Originally Posted by
etch5895
I'm glad to hear that your baggage mishaps worked out well. I'd still be very surprised if any AF employee at the Berlin airport forwarded a bag to Croatia when it was not part of the original ticketed itinerary, and with a non-interlining airline.
They don't have any choice in the matter - they
have to forward it to Croatia. How they forward it is up to them - they could use DHL, for example - but the Montreal Convention is quite clear on this. If an airline fails to reunite a passenger with their luggage at the end of their journey then they have to deliver it to him no matter where he happens to be.
The contract is to deliver the baggage to the customer, at the arrival airport,
at the end of their journey. If they are unable to keep to that contract (i.e., if the bag misconnects) then the Montreal Convention kicks in and the bag has to be forwarded to the passenger wherever he is, subject only to a maximum cost of SDR 1000.
Do the airlines have a certain number of days that they need to reunite you with your bags?
No (because this obviously depends on how soon the bag is found and how far it has to be forwarded), but the Montreal Convention does say something along the lines of "by the fastest possible means" or "as quickly as possible".
(It's a while since I last looked at the text, so I'm unsure about the precise wording, but there is definitely something in there along those lines. I know this because I was, at the time, having an argument with KLM about their switch to a slower courier company that only works Mondays to Fridays. I won the argument, they switched back to same-day delivery!)
Sorry to hear about your hassles at BRU and CDG!