Wet Luggage on Southwest...and they replied to email

[BonnieA]

Has that happen to me once. My husband had wet clothes. Mine were dry. I used space bags for all my clothes. Best thing I ever did.

[BiancaBernard&Penny]

Just be glad they didn't charge you overweight fees for transporting that water logged bag!

[kaytieeldr]

It would be interesting to hear what the airline's response was.

[mamamary]

In June flying from MCO to BWI we were delayed due to a big storm in Baltimore. We were flying with some friends. A few days after our flight my friend mentioned that her luggage was very wet and also her clothes. She was surprised to hear that ours were all dry. Luckily it was coming home and not going down because she had to re-wash everything.

[HappyDznyCamper]

Wet luggage is not only caused by being left in the rain, it can also be caused by people packing cases of water(afterall on SW you get 2 bags so why not save money by taking water in your extra bag).

[tebookie]

I ended up emailing Southwest and got a response. I'll post it below.
I do like the Camp spray idea for the luggage. I will be trying that out next time.

I love Southwest and while I was disappointed with our luggage situation, it could have been much worse. I will give them a try again and hopefully not have to deal with this again.

SW Response:
"We appreciate your positive feedback in regards to your prior travels with us. We regret knowing that your flight was delayed to Orlando, and we are so sorry to learn that your luggage was wet when you traveled between Providence and Orlando on September 28.

Keeping all baggage carts covered with tarps during storms is a priority. During inclement weather, it can be challenging to fully protect bags from the elements as they have to be outside the tarps during the process of being loaded or unloaded from the aircraft. We are happy to accept Customer claims for damage within the set timeframe of four hours from the time the bag arrives—that helps us determine if the situation occurred while the luggage was with us.

I’d like to invite you back for a more typical Southwest experience. As a gesture of goodwill, we’ve issued you a $75.00 Southwest LUV Voucher (SLV), which will arrive in a separate e-mail within the next ten days. Instructions on the voucher will explain how to use it when booking travel with us.

We look forward to your next trip with us and hope to share the skies with you for many years to come."

$25 x 3 people. It is a nice gesture, just hope I don't have to deal with wet luggage again.

[DebbieB]

That was nice. We got a $100 voucher each for our flight that was delayed over 3 hours in May. I just used it for a flight in March, my $124 one way became $24!

[dvcterry]

Originally Posted by Jimbeaux28

I switched my family's luggage to a hard shell because of things just like this. Wet luggage and broken, crushed contents was happening too often. Ever get a chance to see how luggage is treated by the baggage handlers? Not pretty.

Sorry this happened to you. I have been in your shoes, which is why we switched to the hard shell. No more wet clothes and broken souvenirs!

we will be getting the hard shells next time. we had one wet luggage & the front large pocket completely ripped off so it was flapping as it went down the carousel. op, put in a claim, and hopefully you'll get something out of it.

[summerrluvv]

We had this same issue in Tampa in August. I saw our luggage just sitting there in the rain in the thunderstorms. It had been raining for quite sometime before our flight, so it wasn't like they got caught out there. Our stuff was DRENCHED. I ended up emailing Southwest and we received a $75 voucher for each of us ($225 total), so I was pleased with that.

[Junebugwv]

We've had it happen twice on Delta traveling through Atlanta during heavy rain. What a mess. I wish I had thought to use ziploc bags the second time. I will use them in the future.

[miprender]

Originally Posted by tebookie

Last night flew from Providence to Orlando. Our flight was delayed 4 hours in Providence due to a broken plane.

We we finally arrived at 12:30am and picked up our luggage it was soaked! Yes it was raining in Providence when we left. I understand luggage will get wet while they load it from the carts on to the plane, but it should not get soaked so that every piece of clothing is wet. Did they really leave the bags outside in the rain for 4 hours?! When I took my bag off the luggage claim and made it stand up there was a puddle of water! That's how wet our bags were!

THe line was long and it was late..again we landed at 1230 am (We were originally suppose to land at 830pm) We did not care to wait around at the airport so we did nothing. I called Southwest when we got to the hotel and I was told to call luggage services at Providence and call the Southwest Corporate number on Monday.

Not the greatest way to start off a Disney vacation.
Is it normal to for bags to be processed like this? Do I have any recourse of action? Anyone else have experience with this? I know Southwest is going to have 120 upset people once they figure out all their stuff is soaked!

We fly out of Greene (PVD) all the time and thankfully this has never happened to us but just in case I always use those travel SpaceSaver bags. They keep your clothes protected & dry and make packing easier.

[goofy4tink]

The other thing you can do, if you don't want to go to that added expense, is to get a large trash bag. Cut it open, making one really big piece of trash bag. Then, line the bag with it. Pack as you normally would and then bring the ends of the trash bag up and around the clothing. You can then tuck in the ends around the edges, or tie it off in the middle.
Not perfect, but it goes a long way to keeping things dry under most circumstances.

[jgh]

WOW! I had never even heard of this!

My dad flies all the time and I've flown commercial probably 20 or so times. We ALWAYS do carry-on though because they've lost my dad's luggage before when it was checked. We fly AirTran usually and can take one carry on suitcase to go in the over-head compartment and one bag to go under the seat in front of you.

I went on a 2-week trip to California out of Atlanta with only two small bags (one small suitcase and one bookbag). It's nice to be able to just grab your bags from under and above you and leave the airport!

[tebookie]

I will try the space bag or trash bag method in the future just to be on the safe side.

I can honestly say while the experience was unpleasant to deal with, Southwest promptly replied to my email and offered a voucher of goodwill.

[Alesia]

I put every single thing that I pack in a zip lock bag. Always.