Any suggestions to dealing with this? At JFK they lost my chair, what should I do when I deal with AA.?

Did they do anything for you on the spot?

Tony Bailey

Was the chair permanently lost? Or did they eventually get it back to you?

I sincerely hope that your wheelchair has been reunited with you by now. In the interim, I would have expected AA to rent you an identical wheelchair.

they can't find the wheel chair now, about 6 weeks later.

at the time CDG they promised to pay 100 euro but now they want to pay 100 USD, (we also had delayed luggage for about 2 days.)

At CDG they asked us to rent our own chair and now they are asking us to send in a baggage claim form.

You need to get more agressive with AA. Contact the people that I posted in Travelbuzz, and/or get a lawyer.

Any suggestions to dealing with this? At JFK they lost my chair, what should I do when I deal with AA.?

If they don't replace your chair with the exact same type of chair, get a lawyer to write a letter to them. DO NOT settle for $100 or 100 Euro unless that will replace your chair (unlikely! Even the most basic folding chair I have cost over $500 USD). You will have to produce some kind of proof of the original cost and specifications of your chair (manufacturer and model number, etc.). If you don't have that, contact the company you got it from and ask them to give you a copy of their record of the sale. Even if you didn't have to pay for it yourself originally -- for example, if your health insurer paid -- AA still must give you the money for a new chair, so be sure to get documentation of the true cost to replace the chair. AND they owe you something more for the inconvenience and suffering they caused by losing your chair. A good lawyer will make sure you get it.

Good luck! Be persistent!

Cheers,

Cyndi ^

I've been reading both threads.

I've got to say, if it had been me, I would have stayed in their wheelchair until someone did something. I'd tell them that I can't go anywhere without a chair and tell them to get on with sorting something!

Make sure that you keep on at them until they do something positive.

Tony Bailey

I checked it out after being reminded in the other thread about the Warsaw Convention. AA's liabilty will be limited to $400. However, you should still try for more. Maybe they'll give it to you out of the goodness of their hearts. LOL.

It is a risk, taking expensive medical equipment on an international flight. I really hope this gets changed some day soon. I hope you have good travel or other insurance that covers your chair?

My wife told me of the $400 limit this evening. This provision definitely needs to be changed. If an airline loses or damages a wheelchair, they should be liable for the entire amount.

For many travelers, wheelchairs are not an optional item. Airlines should treat them with respect and urgency.

I do not know who to contact about changing this limit. Perhaps my congressman is a place to start. The State Department may also be a good place to contact.

Seb

was the warsaw convention re-negociated? Is it still 400 for wheelchairs? What about my lost luggage for 2 days? what are the rules on this?
thanks!

It has not been renegotiated, as far as I know. The limit is still $400 USD

Eventhough I dont use a wheelchair I would say hey you lost my wheelchair now Im going to use your wheelchair. And then if they can't find it they will have to pay for a new one . By law the airlines must provide an alternate wheelchair even if they need to provide their own.

IF one can't be found the airlines need to go to a rental and get one for instnce if it was a power char they need to rent a power chair. IF they need to spend 10,000 on a wheelchair then they must do it.

Now my quesition is who would steal a wheelchair?

Eventhough I dont use a wheelchair I would say hey you lost my wheelchair now Im going to use your wheelchair. And then if they can't find it they will have to pay for a new one . By law the airlines must provide an alternate wheelchair even if they need to provide their own.

IF one can't be found the airlines need to go to a rental and get one for instnce if it was a power char they need to rent a power chair. IF they need to spend 10,000 on a wheelchair then they must do it.

Now my quesition is who would steal a wheelchair?


When BA broke my fathers wheelchair on a flight to Tampa they did lend us a wheelchair for the duration of the holiday. They actually borrowed it from Southwest. The problem was the flight was 3 hours late so all rental shops were closed. Most wheelchairs at airports dont fold up, thereby making them less likely to be stolen. Luckily the Southwest chair did fold.

Eventhough I dont use a wheelchair I would say hey you lost my wheelchair now Im going to use your wheelchair. And then if they can't find it they will have to pay for a new one . By law the airlines must provide an alternate wheelchair even if they need to provide their own.

IF one can't be found the airlines need to go to a rental and get one for instnce if it was a power char they need to rent a power chair. IF they need to spend 10,000 on a wheelchair then they must do it.

Now my quesition is who would steal a wheelchair?

You need to re-read this thread. The above only applies to domestic flights, due to the Warsaw convention.

I essentially agree that short of renegotiating the Warsaw Conv., AA is not liable (and that wouldn't help this case anyway). I would suggest that you contact your congressman.

Now for the good news, even if you don't have travel insurance, your homeowners/rental insurance may cover this, especially if it is a listed item on the policy. I would give them a call and see what they have to say.

Any suggestions to dealing with this? At JFK they lost my chair, what should I do when I deal with AA.?


So sorry to hear how reckless they were. Did you contact AA themselves? Corporate office? Reported it to BBB? What about going to one of the News channels that does those "Got you" programs where people get scammed or didn't get what they paid for, and the reporter follows through with it? Airlines hate bad press, if they lose a wheelchair, and don't compensate for the chair, that could be really bad press. Just a thought! Good luck.

Tell AA that your wheelchair was "stolen" (don't use the word lost / delayed / misplaced / etc) and that you expect full compensation.

While the Warsaw convention does limit liability, a friend of mine who is an aviation attorney believes if something is "stolen" that voids the Warsaw convention liability. I'm not an attorney, as such I am not an expert in this area; just passing on what I've learned.

In the future, it's always best to get a good travel insurance policy any time you travel out of the USA which covers medical, lost/stolen items, baggage, trip interruption/delays, etc. It's rather inexpensive and the few times I've needed it, it's been there for me.

Best of luck & Happy Holidays!

SDF_Traveler