Peterpack

so not at the hotel or during your stay in a city, just actually during flying from A to B (or C or D)

Apparently 1.4 million bags still go missing each year worldwide. And we aren't talking about luggage which eventually makes its way to it's owners within a few days, talking permanently lost

Has this ever happened to you ?

How annoyed were you ?

Would you able to claim anything back for the lost luggage ?

mecabq

Yeah, Northwest lost a bag of mine once. I didn't have anything too valuable in there (the Swiss Army suitcase itself was probably the biggest down-side).

I filled a claim, figured I would have to fight like crazy, but they paid me pretty promptly. I declared the value (the cost, actually) of everything that I remembered was in there, and they paid me what I declared minus "depreciation." It was reasonable -- it's not really practical to replace dress shoes that cost $300 new with some type of used pair for $150, but I suppose it's theoretically possible.

Yoshi212

Most airlines make a general attempt to reconnect passengers with their belongings but there are preset statutes to protect the airline & passenger. When baggage is found after a passenger has been compensated for the loss of their products the airline sells the lost baggage wholesale to certain companies around the world that sort the items and sell them via various venues (auction, retail store, online stores).

https://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/ is one such store.

Peterpack

they auctions are interesting

teddybear99

At MIA, they have multiple auctions a year of "lost" luggage found at the airport, whether it be left over from a flight of left behind going through the various checkpoints. This is luggage that the passengers could not be located due to no contact information left on the bag.

Jamarynn1

I'm still waiting for the cooler full of oysters packed in ice that I checked in and that disappeared somewhere between Orlando and Detroit in 1980. Not that I really want them back but I'd love to know where they went. I hope somebody got to enjoy them.

Nugget_Oz

Yes, stolen off the carousel at McCarran. DL compensated me the maximum allowed and LVPD took the police report. Both DL and LVPD indicated it's a fairly common occurrence at McCarran. LVPD even indicated if I had packed electronics in their they usually are able to track the back using the signal and that they have CCTV footage of the perpetrator.

12939

I saw my bag being offloaded from an Aer Lingus (BAe 146) flight to DUB from LCY. The aircraft was overweight - they offloaded some volunteer pax too, though they never mentioned the bags. I wasn't too worried about it at the time because I felt sure it would get put on the next flight from LCY or perhaps even one from LHR - so there were plenty of options that day.

My bag was visually unique - it had my company name emblazoned on it.
It had a metal bag tag, with the same company name on it, also containing my contact details complete with a hand-written message requesting that the finder contact me to return the bag (for a reward).
As a backup measure, I placed my business card with the same hand-written message inside the bag itself.

I never saw that bag again.

There wasn't anything exceptionally valuable in the bag, but it was a colossal inconvenience having to replace all my clothes - I hadn't built "shopping time" into my agenda.

I imagine that the bag eventually ended up in one of those auctions. I am a little disappointed that the eventual finder never bothered to contact me. I would happily have paid for the return of my clothes.

BuildingMyBento

Yep...I checked a Singaporean brand of peanut butter on a GA flight to CGK, and the darn thing never made it south of the equator. Not such a big loss, but it was something I couldn't find at any of the foreign markets in JakSel.

YVR Cockroach

lot of folk flying through LHR when T5 was first opened must have lost a lot. I understand that a lot of bags got rain soaked, weren't sorted and dried in time, so started to grow mould. BAA apparently incinerated the bags.

Fortunately for me, no bags lost or items pilfered (that I know of/cared about)

ProleOnParole

No but I always expect it eventually will, and look at everything I put in my checked luggage as if I saw it for the last time.

Yes. Up to 1,131 XDR per the 1999 Montreal Convention; or up to 17 XDR/kg per the 1929 Warsaw Convention. What have I won?

Just for the record: luggage is usually not lost "when flying" but when moving through the airports, although the former would admittedly be much more dramatic.

satman40

$25.00 buys you a tile app, and you can track you luggage in the plane with Bluetooth...

FirstInFlight

Sometimes bags are deemed "lost" when they are accidently destroyed. I had one such experience. It looked like the bag got stuck under the wheels of the luggage cart and just shredded the bag and everything inside. I was reimbursed for the bag and contents without a problem. After some inquiry I learned the bag was destroyed - but was initially told it was lost.

Pmun

A tip for you guys. Sometimes the tag is ripped off so they can never find out who it belongs to. Put a piece of paper inside your luggage with your name and contact details. That way if the tag is shredded, but they open your bag. They can find out who it belongs to.

Yoshi212

I normally have between 2 or 3 business cards tucked into various pockets/parks of my bags for just this reason.
I once left my bag at a bar one night and was able to get my laptop & everything else back because they called me. Left a very nice tip.