AA delayed baggage to MUC
 

The first part is just to report the experience so far:

Flew FLL-CLT-MUC - first segment was rather delayed and I pretty much had to run to make the MUC flight. Had no expectations that a baggage handler would run as well; the bags got unloaded pretty much the same time that the MUC flight pushed back. OK - so far so good - happens. After getting off the MUC flight but before reaching baggage claim I got an email from AA saying the bags were delayed. OK - knew that from the app as well. So go straight to baggage services where they claim that they can't open a claim until all bags are unloaded. Tell them I can see on the app that the bags are in CLT. They say the app can be wrong. Show them email... They are still trying to make me wait until they are done will all bags. Eventually was given a form to fill in (before they finished the belt) - it was in Spanish - I offer to do it in either German or English. Get English form. I explain that I am going to Villach (Austria) today to pick up a car of mine and will then be at the Danube outside Vienna for a while. I suggest to fly the bags to Vienna - but they don't want to hear it - but say they will get it delivered to Austria - fair enough - they can do it how the want.
You get an email with a claim number plus a link to a website (whereismysuitcase.com) which is seemingly blocked from Europe (by the site) - wild guess not GDRP compliant.
Next day, the regular baggage tracking on AA shows that the bags were loaded on the MUC flight the next day. OK - if LHR would not have been such a mess, I would have expected them to route it through there - but let's assume this was a good choice (rather than slow doing nothing) and the bags clearly made it to Munich Saturday 7am. I did not hear from them Saturday, I did not hear from them Sunday. So eventually I called the EP line, got transferred to baggage service about 40 minutes later and was told "they'd send a message to to the local team to open a delivery order". Told the agent that the web site was seemingly blocked from Europe (tried internet from Germany and Austria - also different computer) - was told that it would only be turned on once they have a delivery order. Sure... And there people complain that EP aren't treated well. They will enable a web site just for me once my bags are on the way...

I don't have much experience with AA delayed baggage - the few times I had to deal with Airlines and delayed bags - they got it to a destination rather quickly - but I am not sure what to do here - is there a better number to call than the US EP line (which was suggested by the twitter team). I am a little baffled why those bags are in MUC for two days and nobody does anything about them.

The Munich airport has been in the middle of what the German press is calling luggage chaos for the past several days. It's reported that several thousand bags are stranded there. Ground handling companies are apparently short of staff, and some flights have gone out with no luggage aboard.

I don't know who handles AA's bags at MUC, and I can't say for sure this is the reason for the problem, but if your bags are among ones that need to be sorted out of this mess and delivered, it could explain the delay.

I don't have any ideas to get your bags sooner, but call AA's baggage line and they will authorize you to spend $ for reasonably necessary expenditures (you may not technically need to call them to do this--after all, you're entitled to this under the Montreal Convention--but I've always done so, and they've always paid whatever receipts I've sent in).

Alternatively if you bought your ticket on a card w/ delayed baggage insurance I would check that and see what coverage is offered.

Bottom line, if anything is replaceable and you need it (hiking clothes, etc.), I would buy and seek reimbursement rather than fretting on why the bag is taking so long.

It can take an airport awhile to notice even under normal circumstances. I had bag miss a connextion in LHR to SFO. It was missing for awhile (someone in LHR baggage was kind enough to call me for details after an agent sent a telex(?) to the airport). When I got the bag it had about a dozen TSA examination cards in it so it probably spent a week riding the baggage carousel at SFO (each card card listed a different SFO-bound flight for 3-4 different airlines). Dunno why the TSA didn’t notify a baggage office after the 3rd or 4th card.

The company behind the baggage location website is seemingly motivated by least cost, rather than speed/efficiency (the liability for lost baggage is the airline’s, so no skin off their back if it takes awhile).

So far nothing - when you call AA they tell you they will send a message to the local team to deliver it. Seems roughly as effective as me trying smoke signals. I had more luck with China Eastern that lost a bag on a flight to BKK - and I then asked them to send it to Austria (though they sent it to Australia first - I had to learn the Chinese word for "Austria" to explain the difference.) But by now it took them less time to get it here than AA to do the same from MUC

Just a quick update - the bags have shown up today. No email, no phone calls. But after dropping off the kid at the summer camp I found them standing in the rain thrown (let's say "lifted and dropped") over the fence.