Lost luggage!!! UPDATE FOUND!!!! pg 2 post 23

[momrek06]

Was wondering if any DISer's here on the Transportation Board have any experiences with lost luggage?

My DS left John Wayne for Teddy Green... last night and traveled USAir. When he got to the counter USAir said $15.00 for your bag....DS paid it and was on his way. He landed and NO bag???

#1) Do the airlines usually FIND your bags? He has a "gala" to attend Saturday night and all his dress clothes are in that bag.

#2) Do they REFUND your $15.00 for the lost bag?

TIA!!!

 

[bavaria]

Did he file a claim at the airport? If so, he should have been given all of this information. Usually the airline can 'see' the bag in the system and will send it onwards within 24 hours. I have had that happen to me many times.

Sometimes they cannot 'see' the bag but it still appears and they forward it. This happened to me twice.

Truly LOST luggage is very rare; delayed or misdirected bags are more common. He should have been issued a claim number, contact number, and information on purchasing necessities for reimbursement.

 

[momrek06]

Did he file a claim at the airport? If so, he should have been given all of this information. Usually the airline can 'see' the bag in the system and will send it onwards within 24 hours. I have had that happen to me many times.

Sometimes they cannot 'see' the bag but it still appears and they forward it. This happened to me twice.

Truly LOST luggage is very rare; delayed or misdirected bags are more common. He should have been issued a claim number, contact number, and information on purchasing necessities for reimbursement.

Oh..ok, thanks!!! I only spoke to him for a second as he arrived and was off with all his alumni and I just wanted make sure he arrived ok. He flew through the night. I am guessing the airlines did exactly as you posted.

Glad to hear they can usually find the missing bags!!!

 

[rgf207]

US air has "lost" my baggage so many times. I as without bags for 2 weeks but normally it's 48 hours max. He should be fine. I advise that he calls and checks the status every now and then

 

[DebbieB]

How far before departure did he check it? John Wayne is a small airport, they should have been able to get it out to the plane ontime. Did he have a connection? It could have got delayed or misrouted there.

US does not scan bags for tracking, so it makes it difficult to figure out where it went.

 

[momrek06]

How far before departure did he check it? John Wayne is a small airport, they should have been able to get it out to the plane ontime. Did he have a connection? It could have got delayed or misrouted there.

US does not scan bags for tracking, so it makes it difficult to figure out where it went.

He arrived 2 hours before his flight and got all checked in. He had on bb shorts and a t-shirt (as it is unseasonably warm here in SoCal) and flew into Phoenix and then from there he flew into Philly and then from there to Providence arriving @9am. This was the BEST flight he could get considering his work schedule. Sooo I can "kinda" see where the bag might get misplaced.

It is a bright red llbean duffle bag..large. His name is all over it. He has been in interviews all day as well as a scheduled luncheon. He has had to wear these bb shorts and t all day long. It is 4:45pm in RI and still no sign of the bag. He just called me and USAir still has no clue to where his bag is and now he will need to buy a sweatshirt...it is chilly in the East. They said they will allow him $35.00 to spend if his bag never arrives???

$35.00....he has easily $200.00 in clothes and grooming items for the 5 days he is to be in RI.

 

[EpcotQueen]

And that's why we ship our luggae ahead of time via FedEx.

 

[KJ Luvs Pluto]

I'm so sorry to hear of his problems with the lost luggage. Our luggage has been more places than we have. We've never been overseas - but our luggage has. It has taken many days to get our luggage returned to the proper destination and I always include a sheet of paper with where the luggage should be and when inside right on top where it can be easily seen when it is opened up and it's never locked. Went from WI to FL one year but our suitcase ended up in Thailand. It took a while to get that one back. We shipped our clothes in a box this last time we flew - it was great not to have to worry if we were going to be the last lonely people standing around that carousel just hoping that maybe that suitcase was still coming even though everyone else was long gone.

So...I hope that the airlines finds his bag sooner rather than later. As others have said, it's usually not lost - just sent to some exotic destination and it needs to find its way back.

 

[safetymom]

And that's why we ship our luggae ahead of time via FedEx.

I can't tell you the number of times I have had things lost by FedEx.

 

[bavaria]

I can't tell you the number of times I have had things lost by FedEx.

Agreed! I would never ship my luggage based on my extremely poor track record with FedEx and DHL. (Most recently FedEx to/within Germany which ended up costing over $300.... )

In contrast, I fly every week and have delayed luggage maybe 2x a year, usually due to tight connections when I ran faster than my luggage, and in each case the luggage arrived within 18 hours.

 

[EpcotQueen]

Different folks have positive and negative experiences with luggage on planes and shipping. Hopefully I'm not jinxing ourselves (I'm getting ready to ship our luggage for our next trip) but we'vre never had a problem with FedEx. Maybe we're lucky. On the other hand, both my husband and I fly quite a bit for our jobs and have had VERY poor luck with the airlines. In addition, FedEx is gentler on our luggage than the airlines. The travel 'talking heads' on TV strongly advocate shipping luggage ahead of time. To each his own.....

 

[momrek06]

8pm in the East and USAir still has no idea what is happening with DS' bag. They said to call back at 9pm. They are going to call John Wayne, Phoenix, Philly and Providence and have an answer for him hopefully.......

DS did get a Supervisor who gave DS authorization to go buy some new jeans and a sweatshirt. Super said he would put a priority on the bag.....



OT: I think the DIS clock is off!!!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Which talking heads are those? I haven't seen a single one promote shipping luggage via Fedex or UPS. Doesn't mean there isn't somebody saying that, I've simply never heard one.

Different folks have positive and negative experiences with luggage on planes and shipping. Hopefully I'm not jinxing ourselves (I'm getting ready to ship our luggage for our next trip) but we'vre never had a problem with FedEx. Maybe we're lucky. On the other hand, both my husband and I fly quite a bit for our jobs and have had VERY poor luck with the airlines. In addition, FedEx is gentler on our luggage than the airlines. The travel 'talking heads' on TV strongly advocate shipping luggage ahead of time. To each his own.....

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I can't tell you the number of times I have had things lost by FedEx.

My issue with Fedex has been that the driver making the delivery doesn't get it where it needs to be and it returns to the Fedex Facility for delivery the next day... or the day after... or the day after that...

 

[noahdove]

My granddaughter's luggage didn't arrive with ours when we returned from Disney. It took 3 days for her to get it and then it was dirty and plain disgusting..She had her souveniers in it as she wouldn't put it in my carry on or carry on bag..needless to say, some things didn't arrive any too well...I felt bad that it was missing, however, she did get it..but not when she wanted it

 

[bavaria]

My issue with Fedex has been that the driver making the delivery doesn't get it where it needs to be and it returns to the Fedex Facility for delivery the next day... or the day after... or the day after that...

My experiences with WDW package handling are extremely poor, therefore I wouldn't ship my luggage to them. They even have misplaced my suitcase when UA courier delivered it and I went to claim it a few minutes after it arrived.

Combine the cost of shipping, chance of courier misplacing/misrouting package, and the hotel mishandling the package, and I will take my chances with the airlines every time. As someone who flies (and checks luggage) weekly and ships packages weekly, the airlines win this exercise in my experience.

I've even had UA deliver my bag to me within 18 hours after I left the airport and drove 6 hours into backofnowhere. I consider that great service.

Hopefully the OP's relative gets the issue resolved soon. Truly lost luggage which never reappears is rare.

 

[Dewy]

Which talking heads are those? I haven't seen a single one promote shipping luggage via Fedex or UPS. Doesn't mean there isn't somebody saying that, I've simply never heard one.

I read in USA Today a few months back about the growing trend to ship luggage. There are even businesses offering this service. The link below was one of the companies they talked about

http://www.luggageforward.com/

Looks to me that this might be expensive but obviously there are people giving these companies business.

 

[bavaria]

I actually asked the question on FlyerTalk when all the brouhaha started about checked bag fees.

Most business travellers expense checked bag fees if they don't have elite status (and most do), or bill their clients.

Most leisure travellers here seem to balk at paying $15 or $25. I can't imagine them using a luggage service if that is the case.

I wonder who actually uses that service? Sending a box is way cheaper - I use the USPS flat rate box service for $9 quite often and that seems to do the job just fine. Plus if the luggage is going international, there are issues with customs. My FedEx box above was delayed 3 days and I was hit with German taxes on delivery even though it wasn't new goods. Way too much hassle, cost, and uncertainty.

I don't doubt that someone is using the service, but I am just not certain who.

I just checked the fees - one 'small' bag maximum 25 lbs with a one week advance shipping time is $86 one way from EPSG's home to Orlando. $225 one way for that same small bag if she is coming to Germany. Ouch!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

$500 (cheapest option) to ship 2 large pieces of luggage roundtrip... and you have to give them a week for your luggage to reach its destination on either end.

It's not convenient, inexpensive OR efficient.

While it may be trend (your word, not mine) or fad, it appears to be too cost-prohibitive to be growing. I can't see a travel expert actually recommending this unless there's some reason you are completely unable to manage your own luggage.

I read in USA Today a few months back about the growing trend to ship luggage. There are even businesses offering this service. The link below was one of the companies they talked about

http://www.luggageforward.com/

Looks to me that this might be expensive but obviously there are people giving these companies business.

 

[dis-happy]

My dh sat on the tarmac in Atlanta last week, looking out the window. Two different times a luggage truck made a tight turn and both times a bag fell off the truck. The first driver stopped and retrieved the bag. The second driver just kept on going. My dh made a mental note to do only carry-ons while connecting through Atlanta.

Anyway, here's a question: did your ds pay attention when they handled his bag to make sure that a tag was attached with his final destination on it? Water under the bridge now but this it's always a good idea to double check what the airline employee is doing. Hope his bag turns up soon.