Let me start by saying that I have experienced the "sorry sir your bags did not make it on this flight" news several times and I know how painful that experience can be. How airlines recover from the service failure from that point onwards can say allot about the airlines commitment to its customers well being.
Murphys law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Unless you are incredibly lucky all the time as a frequent traveler, you could one day be faced with a scenario where your checked bag does not make it and is delayed or worse still lost all together in the baggage dungeon in a far flung part of an airport.
From January to April 2023, American Airlines reported the worst of the top 10 US carriers for lost or delayed bags per 100 enplaned bags followed by United Airlines.
Whilst the headline that American Airlines and United had a bad start to the year in terms of lost/delayed bags and Allegiant had the best. It is important to note for example Allegiant being a point to point airline may reduce the chances of lost luggage between two direct points. Where as the other US carriers may be impacted due to the larger volumes of connecting traffic at their hubs.
source: Data from DOT web site
So if you were traveling from LAX to Denver to Houston on United Airlines and you checked your bags in at LAX expecting them to arrive in Houston, but due to weather, your scheduled 2 hour lay over in Denver become a 35 minutes to dash to connect with your Denver-Houston flight. There is a high probability that you just made your connecting flight but your bag might not.
The logistics required to offload a bag, scan it, redirect it to the next flight, on load it requires some fine tuned baggage operations and requires all parts of that machinery to work like clockwork. We as customers take it from granted.
So now we know which US airlines has the highest chance of delaying your bag. What happens when you turn up at the baggage belt and every one else is picking up their suitcase and exiting fast, leaving you standing at the belt watching the same Teddy bear and box cycling past you again for the 45th time.
Once you have come to the realization and decided not to wait at the baggage carousel while the teddy bear cycles past you the 46th time. If your name has not been announced already in the baggage hall to go see the airline baggage associate, which by the way all airlines should operationalize as a process. I say this as most of the time the airlines know when a bag has misconnected before the affected passenger lands at their final destination. I strongly feel the airlines should be proactively reaching out with customers onboard or when landed proactively. Helping the customer avoid the long wait and watch cycles of the carrousel can reduce some of the stress. Communication is key.
Go see the airline baggage hall representative and file a delayed/missing bag report while you are at the airport. It is not uncommon to see a long line of customers waiting to file the same report so it could be a while. In the past when i have encountered the same missing bag issue and the queue to register a report is long, i have called the airline call center and they also have the ability to file a missing bag report over the phone. This can save you time. Some airlines will also allow you to file a report via Whatsapp or chat through there mobile solutions. Try all options open. Hell i've even known people to use twitter to register a missing bag file.
How much compensation can you receive?
The airlines are liable for lost or delayed bags. There is a DOT general guide for US domestic flights in terms of liability. For domestic flights, DOT regulation limits the airlines liability to $3800 per passenger. The airlines at their discretion can pay more based on the individual circumstances.
For international travel, the airline liability is lower and governed by a rule called Montreal convention. Under the Montreal convention the maximum carrier liability is approximately $1700 per passenger.
There are further nuances to the baggage claim process to keep in mind.Lets assume you were flying JFK - Amsterdam on Delta and then connecting at Amsterdam with Iberia to Madrid. You made it all the way to Madrid and had your bags through checked from JFK to MAD, but your bag did not arrive. You will be asked to file your report with the last airline in the leg, in this case file the claim with Iberia and not with Delta as Iberia flew the last leg of your journey. Once you file a report with Iberia they will use the bag tracing application to track the where about of the missing luggage.
Every bag that is checked-in has a
unique bag tag number. When you checked your bag in the check-in associate will place a sticker on the back of your boarding pass or your passport. This sticker contains the same bag tab info as the bag tag placed on your checked luggage.
When you file your delayed/missing bag report that will be the first thing you are asked for including your booking reference, bag description, contents of bag, your bag forwarding address and key contact information. If you are lucky sometimes you can be reunited with your bag within 24 hours. However it could also take much longer depending on seasonality of travel, interline issues, missing bag tags etc.
Missing bag reports use standard luggage identifications across the industry to describe each missing piece. As a traveler it is good to know which category your bag fits into using this IATA chart below.
Travel Tips:
If you are stranded at an destination without your bag other than your home base, the airlines will normally supply you with emergency kits at the airport consisting of tooth paste, brush, shaving cream, razor etc. There is no harm in asking for this kit if you have not been offered anything.
Most of the airlines in the US now allow you to track your luggage online or through a mobile app. However keep in mind it's only as good as the person who updated the tracking system with info.
The use of Apple Air tags is getting much publicity where travelers are attaching an airtag to every checked-in item. In this way the customer knows the exact location of their bag where ever in the world it may be.
It is always worth considering travel insurance if the content of your luggage exceeds the liability limits described above or just for peace of mind.
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