amartin1979

Their website indicated that all complaints must be delivered in writing, so I used LH's webform to send my complaint to them. I've heard that some airlines will not replace your bag if it was damaged, only the contents. I've never had a bag damaged by LH or any other airline before.

I hope LH will replace the bag as they definitely damaged it beyond repair. One of the wheels is missing altogether!

The bag was a flight attendant issued Travel Pro bag. I have no idea how they could have broken the wheel off the bag since I know it is very sturdy and designed to take abuse.

SuperFlyBoy

Make sure you have a copy of this.

If you don't, I would author and send another letter in writing, or fax them the letter on a fax machine that would give you an imaged confirmation sheet...you might not need to, but it would help!

KVS

Airlines like to spread many self-serving myths, when it comes to baggage liability issues...

Therma

Early January I flew TG SIN -LAX J via BKK. In BKK I had a 3 hour stopover, but apparently it was not enough for my luggage to make connection. After waiting for 3 hours in LAX, I was told to fill out a form and got kicked out of the airport (it was 8 degrees outside) in a t-shirt. All my warm clothes were in suitcase, together with toiletries, business attire, etc.
I was told my suitcase did not meet connection but will be delivered on the next flight. I drove off to San Diego shivering and miserable. Over next day I kept on calling TG but they could not give me an idea of where my luggage was. In the morning I had to buy some toiletries and basic clothes (underwear, socks, etc). My colleagues loaned me some warm clothes. As the evening black tie party was approaching I called TG and was told my luggage was somewhere but they were not sure where. So off to department store again, where I had to buy some shoes, a suit, a couple of business shirts. I went for the cheapest acceptable attire that would get me through 2 days of business meetings. All up over my 2 trips I spent over 600 US ( and all the clothes were on sale!). Next day my luggage was also nowhere to be seen, with LAX staff denying all knowledge of it. As I was about to make my next trip to Macy's in the evening it miraculously surfaced in my room, even though noone knew where it was!

When I got back to LAX the check in staff were very appologetic and got in touch with the customer relations manager who "promised to look after me". The photocopied all my receipts and even the schedule of my business meetings, to ascertain that my purchases were absolutely essential.

On the way back my luggage was delayed again!

For the next 2 months I kept on leaving messages on the voicemail of lovely Khun Abha in LA TG office and she kept on not answering them.
This week I got in touch with TG Singapore, who got in touch with TG LA. They are going "above their usual compensation amount" since I was in J and compensating me USD 200 for the clothes which I will hardly wear again.

When my bosses wife went to Germany a year ago with LH for a wedding and her luggage was delayed, she had to buy a dress and shoes. LH compensated her well over $1000 SGD. This was on Y redemption ticket!

I am not happy with the whole situation. Company does not provide insurance beyond the one that comes with corporate AMEX that pays for the airfares. I was offered by my manager to put in a claim for the full amount and be reimbursed by the company in full. I however do not see why my company has to bear the expense caused by TG incompetence. My (recovered) suitcase was also delayed on the way back from LA.

Does anyone have similar experience and how did you handle it? Is there any way I can escalate the issue within TG?

szg

Yes, LH compensated passengers better than other airlines. Just a take a look at this thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=609730

wrldtrvllr

to rehash a post made on another forum...(I have since sent them AA's central baggage services a letter and claim for compensation, but yet to receive any response):

After having some major flight dramas and associated baggage delays I'm considering requesting (demanding) some form of compensation from AA and would be interested in hearing your opinions and if you have encountered similar situations previously.


So I have a ticketed DCIR29SA with a LAX-HNL flight on AA297 for 16/6 @ 510pm and a seat assigned except when I go to check in @ the 1st class counter (with half a dozen passengers in front and only 1 desk open it took almost 1/2 hr to get served!) I'm told I can't get on the flight because it is full! what the!? it looks like they were way oversold and the first come first served rule applied...next best thing the lady could do is put me on standby for the next flight AA267 @ 820pm; I point out that i had a 1st class ticket, she says should have no problems getting such a seat; I point out that I had connecting flight HNL-ITO (on a separate reservation and different airline) that I will now miss, she says she can't (I read unwilling) do anything about it (I suspect she didn't like the look of me as a 1st class passenger since she pointed out that this is the 1st class check-in when I approached the counter); we to and fro a bit but she is insistent on being unable to do anything (really? LAN had no problems accommodating a missed connection with competitor airline due to their delayed flight, although begrudgingly after I filed a damaged baggage claim and missed the original arrangements made by LAN) so I accept the standby option, check my 2 bags for that flight and head up to the gate. Funny that I get the SSSS code on my ticket so get personal attention at the security screening...

Gate attendents are finalising who can get on their oversold AA297 flight; I check with them on 1st class and nope it's full. In the time between I make arrangements for accommodation in HNL expecting to be on the AA267 and have an enforced layover en-route to ITO.

Boarding time comes and goes for AA267 and even though I'm #1 on standby not only can I not get a seat in 1st but there is nothing available in coach - damn check-in lady was telling me lies! Supervisor is willing to help after hearing my story and closing the last flight to HNL for the day. I point out I am supposed to get to ITO; best he can do is get me in 1st, confirmed on AA161 LAX-OGG on AA the next afternoon (510pm 17/6) then connecting flights OGG-HNL and HNL-KOA on Go! (Mesa) Doesn't quite get me to where I needed to get to but at least it's the same island (though 3hrs away by car); Don't think I really have much choice so I accept (check-in lady is wrong again!) and he gives me accommodation voucher plus dinner and b/fast voucher. And of course my bags that were on the AA267 to HNL would be forwarded to KOA for me...

Get on flight AA161 fine but the lady I'm seated next to had missed a connection the previous evening and was put up in the same hotel and given dinner ($20), b/fast ($10) and lunch ($20) vouchers - huh?! I was only given $10 for dinner and a measly $5 for b/fast - discriminatory behaviour again - and I'm wondering if there is a sign on my forehead that reads "homeless bum - do not render much assistance". Fortunately I've kept all receipts and will "bill" them the difference...

Connecting flights go fine but when I get to KOA at 11pm to collect my fowarded bags (I had taken a call in LAX earlier in the day telling me my bags were going to be fowarded to KOA on an earlier flight for me to pick up from Go!) there's no one at Go! baggage to help, nor is there anyone at the carousel (though I was close to being the 1st one out there) so go looking for the AA desk - not staffed; the airport is pretty much shut with only security around and a few lingering airline staff - try United - no bags held for me; Hawaiian - nothing - and that's the wrap, everyone else has left the building. head back to the Go! carousel and no one is around so frustrated and exasperated I head to hotel expecting to call AA the next morning and have bags forwarded to my hotel....

Yeah right, wishful thinking... call their 1800 baggage number and they tell me the bags were forwarded to KOA for me to pick up; I explain my story and put in a request to have bags forwarded to my hotel in Kona; 2 days later and numerous calls to their 1800 number with still no status update beyond the bags were forwarded to KOA on Go! I tell them I need to move on form Kona and leave mobile for them to reach me once they locate the bags. More phone calls and an operator tells me I should have filed a claim with Go! since they were handling the bags to KOA and gives me a number to call - turns out to be their reservations number! Have to look up the number myself and I call Go! in KOA directly - get answered by United!? (who look to be handling Go!'s baggage services). The guy then bluntly (after he finds out that I "filed" a claim with AA) tells me he is holding no bags for me (lies!) and I need to contact AA. So the game of phone tennis goes on and it's back to AA. More days pass and still nothing beyond the bags have been fowarded to KOA on Go! on 17/6 (yes, but where are they now?!) and no closer to being reunited with bags and about to head back to HNL on 22/6 I tell them to forward the bags there for me to pick up - I tell the flight details (flying hawaiian airliners) and accommodation arrangements.

22/6 comes and I get to HNL around 930pm and check with the helpful hawaiian air baggage desk to see if they are holding any bags - none for me; get them to try Go! and AA (neither is there). Defeated once again I head to hotel to try call AA the next morning and have bags forwarded to hotel. 1800 number tells me I need to fax a baggage claim (since it is more than 5days); point out didn't I have one filed when I first called up? Nope need to fax one in - so it's off to the airport I go on 23/6. Lady at AA baggage counter tells me she's been in contact with Go! in KOA and they've located 1 bag which should be coming in later that afternoon - don't really know where the other bag is and neither does go! (they don't have a computerised system to keep track of their luggage apparently). We go take a walk to the Go! terminal but there is no one at their baggage counter so we go to their "back" entrance" to see if the other bag has arrived earlier - nope; check Hawaiian - nope.

evening 23/6 and the 1 bag is delivered to the hotel but still don't know where the other bag is... I was originally scheduled to fly HNL-NRT on 23/6 but travelling without my luggage didn't seem too desireable so I've had to defer my departure to 25/6 so hopefully they should be able to locate and get the other bag to me...

Having been without my bags for over a week I check with the AA baggage lady if there is any compensation available; she points out that I should have filed a baggage claim with Go! since they were handling the bags; I point out that that is really AA's own doing since they arranged the connections and baggage fowarding after stuffing up my flights. If they knew Go! was so unreliable they could have used the much more efficient Hawaiian airlines; she notes my extenuating circumstance and says I can go onto their website and write in to their customer service - I fully intend to do just that but how easy is it getting some compensation from AA? Is it like getting blood from a stone? I could easily bill them $500/day for the inconvenience in changing and rechanging my onward travel arrangement and time wasting they've caused. Plus the fact that with my Big Island stop (ITO) I was scheduled to do a bit of hiking (they have mountains here over 4000m) but with all my hiking gear with my luggage that wasn't really a viable option so a free round trip from Sydney should cover that? My only concern is that I don't have an "official" baggage claim document since I called it in over the phone and without it my "complaint" doesn't have as much weight plus travel insurance won't pay any claim. How can I "force" AA to give me an official baggage claim? Anyone been successful in "billing" an airline for similar scenarios?

Apologies for the long post (but you did enjoy reading about my misfortune right?)

startofall

SAS has actually been the only airline I've ever flown that has mishandled my baggage (twice. And unfortunately this time it appears to actually be lost. It's been a week since i flew direct from CDG to ARN). I was wondering if anyone knew of a source of fax numbers for baggage services in different airports? I have all of ARN's contact info, but I want to fax CDG and CPH at least pictures of my missing bag...I'm still crazily holding on to hope.

redbeard911

Is the reimbursement allowance per passenger?

derpelikan

its per passenger.
even if you checkin both bags on one name, you can get it for both passengers.

Lowender1234

Nothing major here, our flight to BOS from PHX got either cancelled or delayed so badly that we ended up getting a flight from PHX to CLT in order to get back home in the quickest manner possible. Our luggage wasn't on the plane, so my dad and I had to go BOS and pick it up 2 days later. No biggie, just thought I'd contribute.

Pavan123

Hi, like everyone I have a classic case here too.

I was travelling from US to India via Doha. dated 5th Dec 2009.
RDU-JFK-DOH-MUM.
Qatar airways delayed m luggage. I did a complaint PIR at Mumbai airport.
and because the ground staff was disorganized and they did not have the papers to fill up process took long and I missed my next connecting flight.

Got a interim relief of 100 USD after few days.

After 14 days of regular frustrating chase with Qatar team they finally delivered the baggage. But 2 most expensive things from my bag were missing/stolen. My used Sony handycam and a fossil watch worth aroung 22K INR (480 USD).

1. They are tight lipped about the missing things saying that Qatar's Doha team will decide and Mumbai team cannot do anything.

2. I have travel insurance, but since the luggage is found I cannot make a lost luggage claim. The policies about missing items from luggage are also not clear or at worst they will always get away saying that electronics are not covered in policy.

3. I am just wondering what to do next. I am following up with insurance and airlines both.

4. Process is becoming difficult as I am in US again and claims are happening in India.

Looking forward for some guidelines....I hope if KVS is reading this.

KVS

Was this a R/T or O/W ticket? Have you filed a written claim for the missing items with QR and do you have proof that they have received it?

Pavan123

1. Yes this was a return ticket. I had to go back to US via same route afetr a week.
2. My family back in India recieved the luggage yesterday, So Qatar is informed only by phone about the missing items. Nothing in written yet.

Pavan123

Can a fax reciept be a valid proof for the letter of claim.

btw thanks for prompt replies KVS.

KVS

You need to file a written claim ASAP (see a sample letter at http://www.MontrealConvention.org/le...st_luggage.htm); fax would be OK (be sure to keep a copy of the the report/receipt).