Has Anyone Dealt With Damaged Luggage?

[PurplePencil]

I would go with something sturdy because you don't want to lose the stuff inside. I used to have soft side luggage but airlines are too rough. The ripped the handles completely off. Now I always use hard side. I have some scratches but all in one piece after multiple trips.

We are Eagle Creek fans. My husband travels all over the world for his job. His suitcases don't look too pretty any more, but they sure do hold up to the abuse the airlines dish out. Plus they have a great "No matter what" warranty. He gets asked all the time at airports what brand his bag is. It's obvious to look at it that's it got tons of miles on it, but it's still rolling, wheels and handles intact.

Osprey. Sure they are wicked expensive upfront but they are so high quality and the lifetime warranty is amazing.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I work for an airline, and I never spend more than about $50 on a large suitcase. They whole luggage process just trashes them, and most of the damage is done by the endless highway of baggage belts.

That being said, if you were going to invest in a more expensive piece, I would recommend Rimowa. Their bags last, and they have a great warranty.

Insiders track: baggage handlers hate Pelican Cases. They're heavy, bulky, and awkward to move. As such, they are usually the last to be loaded because no once wants to deal with them. Percentage of loss is much higher on pelican cases than any other suitcase because they get left behind.

Nice. So punishment for the customers who invest in heavy duty waterproof luggage. I'd be interested to know what airline this is. Or better yet, maybe not. When it comes to airlines I'm starting to think the less I know the better off I am. LOL!

 

[tlprice]

I got so sick of my soft side suitcases being destroyed I finally got hard side ones and haven't had any issues since. Sometimes my soft side cases only made it one trip and were destroyed. I've had zippers broken, front pockets ripped completely off, slashes, soaked from rain, etc. A few years ago, I did have one suitcase that a wheel was broken off and had a big gash in it. I took it to the customer service of the airline in the airport and they gave me a brand new suitcase.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Here's my next strategy:

http://smartwomentravelers.com/2014/03/shrink-wrap-your-luggage/

 

[rcchello]

I use eBags and after over a year of use the the handle broke. I just went online and emailed them about the problem. After giving them serial numbers and a couple pictures of the damage the offered me a credit or a replacement bag. A week later I had a brand new bag.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Nice. So punishment for the customers who invest in heavy duty waterproof luggage. I'd be interested to know what airline this is. Or better yet, maybe not. When it comes to airlines I'm starting to think the less I know the better off I am. LOL!

Hey, I'm just being honest. And I'll let you in on a little secret: baggage handlers are the same few companies for most airlines; it's a position that is mostly outsourced.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Hey, I'm just being honest. And I'll let you in on a little secret: baggage handlers are the same few companies for most airlines; it's a position that is mostly outsourced.

Understood.

 

[Msmit002]

That being said, if you were going to invest in a more expensive piece, I would recommend Rimowa. Their bags last, and they have a great warranty.

I too can recommend this. As a rule, I do not really consider luggage an 'investment' because it seems that no matter what brand/feature/material we buy, sooner or later it meets a baggage handler who just broke up with the love of his life that day.

Our one Rimowa is our oldest piece and the exception to the above. Got it for a steal when I was traveling to Germany and my bag was obliterated (or nearly so) en-route. I've had it for 11 years now. The aluminum has quite a few dents in places but the thing is solid as a rock and I've had zero issues transporting fragile items. And, it's lightweight to boot.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Sooner or later it meets a baggage handler who just broke up with the love of his life that day.

Our one Rimowa is our oldest piece and the exception to the above. Got it for a steal when I was traveling to Germany and my bag was obliterated (or nearly so) en-route. I've had it for 11 years now. The aluminum has quite a few dents in places but the thing is solid as a rock and I've had zero issues transporting fragile items. And, it's lightweight to boot.

Germany is still the cheapest place to get Rimowa. They're great bags, the design is timeless too.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

On my first Disney Cruise, my Dad and I were staying at Coronado Springs at WDW the night before. That morning, our luggage was picked up (my suitcase and suitbag), and were told we would see them on the ship. Now the fun begins...

Our luggage was delivered and I started to take everything out of the my luggage. I then proceeded to go to the suit bag and realized that I couldn't get the zipper all the way around. I also began to realize little pieces of fabric on the bed. Somehow between our luggage leaving us at our WDW Resort and it getting on the cruise ship, my suit bag had been shredded. Literally, it looked shredded. It also had a notice on it saying that the luggage was delivered to the cruise line in this shape. Well, it had to be some part of the Disney companies fault so to guest services I went. This was a great start to my first Disney Cruise.

When I got to guest services with a suit bag that looked shredded, all I did was put my luggage on the counter and the CM immediately knew what I was there for. They said that they couldn't do anything because it was delivered to us that way. Then I proceeded to say that "it was fine this morning when it left a Walt DISNEY World hotel, so it had to have been damaged while in the care of your company." The CM then said that they could try and fix it and get it back to me, but I was confident that it could not be fixed. I let the CM take my bag and off I went to try and enjoy the rest of my evening.

The next day I went down to guest services to see if they were able to fix it. Sure enough, they were not. However, they did compensate me and give me the smallest roller piece of luggage I have ever seen. So, a suit bag for a small roller luggage piece? Sounds like a good trade right! Anyways, I took it, I still have that small bag to this day, and that made it for an interesting packing situation at the end of the cruise for my Dad and I. I have had plenty of great moments on the rest of my Disney Cruises that I have completely forgotten about this situation until I saw this thread.