Frequent flyer 101

On a recent international flight, my bag was damaged. Two holes in the shell, zip cover ripped off, one hinge snapped off completely. Thankfully, no contents were lost.

After filing all the paperwork, Qantas have said it cannot be repaired and come back with an offer of $47 AUD. This is pathetic. I can't buy a new bag for anything close to that amount.

This was an international business class flight and I'm an One World Emerald.

Is this some kind of lowball offer strategy?

Dave Noble

Under the Montreal Convention, the airlines is liable for damage/loss of baggage up to a total of XDR1131

What it is offering seems to be a joke unless it is a very cheap bag

How old is the bag , what was its purchase price and do you have a receipt

BA uses a 5 year depreciation , so 0-1 year old pays 100% of replacement cost, 2-3 year 80% , 3-4 60%, 4-5 40%, 6+ 20% - I would suspect that Qantas would work to the same

If it can get you to go away with an offer of $47, it wins - just do not accept it; the airline probably is also gambling that you do not know your rights and the airline's obligations

Go bad to arline stating the cost of the bag and its age and then ask for payment based on a 20% per year depreciation

Class of cabin and any status make no difference to entitlements

DownUnderFlyer

I made a similar low offer experience with Jetstar Pacific but also with Singapore Airlines. As a result we put our claim through travel insurance which covered damaged bags.

Often1

Hard to say whether the offer is reasonable without knowing:
1. Original purchase price.
2. Age.
3. Receipt available.

QF owes the fair market value of the item as it cannot be repaired. That is not replacement price, but the price a reasonable person would pay for the specific bag. The depreciation table above is a good example of a reasonable calculation although BA's formulation of depreciation is not the only way to go.

If OP would provide the three pieces of information, he might get a better idea as to reasonableness.

number_6

Actually you can (just barely). I travel with 2 kinds of bags, expensive indestructible hard-side waterproof bags like Cosmolite ($500 and up) or cheap throw-away chinese bags which cost $100 for set of 3 bags and last fine for a few flights (use these to deter theft). Don't expect fair compensation for damaged bags from any airline these days.

Often1

That is on the high side.

A very quick check of Amazon shows 3-piece luggage sets for <$60 from American Tourister. If each bag is worth $20 and is one year old, it would be quite fair to take $15 or thereabouts for one fully destroyed.

og

Often1

On your phone, no. Unless you have close to unlimited storage.

But, keeping a PDF stashed somewhere of the receipt for luggage and items you travel with where the value may be questioned is a good thing.

Becky1

Smart person.

Travel Insurance. Don't leave home without it.

lokijuh

Of course, as always, buyer beware. Pays to understand what cover is provided. All travel insurance policies are not the same.

Dave Noble

Travel insurance is good for some things , but for replacement of luggage , I wouldn't class insurance as being much better than going direct. An insurance company will also only pay out on value and may well want evidence of luggage cxst

My experience of multiple luggage damage issues is that the airline has paid up with no fuss once some proof of value. For my last one, I simply contacted Pelican and asked it to send me a proof of purchase date and after that BA paid out the full value with no issue

moa999

I'd think most travel insurance policies would have similar depreciation payouts.

My only experience with QF a number of years ago where I had a wheel damaged on a Samsonite. Repair was fully covered.

number_6

They managed to damage a Pelican? Wow (or was it lost and never found)? also Pelican has a lifetime guarantee (or do they have a budget range now which is lest robust?). Personally I've avoided Pelican despite it being superb as it has "steal me first" written all over it But then I lost 2 bags to the LHR theft ring many years ago, making me a bit sensitive to this. In my cheap bags they once drank 2 ounces of whisky from a bottle and then resealed it ... gotta love those UK baggage handlers. At least they don't drive camel suits around the SYD tarmac

Dave Noble

Yup - BA managed to damage a Pelican and no, it was not from some budget range ( which I dont think it offers )

It damaged somewhere between Cairo and London via Amman and Geneva on Rj-RJ-BA

Initially K2 , after realising it was nor repairable offered some poxy case and claimed that this was all that was possible
I refused this pointing out that the airline was liable to max XDR1131 and that I wanted a replacement pelican
K2 passed it to BA and I received an email later that day offering something pitiful
I emailed the person back stating that it was an unacceptable offer and that I needed an identical replacement
I sent proof of when I was sent the case and BA agent then agreed to pay 100% of replacement cost of the case - I just needed to send a copy of the invoice

dddc

You have the benefit of knowing what the airline was liable for (the XDR value) and you were able to get proof of when you bought the case. Most "occasional" travellers aren't likely to know, or understand, their rights, nor would many keep their receipts.

I know people bemoan the loss of the high street shops, but having purchased items online I now have an automatic audit trail of purchases. A back and forth argument with Philips about the repair of a 4 y.o. steam generator iron ended when I emailed the online receipt from John Lewis that stated it came with a 5 year guarantee. My last couple of suitcases have been bought online after trialling them in shops. Some shops are beginning to offer e-receipts for physical transactions, although that does raise data privacy issues for some.

I thought some airlines had a stock of replacement cases they gave out? Maybe it's AA I'm thinking of? Different grades of cases depending on the bad lost or destroyed - or maybe your status! Or is this only for claims made while at the airport?