redgrape

Just wondering what your past experiences were and at what angle to come at:

Fly international Y for leisure with US regularly and on this trip my bag never arrived in CLT from CDG. The bag arrived after 6 days - after calls to the hopeless 1-800 number and to the local bag office in FLL. I also had to call a third party airline that flew me from the UK to CDG to see if they had a trace of my bag (should US airways had done this?)

Messed up my new year etc...!

I might also add that my original flight was CX'ed on Monday Dec 27th due to weather in PHL - which is fine but it took me to find a re-route option to suggest to US Airways to put me on two days later. Again, something I think US Airways should of done.

Do you think I have grounds for some sort of travel voucher compo and if so, what sort of level? Price of the ticket? 50% of the ticket?

Not a US Div. member but hold two star gold accounts - would they even care?

TiredOfTooMuchTravel

Email customer relations with just the facts of the situation. Dont include your personal opinions in the email such as, "shouldnt US have done this", etc. Just stick to the facts. They'll respond and I'm sure they will be fair in their compensation. Just dont expect anything massive like the price of the ticket or even 50% of the ticket especially since some of the issues werent necessarily the fault of US.

baggage - Another airline got you to CDG, is it possible that it was that airline that misplaced your bag?

flight cancellation - US will of course try to get you to your destination as quickly as possible but with so many people to reaccomodate, I'm sure they were trying to get everybody situated as quickly as possible and that doesnt give them excessive amounts of time to look at all the flights out there. Thats why its always good to have your own back up plan.

dtremit

Is CLT your home? Generally airlines only compensate for baggage delay (as opposed to total loss) when you're away from home.

dtremit

As long as that flight was on the same itinerary, it doesn't matter who misplaced it. The airline that operated your last segment is responsible for finding your bag, even if they never touched it.

TiredOfTooMuchTravel

I was just trying to show that the anger is not necessarily rightfully directed at US especially when it comes to demanding compensation. Also, the OP never did mention if this was on the same itinerary or not.

redgrape

Good advice - cheers. It is possible but that airline said it lies on who ever you end your journey with. I actually saw my bag being unloaded as I was getting on the bus from the aircraft in CDG.

No. I live in the UK so I was away from home, 6 days, no luggage. They were good enough to cover the cost of "reasonable and necessary items". Only $60 for me but what if one only wore Prada shoes and Gucci suits? Interested to know. I ended up spending new years in jeans and converse - not ideal but a good conversation starter.

As above and this is what the first airline said. Both airlines have an "interlined" baggage agreement but I need to "liaise" with US.

Thanks for the replies - I'll write to them later.

dcpatti

You might be stuck if you've already accepted compensation. The $60 for "reasonable and necessary items" is a form of compensation and generally airlines will end their "generosity" once there is an offer made and accepted. It doesn't hurt to ask anyway, but since they've already paid out, I'd not count on an additional payout. When they first offer is the best time to negotiate further.

As for Prada and Gucci, the airline unfortunately doesn't have to make you fashionable; they just have to make it so you can go out in public without getting arrested. That you don't have the $$ to buy a suitable tux for the black tie dinner is irrelevant to them. They just have to clothe you in something. That you see the replacement items as being of lesser quality to the items that you're missing is a non-issue, unfortunately.

And it really is the last carrier to transport you that bears the baggage burden. I had an AA flight to Grand Cayman a while back that; after a bunch of fiascos, I ended up flying in on Cayman Air from Miami, and AA freely admitted that my bags were still on an AA plane parked at an AA gate in Miami. But it was Cayman that gave me a small compensation (and really, $50 US does not go far at all on Grand Cayman; I think I afforded a tooth brush and a t-shirt) and Cayman that eventually delivered my bags. So if another carrier did complete your flight, talk to them as well as US.

But no matter who you talk to, don't get your hopes up or expect too much. Expecting the price of a ticket or even half the ticket for baggage that was delayed but eventually delivered is unreasonable to begin with; and the fact that you have indeed already accepted a compensation offer really works against you. I can't remember the official legal term but it's basically "no second bite at the apple."

redgrape

dcpatti - thanks for the reply. I did wonder about Gucci/Prada. Imagine a chap travelling for one night to a black tie event and having to turn up in Target's finest! Possibly costing him money, time and face. But you've explained this well - thanks.

In terms of the compo, I haven't actually accepted anything yet. They just said write in with your receipts and we'll refund you. So far they total $60 which I expect them to honor. (Soap, shaver, toothbrush/paste, cheap t-shirt, gruds etc...)

I will also ask for "compo" as oppose to reimbursement to cover my inconvenience. Worth a try, hey?

cedric

US Baggage Resolution agents will determine what they feel is reasonable compensation based on the purpose of your trip. They asked if I had to attend a meeting the last time my baggage was delayed. I didn't, but I imagine they would have covered suitable business attire if required.
In my case I was going for a hike and it was cold out so in addition to suitable pants, shirts, socks, etc. they did cover the cost of gloves. It all depends on your situation, where you are, etc. The set limits of the past are gone (no more $50 for the first day and $25 for each additional day). I am sure if you had purchased something simple for New Years they would have reimbursed you. The agent I spoke with mentioned was that shopping at higher-end stores likely wouldn't be fully covered - Banana Republic, Prada, etc. for instance if there was a more reasonable store nearby. Don't forget you get to keep these clothes, so I guess you can consider that compensation.

dcpatti

I would actually ask for both. Ask for reimbursement for the out-of-pocket expenses, which you'll probably need to back up with the reciepts you're collecting, then ask for a "token of compensation" for the general inconvenience, and for time lost tracking the missing bag. If you're incurring long-distance/international phone charges trying to track down the bags, you can consider adding them to the Reimbursement list but only if they're really generating bills and not just because you're burning off minutes. I'd also not bother on asking for phone money if it's less than a few dollars. Same with small items on their own reciepts. It's not worth $4 for me to hang on to that one reciept and keep track of it. Everyone has their own threshold; consolidate purchases where you can, to keep it easy on you and on them, and don't drive yourself crazy trying to document 1.99 spent on mouthwash.

My experience has been that mere use of the word "compensation" causes your request to go over to a different team but that's not a bad thing. I also find that breaking the request to cover out-of-pocket expenses from the requests for "something to make up for my trouble" works better. They seem to be much more generous when I put a dollar amount on the out-of-pocket expenses and request a generic "token in the form of miles or a voucher" on top of it, than when I put one lump sum for everything on there.

Also any number you request should be kept reasonable almost to the point of being minimalistic; remember, these folks dole out compensation all day long and probably get a whole lot of people who think their lost baggage is a magical payday. If you come across as inflating the expenses or trying to write your own check, you will probably get whatever expenses you can document but nothing more.

eethan

Wanted to add a data point. I flew JAC-ORD (UA) and ORD-PHL-VCE (envoy). My bags misconnected in ORD--not sure if it was UA or US's fault. US gate agent assured me the bags made my PHL-VCE flight, but obviously she was too busy to check and lied.

The bags arrived after 5 days, because they had to follow me to other parts of Europe I was traveling to.

After writing US, they gave me 5000 miles. I'm still waiting (3+ weeks) for US to reimburse me for my clothing expenses.

I truly feel sorry for all of you in PHL who have to put up with this incompetence.

eethan

Update to my last post.

US finally cut me a $350 check for clothing expenses. I had initially called to check on my claim status and was forced to leave a message. 1.5 weeks later, they call me on a Sat afternoon, while I'm taking a nap.

I thanked them for the reimbursement and asked about separate compensation for the inconvenience. Of course, I mentioned that I was flying int'l biz and missed my bag for 5 days. The agent said "a $250 voucher is the most I can give you."

$600 + 5000 miles almost seems worth missing my bag for 5 days. I am satisfied by US's response, especially since my expectations were lowered to practically nothing.

Nonetheless, I can't help wonder how US continues to exist? They are paying their agents overtime to work on weekends, yet service is still so unresponsive.