Originally Posted by
aircrashsurvivor
Thank you . The process as described is clear HOWEVER, the reason for my question is 4 yrs ago when returning from COZ thru DFW en route to YYZ on AA we did exactly as described and were told we had to collect our bags at the carousel then proceed thru US customs and drop the bags at the bag drop. The bags never came and we tried to fill out lost bag forms or let someone from AA know but there was no one and we only had a short connection. We we're told by US customs no less it happens a lot on AA and you won't be able to get anywhere until you get to Toronto. So we left for YYZ and spent an hour filling out forms only to see our bags come off the carousel from DFW in Toronto
Same thing happened to me a few years back flying SJO-DFW-PHX... No bags on the customs carousel in DFW and the AAgents told me I'd have to claim lost baggage in PHX anyway, but when I got to PHX, lo and behold, there were my bags on the carousel. Judging by the rifled state of affairs inside of them, I assume that they were pulled off for some sort of secondary inspection.