect and ensure that your bag gets properly tagged and received by the airline in plenty of time.

On your tag, write your full name, email address, and phone number. You don't need to write your home address for privacy reasons, but if you want to help the airline identify your luggage faster, write the address of your destination or your work address.

A lot of separations from bags route back to this type of scenario: A person cuts it close to the departure time and begs an attendant to take in a checked bag. Then the airline doesn't scan it in time for TSA or the baggage handler to take the luggage to the airplane, and it gets lost.

Buy an AirTag or Tile tracker

The number one tip I have for traveling — and something that I've done for years — is buy an Apple AirTag or Tile device. For the last five years, I've traveled with an AirTag, even on my carry-on, because then I have more confidence when the airline asks me to gate-check my bag.

We separated 30 passengers from their bags this summer because Las Vegas recorded high temperatures, which reduced the weight of baggage allowed in our airplanes. We benefited from many passengers who had AirTags.

Occasionally, some of our smaller stations have smaller operations, and a bag gets grabbed by another airline and loaded onto the wrong aircraft. Once, a passenger's bag was sent to a city that we didn't serve, and the person may have lost the bag had they not checked their AirTag. The passenger saw the tagged location in Miami, and we quickly worked with other airlines to find a bag that fit the description. We may have solved the case without the tag, but it saved us time.

What to do when you've lost your bag

Nobody wants you to be separated from your bag, but when it happens, take a couple of deep breaths and find an airline employee to fill out a displaced baggage claim. Don't leave the airport without a claim number.

Typically, your lost luggage is in the baggage-claim area. Maybe someone else saw your bag, thought it looked like theirs, and took it by accident. Maybe your bag was left at your departing or arrival airport in the claim section.

If it's not in baggage claim, the ticket counter is the second best area to go. Those people are going to be airport employees or business partners of the airline involved with how a bag gets tagged on its way out and how it gets claimed.

Handle your baggage challenges within an hour of the event. Once a guest leaves the airport, the airline has a hard time verifying the claim that needs to be filed.

At the very least, ask your airline for minimal compensation to buy essentials like contact-lens solution or a toothbrush. Depending on guest satisfaction goals set by companies, some airlines may offer vouchers and points for the inconvenience.