Former American Airlines CEO shares his number one flying hack
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Doug Parker served as the chief executive for American Airlines from 2001 to 2023. “There are no silver bullets. I can tell you what I tell my family,” Parker, 63, said on the December 18 episode of Airlines Confidential podcast. “Do not check a bag.
![[Doug Parker served as the American Airlines CEO for more than 20 years]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/17/15/newFile-5.jpg)
“Wherever we’re going, you can buy stuff when you get there,” he continued. “It’s not that the airlines don’t know how to get there, but it’s incredibly complex, and it makes your experience much more difficult. “That’s my major tip to anybody. Just figure out a way, no matter where you’re going, to get it into your carry-ons, and don’t check a bag.”.
Parker, who served as the airline’s chief executive from 2001 to 2023 and continues to act as the chairman of American Airlines Group, then said: “A better tip is just be nice to the people that are out there working. Founded in 1970, Unclaimed Baggage takes in the 0.03 percent of checked bags that have been deemed as “orphans” after a three-month owner search has been conducted by the airline and the traveler’s been paid the appropriate amount for their loss.
Inside Unclaimed Baggage, items are organized in categories similar to how any discount or retail store would display its merchandise. Clothing, shoes, and electronics are all laid out in separate sections. That said, the warehouse will only sell about a third of its lost item intake. Most inventory is either donated or recycled.
