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OK, so this has been bothering me ever since it happened, and I decided today that I'd call AA customer service and see how far I could get. When finally (after about 8 minutes on hold) I got a person instead of the automated voice response system, I explained about the orange tag with "Return to BSO", and just asked "What does BSO stand for?" She said that it sounds like my bag should be going to Boston....

So I said it had nothing to do with Boston, but had everything to do with me declaring an unloaded firearm in my luggage while flying from DFW to Tucson and return. "Oh, well, let me transfer you to someone in Baggage Customer Service". More waiting on hold, then a really nice lady discussed the situation with me. BSO actually means Baggage Service Office, which is the area that certain items are supposed to go, if they are tagged. I asked what else besides firearms would have the orange tag. She said that some customers will ask for added insurance on high value items, and those also get the orange tag, and that the passenger would pick them up in the baggage service office. She did admit that the majority of the orange tagged bags do contain firearms. She repeated that the tagged items are supposed to go to the special pickup area, where the passenger has to sign for it, so that it is tracked through their system.

Well, that part of the process isn't working, obviously, and I told her that on both ends, my bag came off the carousel. I told her that I didn't like the idea of my bag with a firearm, or any bag with valuables in it for that matter, getting flagged so that anyone from baggage handlers to other passengers at the carousel could see the "steal me" orange tag. She said that she would pass it along, but that in order for me to actually get someone's attention, I needed to go online to the AA customer relations page and fill out a contact/complaint form. Which I did this evening, explaining the situation and my dissatisfaction with the policy, and that I would be taking a different airline when transporting a firearm. Just a few minutes ago, I received this response:

October 17, 2016

Dear Mr. N5WMK:

Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations.
We very much appreciate the time you took to send us your suggestion about our service in regards to our firearm baggage procedures. Your idea certainly has merit and it clearly reflects the thought that went into it.
It is always helpful for us to consider our service from our customers' perspective. We try to be responsive to our customers and carefully analyze trend information based upon their reactions. In this way we can identify those service elements that are most appealing as well as improve those that produce a negative response.
Our aim is to suit the needs and wishes of the majority of our customers. We have forwarded a copy of your comments to the appropriate management personnel with an eye toward improvement. As we determine the appropriate action in this regard, your preferences will be considered. Thank you for giving us the benefit of your observations.
We hope to welcome you aboard another American Airlines flight in the future.


Sincerely,

Kyle Calef
Customer Relations
American Airlines

Now, whether or not anything comes of this remains to be seen, but at least I've let AA know my thoughts. If I get anything from AA, I'll post it here.

To be clear, in both cases when I arrived in Tucson and DFW, I did not have to go to the special area where over-sized luggage like golf clubs or skis would go to get my bag. Both times, my orange tagged bag came off the carousel just like every other bag. And I was not told by the ticket agent that I would need to do anything special to pick it up at the other end.

Week before last, I traveled to Tucson. Like the previous 4 times that I have gone there recently, I carried my unloaded handgun properly packed per TSA and AA requirements. No problems with the ticket agent or TSA, but there was difference on this last trip compared to the other trips. Previously, the AA agent taped the declaration form the outside of the hard case inside my checked bag, and escorted me to the TSA x-ray location, where I waited while that person opened the bag, viewed the hard case and form, did an explosive residue wipe, and said all was OK.

This last trip, the ticket agent tied a 3x5 (approx) orange card to the handle on my bag. In large black letters were the words "Return to BSO". That bag was routed to the TSA for scanning, and then went onto the plane. I figured (wrongly) that the orange card would be removed after TSA was finished, or by AA when they got their hands on it again. But when I retrieved my bag at the carousel in Tucson, there was the orange card still attached.

When I repeated the process in Tucson for return to DFW, that ticket agent also attached the same kind of orange card. So I asked her what BSO meant - she said Baggage Service Operations. Then I said "So, now everyone knows that my bag contains a firearm?" She said "No, it doesn't mean it has a firearm, we put that on all bags with high-value items."

She said it's a new policy with AA. I haven't traveled with any other airline while checking a firearm, so I don't know how others handle this.

To me, it's an indicator that this particular bag might be worth stealing, since it contains something valuable, whether it's a firearm or something else. But how many people check in a bag with something expensive in it and tell the ticket agent, unless they're required to like when checking an unloaded firearm? I really don't like that my bag is flagged to indicate that there is anything special inside. But maybe I shouldn't worry, I'm sure that no one who touches anyone's bag would think of stealing it.