DME and/or Southwest lost our bags...but, we may have been in error, not them!!

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

To anyone else in this situation. You file the first claim BEFORE you leave the airport. On MOST airlines (SW being a major exception) they will be able to tell you when it last scanned. So for example Delta would tell me it scanned into MCO at 1 PM and onto the plane at 2 etc....

But the claim needs to start with the airline before you walk out of the terminal!

 

[Alesia]

Edited to note that I am home. We are DVC, we WDW at least once a year and never dared to use DME in the past because I was afraid of exactly this. We took Happy Limo from MCO to the resort. So we are 0 for 1.

I'm confused.

Did you check your luggage with RAC or did you take them with you on the DME bus?

If you checked them with RAC, what time did did you check them in?

Did you file a claim at your home airport before you left?

Are all of your bags missing?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Got home at 230am today. Currently on hold with Disney. Anyone else have this happen?
Thanks

was not Disney but sounds like a trip my bother in law took with his family. decided he didn't want to loose carkeys on flight home so he put them in a checked bag. bet you know where this story is going, they arrived about 1100 pm 4 out of 5 bags arrived and you know what was in the missing bag. we got to drive to airport to get them. all of their bags were cheched in at same time. so yes it does happen

 

[SirDuff]

happened once back in 2010.
we think RAC messed something up and then southwest was nasty to us when we didn't have a baggage claim ticket. (i have never ever received a baggage claim ticket from southwest so not sure whats up with that)
they figured out that it came home on a different flight and we picked it up the next day.

Wait, are you saying that SW (unlike every single airline I've ever flown) doesn't give you a claim ticket? How do you follow up on missing luggage? Heck, I've been in airports where you have to show the luggage claim tag to leave the airport (none in the US though).

I must say that I love the Delta app that allows you to track your baggage. I flew DCA-ATL-SCL yesterday and, while waiting in Atlanta, I was able to check the app and see that my luggage had made it to Atlanta and had been loaded onto the plane for Santiago.

 

[kamik86]

Wait, are you saying that SW (unlike every single airline I've ever flown) doesn't give you a claim ticket? How do you follow up on missing luggage? Heck, I've been in airports where you have to show the luggage claim tag to leave the airport (none in the US though).

I must say that I love the Delta app that allows you to track your baggage. I flew DCA-ATL-SCL yesterday and, while waiting in Atlanta, I was able to check the app and see that my luggage had made it to Atlanta and had been loaded onto the plane for Santiago.

Southwest definitely gives claim tickets. Every time I have checked bags they give this little blue envelop with the tickets stapled inside.

 

[tjmw2727]

Wait, are you saying that SW (unlike every single airline I've ever flown) doesn't give you a claim ticket? How do you follow up on missing luggage? Heck, I've been in airports where you have to show the luggage claim tag to leave the airport (none in the US though).

I must say that I love the Delta app that allows you to track your baggage. I flew DCA-ATL-SCL yesterday and, while waiting in Atlanta, I was able to check the app and see that my luggage had made it to Atlanta and had been loaded onto the plane for Santiago.

I missed that in this thread but I have to say that I fly just about every month - and fairly often on SWA and they always give me a baggage claim ticket. Some airlines put a sticker on the back of the boarding pass but SWA gives you a separate slip - still have mine from July

Having had my bags arrive ahead of me (as I suspect the op did based on possibly using RAC 11/12 hours early) and having my connecting flight canceled and wanting to grab my bags for the overnight delay for examples - I have had to provide my claim tickets quite a few times. I always make sure I get one and know where it it when I land just in case.

We used RAC in June at the Beach Club flying SWA and we definitely received bag claim tags.

That Delta app sounds great- Delta doesn't serve my routes though

 

[LisaS]

With a 2:30 am arrival I would assume your flight left around 10/11pm and to use RAC you would have had to check your bags prior to 12pm that's very early. If this was the case its possible your bags arrived at your home airport prior to your arrival on an earlier flight and were being held in the office when you arrived at the carousel.

I was thinking about this possibility as well when I wrote my reply above. I wasn't sure with security the way it is these days if an airline would transport someone's bags on a different flight. If they do, then I think this is a likely what happened. The OP's bags arrived at MCO early in the day and were sent on ahead and were sitting in the airline's office at baggage claim at their home airport.

 

[tjmw2727]

I was thinking about this possibility as well when I wrote my reply above. I wasn't sure with security the way it is these days if an airline would transport someone's bags on a different flight. If they do, then I think this is a likely what happened. The OP's bags arrived at MCO early in the day and were sent on ahead and were sitting in the airline's office at baggage claim at their home airport.

I mentioned this above as well but the thread is getting long

They will definitely send the bags ahead - it has happened to us on both SWA and AA when we grabbed an early ride to the airport for cost and convenience! Since we fly often I wasn't shocked to see our bags not come out on the carousal as I knew we checked in early, low and behold the bags were in the office and had arrived early.

Just happened to my oldest DD from PHI to MHT in July on SWA- again she grabbed a ride early with a friend to split the fare and checked in more that the usual 2 ish ours prior. When I picked her up and her bags didn't arrive my younger dd was already checking at the office and had spotted her bag! Your bag claim ticket and ID are required to claim the bag in this situation.

This is when the bag tracking app mentioned in a PP would be very helpful!

 

[SirDuff]

This is when the bag tracking app mentioned in a PP would be very helpful!

It's not specifically a bag tracking app. On the normal "Fly Delta" app, one of the options in the "My Trip" section (along with checking-in, changing seat, adding extras, etc.) is "Track My Bags". Once you've checked your bags, this option is active and shows what is happening with your bags. Possibly other airlines have this as well (most have an app of their own), I just happen to be familiar with Delta.

 

[Allison]

They will definitely send the bags ahead - it has happened to us on both SWA and AA when we grabbed an early ride to the airport for cost and convenience! Since we fly often I wasn't shocked to see our bags not come out on the carousal as I knew we checked in early, low and behold the bags were in the office and had arrived early.

This has happened to me a couple of times and each time the bags were in the office.

 

[LisaS]

I mentioned this above as well but the thread is getting long

They will definitely send the bags ahead - it has happened to us on both SWA and AA when we grabbed an early ride to the airport for cost and convenience! Since we fly often I wasn't shocked to see our bags not come out on the carousal as I knew we checked in early, low and behold the bags were in the office and had arrived early.

Just happened to my oldest DD from PHI to MHT in July on SWA- again she grabbed a ride early with a friend to split the fare and checked in more that the usual 2 ish ours prior. When I picked her up and her bags didn't arrive my younger dd was already checking at the office and had spotted her bag! Your bag claim ticket and ID are required to claim the bag in this situation.

This is when the bag tracking app mentioned in a PP would be very helpful!

Good to know. Thanks for the information.

 

[disney world dreamer]

Southwest definitely gives claim tickets. Every time I have checked bags they give this little blue envelop with the tickets stapled inside.

i've used southwest every time i've flown to disney and back and i have never ever received a claim ticket.
i just went to hawaii july 10-20 and i received claim tickets. i was flying united.

 

[tjmw2727]

i've used southwest every time i've flown to disney and back and i have never ever received a claim ticket.
i just went to hawaii july 10-20 and i received claim tickets. i was flying united.

I would say to those reading along if any airline checks your bags without issuing a bag claim ticket make sure you get one!

As I said above I have flown SWA probably hundreds of times and always got a bag claim ticket. I have also taught my dd's to make sure they get one when checking bags no matter the airline and keep track of it! As I mentioned above it came in handy when my older dd needed hers in July.

 

[pooch]

happened once back in 2010.
we think RAC messed something up and then southwest was nasty to us when we didn't have a baggage claim ticket. (i have never ever received a baggage claim ticket from southwest so not sure whats up with that)
they figured out that it came home on a different flight and we picked it up the next day.

I have always gotten a baggage claim ticket when checking in at the SWA counter.

 

[bumbershoot]

Very well explained! Hope it never happens, but unfortunately bags are lost! That's where trip insurance cones in VERY HANDY! Hope you get your bag back! If you have Travelex insurance through DVC, contact them.

Give them a minute to get the bags to them, LOL. They just posted today.

DH has had his bags go missing for a day or so and they have, so far, always made it home 24 hours post-flight. To start an insurance claim NOW is very likely just a waste of everyones' time.

If this was the case its possible your bags arrived at your home airport prior to your arrival on an earlier flight and were being held in the office when you arrived at the carousel.

Yep.

We arrived at MCO Superbowl Sunday 2014, checked bags, got to the gate, and the moment they asked for 9 volunteers to bump themselves DH ran up there (we would be in the air the whole game and even change in Newark, and DH is a lifelong Seattle fan). Our bags could not be brought off the plane for some reason (seriously, it was nearly 2 hours pre-flight, really?). We were put up that night and had a couple flight changes the next day, and when we got home our bags had been there for AGES, and were all cordoned off and tied together with a bunch of other bags at SeaTac. (I had worried all night that my Guavaberry Rum had broken and was spilling all over everyone's clothing, but it was FINE)

I must say that I love the Delta app that allows you to track your baggage.

It's cool, but today (we flew to CA at 6am today) I checked one bag under each of our name's. DH and mine tracked just fine, but DS's didn't. It came off the carousel just fine, but never managed to track at all, and just gave an error message.

I wasn't sure with security the way it is these days if an airline would transport someone's bags on a different flight.

If it's the airline's choice they'll do it. If it's our choice they won't.

 

[SirDuff]

i've used southwest every time i've flown to disney and back and i have never ever received a claim ticket.
i just went to hawaii july 10-20 and i received claim tickets. i was flying united.

How weird that you always get someone doing things wrong. Are you always flying out of the same airport? Maybe they need better training (though that wouldn't explain the mistake being made at MCO as well). How weird.

 

[disney world dreamer]

How weird that you always get someone doing things wrong. Are you always flying out of the same airport? Maybe they need better training (though that wouldn't explain the mistake being made at MCO as well). How weird.

yes always fly out of the same airport.
i have always used RAC on the way back other than the couple times i just took carry on and i have never been given a claim ticket.

 

[Kaytie]

That's surprising, because RAC gives claim checks for all luggage checked in - just like the Skycaps at airport curbside check in do.

 

[DebbieB]

I've always got one. I usually look at it to make sure it was tagged to the correct city. Sometimes they stick it on the back of the boarding pass or on the folder.

 

[LisaS]

That's surprising, because RAC gives claim checks for all luggage checked in - just like the Skycaps at airport curbside check in do.

Same here. We fly Southwest and are always given a baggage claim check at our home airport on the way down and from RAC at the resort when we check our bags for our return flight.