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.
