Stolen luggage AA?
 

Hi folks

Australia have won the cricket world cup

My question is that American airlines has lost one of my pieces of luggage , which just happens to have all my Valuables in including airline tickets and money , This was on April the 9th in Jfk.

I arrived in Barbados on AA1385 , my bag with most of my clothes in arrived but the other bag did not arrive I reported imediately, I then rang American later that night and they said that they could not find it , I did this for several days then contacted central baggage , as yet now after 3 weeks AA do not know where it is .

I believe that it was stolen in New York , either by TSA or Baggage handlers , But how do I proof this and where can I go with it legally , to say it has spoiled my holiday , is not far wrong , because you trust American with all thier restrictions and security to keep an eye on your baggage .

Any help will be gratefully recieved

From ELO

I would use the word 'lost' or 'delayed', not 'stolen', particularly when dealing with the airline, or the AA forum (see below).

I have no answer, except to provide this link

http://www.aa.com/aa/pubcontent/en_U...dOrDamaged.jsp

and also suggest that the AA forum is probably the best place for this.

Guess you learned the hard way to never check valuables or medicines. If only I could get my wife not to check all of her underwear. Where I do not mind her going without, she does and can create quiet a fuss. Once it got lost on way to London. Next time, being smarter she split it between two bags going to Rome and said there was no way that Delta (was Us first time) could lose both bags. A curse -- not only did they lose her bags, they lost mine as well. All bags turned up within three days. A freind back from South Africa is still missing one bag after five weeks.

We are headed to JNB shortly. We will soon see if she has learned. Meanwhile, here's hoping your bag turns up.

Putting airline tickets and money in a checked bag is just plain dumb as TSA can open any bag and most bags nowdays cannot be locked due to TSA requirements...

Why would they steal the whole bag rather than just the important contents?

Is BGI International where you would be limited by compensation vs US domestic?

Keep calling AA and find out the next steps... sounds like a claim is required (and getting tickets reissued and credit cards cancelled)...

Good luck.

FWIW I saw an interesting rant in the AA forum in which the poster was zero for three on his last 3 AA flights, and claimed that AA had the worst bag-tracking system in the industry. Claimed the only time they knew where a bag was, was the moment you handed it to them. The OP got badly maligned by a couple of others so perhaps his pov isn't correct, though.

Both Barbados and US has ratified the Montreal Protocol, thus the Montreal limits apply (1000 SDR max liability for luggage, approx USD 1500). If it were a trip within the US 50 states, the AA limit would be USD 3000, but excludes:

- No liability for photographic equipment, computers, VCRs and any other electronic equipment including software or components, jewelry, cash, documents, furs, works of art or other similar valuable items

The Montreal Protocol has fewer exclusions and might cover more items for the OP.

In most cases of theft, the bag is delivered either on-time or within a day; just missing a few items. It is rare to have the entire bag stolen -- the baggage sorting areas at most airports are covered by CCTV and have other anti-theft precautions. Much easier to pocket an item than a whole bag. JFK did have a major theft ring which included dozens of baggage handlers, but this was broken up several years ago and most are now in jail. Chances are your bag had a damaged tag, got misrouted to another airport (e.g. Bahamas instead of Barbados), lost its tag and is now languishing on the ground at some strange airport, never to be seen again.

The FT standard is to presume checked bags will never arrive, and pack accodingly. Thus the almost maniacal focus on carryon bags and the various limits around the world. Fwiw, I've done RTW trips with both summer/winter seasons, lasting a month, with only carry-on (but it did require buying special clothes and careful packing). AA seems to be better than average at getting bags delivered, but has very poor communication about what is happening. There is still some chance that the bag will be found, but at this point the normal recovery techniques have failed (all bags matching yours have been checked for tags and internal name/address labeling, etc.).

Hi Number6

Thank you for your comments and everyone else , Yes it was dumb to pack all my valuables in one bag , a lesson that I will never forget Yes they have checked all the labels etc , I still think something is not right given that my one bag with no valuables in it came through to Bgi, it has been three weeks now , and Central baggage still do not know where the bag is , but they kindly waivered the form of ideminty for the reissue of tickets , they also said that when I am back in New York , that I can visit their store room to see if the bag is there , also is it worth me contacting the superviser of the TSA in regards to who was on , when my bag went through?

Well Barbados rocks

ELO

Has AA identified that your bag was never loaded onto any flight leaving JFK? It sounds like they have, leaving some chance that you will find your bag stacked in that store room. As for contacting the TSA supervisor, depends what you aim to accomplish. It won't help in retrieving your bag, and no indication exists that the TSA had anything to do with having a bag go missing (in fact I'd guess that their procedures ensure all bags leave inspection). So your inquiry wouldn't be taken seriously unless you had some facts to present. There have been some TSA employees indicted for theft, so it does happen (but it is also very rare, probably rarer than at the other areas of the airport).

Hi Number 6

I fully appreciate your in depth knowledge of the baggage cycle

I can add , That American said said to me that my bag did not leave JFk

I will be careful about the TSA , and yes it would be wrong to speak to the TSA unless I have clear grounds , as to why they might be responsible for my bag going missing .

American have said that I can look in their storeroom when I get to JFK

Thanks ELO

Lost Luggage
 

ELO
next time you can join the IAPA.com
they have a special luggage tag that serves as a bag guard.
They have a 95% recovery rate. They will handle all phone
calls for you. They have connections after working years
on this topic. It used to be $100/yr. but now I think they
raised the fee to $130.
dbase
[email protected]

IAPA says they offer this program only to members living outside the US, Canada, and Columbia (?? !!). It seems all they provide are their own luggage ID tags and some minimal extra baggage liability. Given the fact that at least 95% of all "missing" luggage is just delayed, and returned by the airline within 24 hours, this program would seem to be of minimal value.

I will say that AA had no clue when my bag was delayed on a recent flight. I called to ask for a status and they told me it had not yet been located -- yet the local delivery service had already taken it to the hotel. I was just amazed at the absolute lack of any kind of knowledge that it was at least en-route to the destination airport, because it apparently got stuck in a hub city.

Personally, I will never (except for stupid BAA/LHR rules) get on to a plane with less than three days worth of supplies because I consider checked baggage lost baggage, and then it's just a bonus if it happens to show up at your destination. Yes, I used to fly US through PHL more often.