A friend of mine travelled on an international US air flight, and had his luggage missing. It's been a month now and apparently there is little chance to get back the luggage.

He filled documentation but was asekd to provide billsfor what he declared - nothing important, just clothes and his books (he is a phd student).

Like most of us ( at least in my country), we do not really keep track of bills from things we buy and that are "cheap" ( basic clothes, etc.), and many things are bought with cash. So, no track of the buy whatsoever.

Because he is a student, he rarely uses a credit card to buy stuff.

Anyway, he is worried that he won't get any compensation as the office here said they really needed proof of purchase to compensate.

he had around $1,500 worth of clothes and books - those are expensive ones. But was really unable to provide any documentation.

Thanks for any tip / advice / experience you can provide him !

A friend of mine travelled on an international US air flight, and had his luggage missing. It's been a month now and apparently there is little chance to get back the luggage.

He filled documentation but was asekd to provide billsfor what he declared - nothing important, just clothes and his books (he is a phd student).

Like most of us ( at least in my country), we do not really keep track of bills from things we buy and that are "cheap" ( basic clothes, etc.), and many things are bought with cash. So, no track of the buy whatsoever.

Because he is a student, he rarely uses a credit card to buy stuff.

Anyway, he is worried that he won't get any compensation as the office here said they really needed proof of purchase to compensate.

he had around $1,500 worth of clothes and books - those are expensive ones. But was really unable to provide any documentation.

Thanks for any tip / advice / experience you can provide him !

Central Baggage Services in PIT will generally demand receipts for any essential purchases made while baggage is missing. For any other items in baggage which is declared 'irretrievably lost', he would need to liaise with central Baggage Services, and come to some arrangement. Compensation for lost, as opposed to 'delayed' baggage is governed by the Montreal Convention. Not entirely sure but think the max payout is around the $1,500 mark so hopefully he'll be OK. Well, as OK as you can be when your belongings disappear... sorry to hear of this situation. Hope this info helps.

Last Nov US Air lost my golf bag containing two sets of clubs (I was carrying my wife's clubs in the same bag) and some clothes. They suspect it was stolen from the airport conveyer. I filled out the necessary paperwork and waited for US Air to not find it. They then asked me file a claim w/ receipts. Out of $4700 worth of equipment I only had receipts for about $1000. I included detailed information about each item, including links to web sites w/ prices and a nice cover letter documenting the considerable business I have given them.

US Air reimbursed me for the individual maximum of $2800. Home owner's insurance covered another $1700. In the end I came out about even but lost a lot of time. Thankfully it was winter, I didn't lose many rounds of golf.

I recommend giving them all the info you can. Good luck.