Even with recent airline restrictions on the number of bags passengers can check and how much they can weigh, "you'd be amazed at how many people don't like to pack light," says Anna. "You'd see some stuff come through, like potatoes, and wonder, 'Why did they buy that here? Don't they have potatoes at home?'"

Sometimes, suitcases were so overstuffed, they'd pop open on the conveyor belt, requiring a quick fix with duct tape. It didn't matter, though, whether a bag was labeled "Louis Vuitton" or "Made in China." Anna says she tried to handle them all with care and grace.

"You never want to toss somebody's bag around like a football," she says. And despite late-night talk show jokes about lost luggage, "I've never heard of anybody losing a single bag."

Still, you won't find Anna checking her suitcase when she takes off on a retirement trip to Amsterdam in a few months. "There's really only one way for me to fly," she says. "I always take a carry-on."

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