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Can't contact Avianca for delayed baggage compensation

Can't contact Avianca for delayed baggage compensation

Old Sep 7, 2016, 7:25 am
  #1  
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 7
Can't contact Avianca for delayed baggage compensation

I recently flew with Avianca from Rio to Cuiaba, Brasil. My luggage was lost. No biggie. It happens.

They found it the next day, but said they wouldn't deliver it to me because there was no way to get it to me. Not good at all. By this time I was 5.5 hours by car away from Cuiaba. I had to arrange for someone to go to the airport and deliver it to me. Why Avianca couldn't do this, I have no idea. I can only surmise they didn't want to pay the $100 it cost me.

Now I'm back and trying to get compensation for the clothing, toiletries and delivery costs I'm out of pocket for. My luggage arrived three days late.

I called the Avianca number for Canada, and they said I had to deal with Avianca Brazil. They gave me two numbers, both of which don't work from Canada, and give a message only in Portuguese. I tried the online chat. Doesn't work. Tried the email contact. The link is broken.

There seems to be no way to contact this company. Any suggestions?

Insurance will pay for the clothing and toiletries, but not the delivery cost. They've never heard of an airline refusing to deliver luggage.
gordandmichele is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2016, 9:20 am
  #2  
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
 
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Ugh - sorry you're having to deal with this.

Let's move this thread over to the Avianca forum, where you'll likely get a better response from the community. /JY1024, TravelBuzz co-moderator
JY1024 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2016, 10:23 am
  #3  
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Avianca Brazil and Avianca Ecuador/Colombia/Peru/El Salvador/Costa Rica etc are two different companies (More than 2 if you want to get technical)

This would explain why Avianca insisted you called a Brazil number.

Brazil has ratified the Montreal Convention which should dictate compensation for delayed luggage, this in turn ought to be sufficient to cover your $100 cost of delivery.

Thing is, I have never known an airline in South America give a damn about trifling things such as international conventions, or even national laws in the countries that they operate.

Anecdotally there is some suggestion that Brazil's regulator does take seriously the application of illegal fuel surcharges but I don't know about lost luggage. I do know that in Colombia, if I were to complain to the regulator then they would just forward the letter to the airline.

Someone from Brazil or with knowledge of this might pass by and give you a different answer but instinctively, I think the effort to recover your $100 may well of greater value to you than the $100.
JohnnyColombia is offline  
Old Oct 12, 2016, 8:28 am
  #4  
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 7
Update

I finally managed to contact Avianca Brazil and made a claim for the essentials that I had to purchase, as well as compensation for the cost of getting the bag delivered to me. They reviewed it, and they denied all compensation. Here's their reply verbatim (clearly English is not their first language):

"Your require was registered on our protocol number procedures were done with the passager by email and the passanger agreed with sendind the luggage to the place they were.
Wed like to inform you that this protocol will be closed
We contacted the luggage office and they inform us that all the nd there is no way to proceed with this."

Basically, you got your luggage, so we're done here. Except I'm out about $300.

Not acceptable.
gordandmichele is offline  

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