HAF

In February my SO and I and traveled to Machu Picchu via Lima and Cusco. We have been planning this trip for really long time. It would have been an awesome vacation had LATAM not ruined it by loosing my luggage. We spend 4 days in Lima initially and then we flew to Cusco on February 12. This is what happened:

• We took flight LA 2075 on the 12 of February from Lima to Cusco. The flight was continuing to PEM - Puerto Maldonado.
• My bag was not unloaded at Cusco - even if it was correctly tagged. I heard from the ground staff at Cusco that this happens often
• My bag reached Puerto Maldonado - nobody claimed it
• My bag was not put back on flight on LA2074 - on Feb 12 - even if I had already reported it lost and asked the staff at Cusco to call at PEM
• My bag was put on LA2074 from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco on 13 of February - and it arrived at the hotel late evening, more than 24 hours late.

I have kept the luggage labels for the above this why I know it was never unloaded at CUZ and it reached PEM.Unfortunately our tour for Machu Picchu left early morning on the 13th of February so I did not reunite with my bag until February 16th when we returned to CuzcoWhat is really disappointing is that LATAM does not have a way to track bags - when i noticed it was missing, they had no system that would tell them where it was - at the time I reported it lost, the plane was still at Cusco loading and getting ready to take off for PEM - there was plenty of time to unload my bag.So from the time i reported it missing until the time the hotel called me to tell me that they had it delivered, my bag's whereabouts were totally unknown. The social network / facebook agents were kind enough to create a case for me on line so I can check status on line - but even that tool did not work - even after my bag was delivered the status was "We are in the process of locating your bag, please check back later"

I followed up with LATAM after I returned back in US and submitted all the receipts / expenses for items I had to buy out of pocket while I did not have access to my bag, which were submitted to Cusco for compensation ( i guess this is because this is where I filled the missing bag report?) but i have not heard anything back yet. Actually I am not that hopeful I would ever get compensated.

Frankly we made the best out of the 3 days I did not have my bag - the most essential items, medicine, travel documents, toiletries, a couple of changes of clothes etc I had in my carry on (i learned this lesson from my years of traveling) also I shared with my SO a few other hiking clothing items - however had to buy a hat, a raincoat - Feb is rainy season in Pachu Picchu, and sunscreen (UV is super strong at that altitude) all of which were in the checked bag. Also we missed our tour of Cusco and the surrounding areas on Feb 12 (Santo Domingo, Plaza de Armas, Sacsayhuaman, Puca Pucara etc ) since we were delayed having to fill in the missing bag report - and nobody from the ground staff at the airport seemed to know what they were doing or who we should talk to. ;-(

On my return from Cusco to Lima I was dreading checking my luggage in - although we had no issue.After this experience I would never trust traveling with LATAM ever again. Very substandard customer experience and their lack of bag handling abilities is inexcusable. Don't trust them!

--HAF

Often1

If you let something as small as a missing bag containing easily-replaced items "ruin the vacation of a lifetime" you are never going to enjoy much of anything.

1. When a bag goes missing, simply complete the required report and leave the airport. If there are additional details, call afterwards, but all that is needed on the spot are the basics which you have. LATAM also permits you to make a report via its Contact Center within 7 days of arrival (international). You will be assigned a tracking number which you can use online.

2. Stop worrying about the bag. Nothing you do is going to make it appear any faster. Do not change your travel plans, miss tours and the like. Under the Montreal Convention, you are entitled to reimbursement for reasonably necessary expenses up to a maximum of approximately US$ 1,650. This sum will be deducted from the value of the bag and contents should it ultimately be lost or damaged.

3. Call the Contact Center. Unless there is a good explanation for the delay, advise that you will file a DOT complaint (I presume that the ticket was purchased in the US) if you do not have full payment within 7 business days and that you will initiate a chargeback for the funds against your CC.

As an aside, a much easier route is your travel insurance. You would have a check in hand and your insurance carrier would collect back from LAN and you would be done with it.

spankytoes

Drama Level: 7.5 out of 10. Good luck with your claim.

jimmielin

Indeed. Delayed bags are a routine of air travel (and from the experiences of my co-travelers, it seems to happen more often if you have experienced it once!) and we just learn to cope with it. My experience is that:

0) Don't pack anything irreplaceable in your checked luggage. In fact don't pack it anywhere - leave it at home. For clothing & daily stuff, I leave 2-3 days of change in hand baggage so I don't panic.
1) File the missing bag report (get WorldTracer number), confirm I will send receipts of necessary expenses due to delayed/lost bag to the airline. If they get you a prepaid card (BA does?) the better.
2) Live on. If there's something you need to replace with reasonable expense, buy it and keep the receipts.
3) Wait. Nothing will help, calling, emails, etc. WorldTracer is really a simple system where people enter their lost bags and unclaimed bags are entered within and matched by the system. Expect nothing more. Eventually it will arrive or be lost!
4) Send receipts to airline and claim compensation. No need to be dramatic - flight #, date, PNR, lost bag tag, list of contents, receipts.

If you have travel insurance, you can claim with them too. Once you get used to it, lost bags are nothing more than a minor issue in travels.

Safe travels!

Yoshi212

Inconvenient? Yup.
They got the bag back to CUZ & to the hotel you wanted within 24 hours. The fact that you weren't there isn't the airline's fault. My brother's MIL is from Peru & takes her high school students on trips annually to Peru and does a minimum of 2 nights in CUZ not only for the experience of the city but also because things can go quirky in Latin America.
From here you submit your details for reimbursement, learn from the experience & move on.

HAF

Yes y'all - I admit to the drama. We did make the best of our vacation and frankly it was great after all. Great memories.

The definition of ruined is contextual - I am not sure how you could describe trekking through the inca citadel under pouring rain in your flip flops (all i had in my carry on) - sunburned (costco size sunscreen in checked bag) - and in 2 sizes larger clothes (my SO's)..... as I look back at it it was fun... with a slight flavor of ruined.....

All I am saying is that LATAM does not have a system to track your luggage - you check it in - it goes in a black hole. If it comes out of it - it is because of pure luck. Be warned!

--HAF

PS. Now I have to book another trekking vacation somewhere rainy to put my nice columbia REI weather and water proof hiking small size clothes and my merrell shoes to good use ;-).. and no it will not be with LATAM

ritesa

AA once sent my bag to GRU instead of Hawaii. It took them almost 4 days to get it to LIH. Quite an inconvenience but it didn’t ruin anything, and at least I got to buy some nice, high-quality holiday clothes on AA’s expenses.

HAF

good for you and for AA. LATAM to this day has reimbursed nothing to me!! Nada!

Often1

File the claim with your travel insurance and let them fight with the carrier.

MfromL

My advice: use Indecopi (INDECOPI :: Presenta tu reclamo) the Peruvian customer protection agency. They mediated between LA and me in a clame for a problem with a flight and within 1 week I had the issue solved...

It is in Spanish. Select transporte, click Crear, and fill the form (use Google translate to help with filling the forms, but fill it in English and select in "Elija la oficina del INDECOPI más cercana a su domicilio:", "Indecopi Aeropuerto Zona Internacional" they are the office of the agency that works in the International terminal of Lima's airport and I'm quite sure that if you present your claim in English should be able to help you. Alternatively you can give them a call to these phones (use skype), and try to explain the case and they should be able to provide you support in English:
Tel.: 5112247800, annex 3202
Tel: 5115171845
51 is Peru's international calling prefix and 1 is Lima's.

HAF

MfromL

That is 'technically' true. I submitted mine –I'm a Peruvian expat– putting the info of my parents house. They did set up a conciliatory meeting with LA but LA responded before the meeting and solved the issue before, so I didn't had to attend at all.

(Indecopi told me informally, after I called them when I received the email of the meeting that, LA representatives do not show up to the meetings at all, but since the customer protection regulations call for this procedure to take place before a claim turns into a legal procedure, it would have been necessary to either show myself, or call when the meeting was taking place to talk to the non-existent LA rep.)
Sorry that this won't fix the issue for you... I wonder if there is any way for you to do a claim in the US –anyone knows?–, since I'm assuming you bought your ticket here, right?

If so, maybe the DOT has something equivalent... if sold as a single ticket from US to Peru and back, there might be a way of getting to them...

jlarroulet

Not entirely accurate
Once you file a lost luggage claim with LATAM, the complaint number you get allows tracing/tracking via the WorldTracer system. It works pretty well

Often1

WorldTracer is used by most carriers worldwide. It is easy to use and effective. It also saves the passenger the frustration of calling constantly and being put on hold. For the most part, phone agents are simply looking up in WT and telling you what they see (along with an assurance that everyone is looking for your bag).

LondonElite

I can't add much more to these two excellent pieces of advice. Main points:

1. Luggage gets diverted. It's a fact of travel.

2. Never call anyone. All they do is look at WT. Don't believe anyone who tells you that Jimbo is going to go out back to have a look.

3. Keep WT updated.

4. File travel insurance claim.

5. Keep your letter to the point. Your OP has WAY too much drama.

Safe travels