Originally Posted by
no1cub17
Thanks! Yeah we ended up just buying one set of clothes and swimsuits, which was quite the adventure in Lanai. Didn't realize even basic goods are so hard to procure! Remembered our phone chargers in our carry-on at least, haha. Just curious what does the DOT require in terms of compensation? Somehow I've never pursued this with a US carrier before. Gotten lucky, I guess.
It's not compensation, they have to reimburse you for actual expenses (assuming you checked your bags on time):
Airlines are required to compensate passengers for reasonable, verifiable, and actual incidental expenses that they may incur while their bags are delayed - subject to the maximum liability limits.
Airlines are not allowed to set an arbitrary daily amount for interim expenses. For example, an airline cannot have a policy that they will reimburse a passenger up to only $50 for each day that a passenger’s bag is delayed.
https://www.transportation.gov/lost-...amaged-baggage
Basically for domestic flights if you can show you needed it, that you needed it because your bag was delayed, it's not on the carrier's list of excluded things (like jewelry, etc.) and it's less than $3,500 they should cut you a check.
Note that that the rules are significantly different for int'l flights (incl domestic legs of int'l tickets). The limit is lower (~$1,500) but the exclusions are more narrow.