Wingo Airlines dodging baggage theft claims
 

Some time ago (this saga has been going for a while), I took a flight on Wingo from Cartagena to Panama City. I checked my bag. The bag looked intact when I got off the plane and left the airport, but I discovered later that someone had stolen various pocket-sized items while my checked bag was enroute.

My Spanish is mediocre, so calling the airline on the phone to complain was out of the question. I emailed them instead (in English and Spanish, courtesy of Google Translate) and heard nothing back.

I sent a second email. Same nothing. Another email, another nothing.

After ignoring my first few emails (I'm not sure exactly which email they finally responded to), Wingo sent me an email saying that they would respond to my email within 15 days. Then, 15 days later, they sent another one claiming another 15 days.

Finally, more than a month after my initial complaint, their baggage department sent an email saying that they would not respond to my complaint unless I went back to the airport.... in Panama!

Also, they would not respond to my complaint unless it was made within 7 days of the flight. Note that it took them more than a month to tell me this.

Its interesting that, rather than rejecting my claim, they are refusing to recieve it altogether. I suspect that they know that they have a problem with employee theft from baggage and would rather not report accurate statistics to their regulator. As long as they refuse to receive complaints, they have no problem!

Is there any process that I can use to force Wingo to recieve and respond to this claim? I'm willing to send a couple of emails or air-mailed letters, but traveling about is more than I can offer. Who is the regulator in Colombia?

Posted in the Copa forum because Wingo is their subsidiary (I think).

Wingo is owned by Copa Holdings of Panama. I assume Wingo's policy is the same as Copa's. https://www.copaair.com/en/web/ca/missing-items There are a lot of exclusions there, essentially anything of value.

Maybe Panama has jurisdiction, and in Panama, people always claim that they'll call the consumer advocacy authority when they've been wronged. Autoridad de Protección al Consumidor y Defensa de la Competencia

But I'm guessing you'll get nowhere.

I always think of Wingo as Copa owned but run as a Colombian low cost carrier and completely staffed by Colombians and registered as a Colombian airline.

Unfortunately this happens quite a lot in Central American airports. In SJO I once had about 25 items removed from my luggage. Of course they won't take responsability.

Always better to put a TSA style lock on your bags