I made the mistake of taking a flight from ORD-BCN last month on US Air, where I spent the entire 5 days of my trip waiting for my bag to show up. Thanks to TSA, of course I had to find and replace all toiletries. I'm a UA flyer 100%, so this really ticked me off having flown another *A carrier that was so poor in customer service.

I left BCN on the 26th, only to be told that they attempted delivery of my bag on the 27th. I don't know how they could miss the fact that I flew out on THEIR airline the day before - but ok.

Since then, I've called daily, and every day, I'm put on hold for 10-15 min, to have someone tell me that
1> They have located my bag and it is at an airport not far from me, and that they will be sending it out for delivery
2> They have to send out a message to confirm my delivery address via Email, because the baggage center can not make outgoing calls, and I should call the following day to get the response
3> They will check on this with their supervisor and call me back within 10 minutes (never happened)
4> (This is the latest) My bag may have been located in Madrid.

I can't seem to get anyone who has English as a first language. And while I don't normally have a problem with this, I feel that CSA's should at least be semi-fluent in the language with which they are working. Apparently, that is not a requirement at the US baggage call center. Further, they will not connect me to a supervisor, nor will they give me the last name of any supervisor.

I think this is way beyond ridiculous....I've been S U P E R patient with them, but it has been nearly a month now.

My hope is to get the bag (Among other items, I just bought 2 new Canalli suits this year that are in the bag, I'm sure there is NO WAY they would compensate for this) - and then have them reimburse me for the inconvenince.

Any ideas on what to do next with them / amounts to seek for compensation?

I've never had any problems with UA that even border on being this unacceptable - I can only commend UA's CSR's and that is why I will continue to fly with them...I can not imagine how US is still in business with this level of customer service.

Did US or UA lose your bag?

Either way, you probably want to contact a real person at the responsible airline's HQ. If email doesn't work, do it by mail. Certified letter. Return receipt.

Having read this several times, it appears that this took place on a US Air flight. I will move it to that forum.

iluv2fly
Moderator, UA

Also file a complaint with the DOT (cc:ing USAir) with copies of your bag tags. Make sure you have dates and people's names that you've spoken with.

You may want to see if your credit card and/or home insurance covers anything as well to file appropriate claims.

Being an experienced flyer you should KNOW not to check a bag on US Airways through PHL.

The DOT is a good place to start actually. But first you have to write on the blackboard 200 times

"I will not check a bag through PHL ever again"
"I will not check a bag through PHL ever again"
"I will not check a bag through PHL ever again"
"I will not check a bag through PHL ever again"
"I will not check a bag through PHL ever again"
"I will not check a bag through PHL ever again"

Then say 10 Hail Mary's, 5 Our Fathers and go forth and sin no more! :)

Oh and don't forget to write the DOT, it will definately get US Airways off the dime and some compensation headed your way. My experience has been they tend to throw vouchers in various denominations based on the severity of the incident. IMO you're looking at a $300 voucher.

BTW hope my attempt at humor didn't offend.

Fat_Cat
Not at all...I've been laughing about this for about 2 weeks now..I just can't believe it. And you're right, even the LIVE CSR's at ORD I spoke to told me that they would never check a bag through PHL....wow.

I guess I have to write 200x "I will always post in the proper forum" also....

PHL is notorious for baggage issues. US finally admitted it a few months back. The baggage system here was neglected for the longest time...especially during the rough part of the bankruptcy. They have put forth a few million dollars recently to start the upgrade process. Hopefully effects will be seen next year. As of now, some astronmical percentage of checked bags do not get read correctly by the scanners (40%?). The only thing worse then relying on a poor scanning system, is relying on a short-staffed ground staff.
rule of thumb is....never check a bag if your flying through philly. If philly is your final destination; its a crap shoot for how long it will take to get them. (The one time i had to check a bag during the full liquid ban, i was lucky and got mine in 15 min).

You are due compensation for the bag issue(they amount is designated by those rules shoved in your tix jacket.) You should also talk to guest relations....perhaps get something else for your problems.
One thing to think about if your bag ever gets lost....lots of CC companies give you lost luggage protection (if you bought the tix with them); always worth checking out.

I made the mistake of taking a flight from ORD-BCN last month on US Air, where I spent the entire 5 days of my trip waiting for my bag to show up. Thanks to TSA, of course I had to find and replace all toiletries. I'm a UA flyer 100%, so this really ticked me off having flown another *A carrier that was so poor in customer service.

I left BCN on the 26th, only to be told that they attempted delivery of my bag on the 27th. I don't know how they could miss the fact that I flew out on THEIR airline the day before - but ok.

Since then, I've called daily, and every day, I'm put on hold for 10-15 min, to have someone tell me that
1> They have located my bag and it is at an airport not far from me, and that they will be sending it out for delivery
2> They have to send out a message to confirm my delivery address via Email, because the baggage center can not make outgoing calls, and I should call the following day to get the response
3> They will check on this with their supervisor and call me back within 10 minutes (never happened)
4> (This is the latest) My bag may have been located in Madrid.

I can't seem to get anyone who has English as a first language. And while I don't normally have a problem with this, I feel that CSA's should at least be semi-fluent in the language with which they are working. Apparently, that is not a requirement at the US baggage call center. Further, they will not connect me to a supervisor, nor will they give me the last name of any supervisor.

I think this is way beyond ridiculous....I've been S U P E R patient with them, but it has been nearly a month now.

My hope is to get the bag (Among other items, I just bought 2 new Canalli suits this year that are in the bag, I'm sure there is NO WAY they would compensate for this) - and then have them reimburse me for the inconvenince.

Any ideas on what to do next with them / amounts to seek for compensation?

I've never had any problems with UA that even border on being this unacceptable - I can only commend UA's CSR's and that is why I will continue to fly with them...I can not imagine how US is still in business with this level of customer service.

Which number were you calling? Absolutely everyone at the US Airways European Baggage Centre speaks English, without exception. If you call 00800 2456 7890 between 1 and 6pm Spanish time you will get an English-speaking baggage agent who can help you. I work on this desk and there is no issue with language, everyone speaks English perfectly well. You can be compensated for essential purchases at the rate of $25 per day, up to a maximum of $75 total. You just need to send your receipts to Central Baggage in Phoenix when you return to the US.

US Airways, the same as UA and 90 percent of the world's airlines, use the WorldTracer system, which is ancient and doesn't give the exact location of bags at any given time. Passengers often assume, as their bag tags have a bar code, they can be located. This is not the case. Bag tags are scanned at check-in, and that 's that. If they go missing, it can take several days or more for them to be located and manually processed.

Frustrating, I know, but until worldwide bag scanning comes in - probably in 5 - 7 years time, this is the system we are dealing with .

If bags are irretrievably lost on International flights, there is a set amount per kilogram for compensation.

rule of thumb is....never check a bag if your flying through philly.
Never check a bag if you're flying through philly, to philly, from philly, close to philly, hell even flying over philly...........