So why does your luggage too often get damaged after you check your bags at the airport? Just by the very nature of the design of a typical commercial airliner cargo hold forces baggage handlers to have to literally throw some bags 50 feet down a long narrow shaft into the cargo hold where another baggage handler stacks bag on top of bag.
Luggage handles and luggage wheels often break or crack on impact when they get thrown into the cargo hold and anything fragile inside this luggage may not stand much of a chance. Never pack anything fragile in soft sided luggage unless it is professionally packed. Forget putting fragile labels on your luggage. Typically, there is not enough time for anyone to even notice these fragile labels in the rush to load the bags into the cargo hold.
Larger commercial airliners like the 747, 767, 777 and 787 are all designed so they can be loaded by machine so luggage does not get “thrown” when loaded into the
cargo hold.
Hard sided luggage with well designed handles attached with rivets with protection around the wheels stand the best chance when being loaded and thrown into a cargo hold. Furthermore, luggage with 4 wheels that rotate or spin 360 degrees also does better when being thrown into airliner cargo holds because they do not generally get thrown. The baggage handler simply lets the luggage roll down the long narrow shaft into the belly of the airliner so the bag typically has less of a chance of being damaged.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: AOL NEWS 12/18/12