A few of us just flew Etihad Airways on a roundtrip from the United States with a layover in AUH prior to arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa. On the flight from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, several of our suitcases were damaged. One was a brand new suitcase which has one wheel missing (it is a spinner suitcase) now and the other 2 suitcases had handles that were broken. Etihad claims that they are not responsible for handles and wheels and refused to file a claim. Does Etihad not follow the Montreal or Warsaw convention when it comes to damaged bags. I am going to be forced to buy a bag on this trip because there are additional segments upcoming.

As such, any recommendations on how to proceed since Etihad is claiming wheels and handles are not covered? Do I need to file a complaint with the DOT?

This was on a cruise not a flight. I'm just whining. They lost our bag and said that it was around somewhere. They said they would send it to us... at our cost. We lived 4 hours away from the port at that stage. Not sure why I had to pay for their incompetence?

SO i have a very different question.

I am landing at JFK in the morning at 10 AM. and my connecting flight (different airline/ separate ticket) is in the night at 9 PM. So I want to work from AA club during the day.
My question is what happens to the bags I checked for the first flight? Can I intentionally delay claiming my own bags till evening? As I can not go out of the secure area to claim bags and return back to the AA club?

ANy thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

A couple months ago I was traveling from home to Vancouver. I went to open my bag after leaving in vancouver to find every single item made out of plastic or metal (phone, camera, toothbrush) Completely destroyed.

Seeing you're based in BOS, my guess is that you arrive from there and go international from JFK. If airline #1 interline baggage with airline #2 (AA-> other OW usually OK) you just ask to have the bag tagged at departure. If not, I would not risk having the bag left at -> beside the carousel for the complete day, with a possibility of, at best, remowal for claiming at some other (often inconvenient area). At worst someone sees the bag abandoned and steals it. Claim bag and check it in, enter secure area with BP #2 - work in lounge. Takes less time than looking for your bag at 7pm, risking a more time-consuming procedure than the out/in passage.

Could prevent delay/Loss
 

Just a tip that might help as far as not losing/delaying bags in the first place. A few years ago, a relative was making frequent trips to the middle east for work and a variety of airlines. About 70% of the time her bags were delayed (2-3 days or even a week - often feared lost but usually eventually showed up). It did appear that somehow the airline baggage tags had been taken off so the bags were in "limbo" in some airport. Frustratingly her personal luggage tags were generally on the suitcase but it seems no one would look at those and use the information on those to call or email the contact information that was included. So finally she bought some bright yellow duct tape and taped 2-3 strips on various sides of each suitcase. One strip had her last name, and flight number (XY123) and the second strip- the destination - ex: DOHA.

SMITH - XY123
Destination: DOHA (DOH)

So on one suitcase - this she would put this on both sides and the top. It does take an extra 10-15 minutes (per bag) but after doing that -she never had a bag delayed or lost again.

Obviously - this only helps for bags where the main issue is that the airline baggage tag is lost - doesn't help if the bag gets accidentally or deliberately hidden.

To be clear here, your toothbrush was "completely destroyed"? What do you mean? Broken in half? Pics would help.

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George's briefcase was mysteriously damaged during a meeting.

YYC-YYZ-CDG(AC)-ATH(A3) - do EU rules apply?
 

Traveled from YYC to ATH on one ticket with the overseas part of the trip operated by AC and the CDG-ATH portion operated by A3. Bag apparently made it to Paris on AC, but has been lost or stuck there for 4 days now - Aegean keeps saying it's arriving "tomorrow", but tomorrow never seems to come.

Do EU rules apply in this situation? Aegean has been completely useless to deal with (couldn't even provide an overnight amenity kit at their hub in ATH!), and basically said "too bad" when I asked what I'm supposed to do without clothing and other possesions for an undefined period of time (about 4 days now - still no idea when my bag will arrive).

Montreal Convention rules apply.

Do you have a lost baggage tracking reference number?

Thanks for clarifying. Baggage finally arrived today on Day 5, and yes, I have a claim number.

The info in the EU app is fairly general about compensation, and the legislation document is ridiculously technical. For a 4 day baggage delay, am I entitled to claim expenses for replacement items under the EU rules? I had to buy some replacement toiletries and clothes.

?? Was this a checked bag or carry-on?

Please tell me you don't put a phone and a camera in your checked luggage.

Hi

I flew Aegean WAW-ATH-LHR business
I had 3 checked baggage
1-cabin bag
2-big box with presents
3-main bag with cloths etc

The main bag doesn't show up so I got PNR
this bag was delivered to me 3days later, with handle broken

I made claim under Montreal convention mentioned my expenses and damaged bag
Aegean reply that I had 2 of my 3bags so I don't have right for compensation
they didn't say any word about damaged bag compensation

Do I have right for my emergency cloths purchase?

Be aware: AIRASIA does NOT compensate dammaged baggage!
 

On my recent AIRASIA flight from PNH to BKK, my Samsonite baggage arrived damaged beyond repair in BKK.

AirAsia bluntly refuses to comply with the Montreal Convention and has set its own "limited liability" to a ridiculous 500THB (approx. 14USD).

When making a claim in BKK airport the baggage agent tried every trick in the book to prevent me from actually filing a claim.
Eventually after numerous email exchanges, web forms (that drive you nuts) I am being offered 14USD to compensate for my 300USD baggage.

It is an utter disgrace that AirAsia refuses to adhere to the most basic passenger rights such a compensating for what they broke - clearly stipulated by the Montreal Convention.

Our baggage was delayed by Air Berlin on an AA award to Germany last summer. We had motorcycle helmets & gear in the checked bags. We couldn't ride the motorcycle without the proper gear. Mr San Diego stayed behind to wait for the luggage, whilst I headed by train to Austria to the hotel that was already booked.

After about a 6 month wait, I just got a check from AA for all submitted expenses (about $250 USD), which included my train ticket and one night of very modest accommodations for Mr. San Diego, because by splitting up, we had unique expenses.

I'm pleased with the outcome, although losing checked baggage robs you of precious, irreplaceable vacation time. I detest checking bags for this very reason.