bcl00

Delta broke my travelpro 29" suitcase last week. I think they dropped a heavy bag onto it and broke the frame. I took it to the baggage service desk immediately upon arrival in SLC. The representative said he thought it could be repaired. They gave me the contact information of a repair center in SLC. I took it to the repair center and they said it could not be repaired. I told Delta the bag was 3 years old and cost $300. I received the following via email:

Our check in the amount of $107.25, to reimburse you for the expenses incurred, check will be mailed under separate cover. You should receive it within up to 14 business days.
Delta Air Lines will offer you a new bag, that you can select free of charge, at our Online Baggage Replacement website.

I asked them why $107.25 and the answer wasn't clear. I'm not sure if this is the depreciated value of the bag or some other number. Their response was the following:

In accordance to our policy, we do not provide monetary reimbursement for damaged or replacement baggage. If you chose not to order a new bag, we have another option for you. We can issue our Transportation Credit Voucher in the amount of $200.00 which may be used toward future Delta travel.

Has anyone else experienced this process recently?

The TSA regulations suggest to me that they have to give me the full value of the bag:

https://www.transportation.gov/lost-...amaged-baggage

Their contract of carriage states the following:

https://www.delta.com/us/en/legal/co...f-carriage-dgr

1. General Limitation of Liability for Loss of, Damage to, or Delay in Delivery of Baggage
Delta�s liability for loss, damage, or delay in the delivery of a passenger's checked baggage, carry-on baggage, or other personal property tendered to Delta in connection with air transportation on Delta shall be limited to proven damage or loss. Actual value for reimbursement of lost or damaged property shall be determined by the documented original purchase price less any applicable depreciation for prior usage. Under no circumstances shall the liability for loss, damage, or delay in the delivery of baggage exceed $3,500 per fare-paying passenger. These limitations shall also apply to baggage or personal property if and to the extent accepted by Delta for temporary storage at a city or airport ticket office or elsewhere before or after the passenger's trip.

NobleHouse

That sounds like a pretty good deal to me for a three year old bag, what are you hoping to receive as opposed to ~$100 check or $200 in travel credit? That seems pretty generous IMO.

bcl00

I'd ideally like the full replacement cost but I'm not too upset about the $107. I have a separate thread in the B6 forum where I had another damage incident on the return leg that has me much more upset.

Often1

TSA has absolutely nothing to do with this. The rules in place are DOT's. Those, just like DL's own COC, require that the value of the bag be reimbursed.

The value of a three-year old bag for which you paid $300 is likely way, way less than $107, unless it really has sat unopened in your closet.

The funny money offer of $200 is useful if you are a regular DL flier and can use it. The reason DL offers the vouchers is that the "breakage" on those is high and most are simply never used.

If you can document a higher fair market value for the bag, then you are free to try, but I think that by any measure, you have done very well and should take the money and run (deposit it).

kxc262

Do you have status on DL? DL has replaced my bag twice at face value when I was flying as Diamond.

Gig103

So you get $100 plus the new bag? That sounds pretty good for regular luggage, provided you like the selections available. Makes me hesitate to buy one of those high end pieces of luggage that have a sticker price above the Monteal Convention when empty!

tvnwz

I use cheap Walmart bags. Latest 21 inch roller has about 400K miles on it. Still going strong. Cost $68. Swiss Tech.--whoever they are. I gave up on status bags like TravelPro long ago.
Take the money and run.

Often1

This makes all the sense in the world. They look just fine until one day they don't. That's when you toss it with no regrets.

hortkie

DL offered a very fair resolution. $107 plus you can pick a bag out from a website they provided. The bags on that site are nice bags - not TUMI or Travelpro, but decent bags. I've used it 2 x in the last year. The bags arrive pretty quickly also.

divrdrew

I once flew with an empty 29" roller bag. Was brand new...got it from an aunt who recently passed. Not sure what it was worth. Filed a claim, was told couldn't be repaired...was given a new bag worth about $400! I was happy.

flyerfirsts

A bag plus $107.25 is a great deal. The $107.25 is some kind of error/goodwill unless you mentioned to them time off of work and expense of going to get a repair quote.
You could technically try to sue for the value of the bag, instead of a replacement from them, but I' m not sure the bag is worth much more than that anyway.
Someone mentioned the regulation on this is DOT not TSA. If you're curious, it's 14 CFR 254.4 if this was a domestic flight. If international it is the Montreal Convention that controls.

topcat_dcx

Dang... DL damaged my carryon bag a few flights ago and I thought it would have been inappropriate to ask them for reimbursement but I guess that’s ok after reading this thread.... now if I can only find the link to report it

btonkid12345

TravelPro isn�t a status bag...try Tumi or Rimowa...

I used to have a SwissTech. It was junk.

I now have an international plain black Tumi - the handle doesn�t snap in transit, the wheels don�t fail, and if anything goes wrong, I can get a loaner at a local store.

To each their own. But just saying - if you think TravelPro is status your spectrum of bags needs expansion.

btonkid12345

You have to file the initial claim within 24 hours then have up to two years after that to complete it; if you missed the initial 24 hour reporting requirement, you�re out of luck

cre95

I had missed Delta�s offer of the �new bag� aspect in addition to the $107. Nothing for the OP to complain.