I had my first really horrible experience with lost baggage last night! My fiance and I flew Delta from Orlando with a stop to change planes in Atlanta and then back to Chicago. This is a regular route that Delta flies regularly during the week. The flights went off without a hitch - our flight to Atlanta even arrived 15 min early! The problem began when we got back home to Chicago. Arrived at the baggage claim waited, and waited - NO BAGS! So we talked to Delta's baggage office. They told us to check the Air Tran area because our bags "Missed" our flight to Midway on Delta - so Delta gave them to a completely different airline to transport to Chicago. So we waited another 45 min for the Air Tran flight's baggage to arrive. ONE of our two bags arrived - but not the other. By this time the Delta office was closing, so we filed our baggage information and were given the number/web-site info to check on its status. Air Tran was not able to help because our luggage has Delta bar codes on the stickers, so even if they have it - they can't track it. So now we have to wait for our bag to make it to a Delta terminal to be scanned and tracked.
So today, I contacted Delta to check on our bag. I was greeted by the rudest "customer service" rep that I have ever encountered - I was crying by the time she was done with me. The whole time I tried to be polite but firm (but she must have just gotten an earful from the last customer she spoke with because she was a complete #$@&$. I asked her how our luggage could have ended up on a completely different airline with the new TSA/FAA regulations for bag matching. She told me that this only applies to the first leg of your trip. Also, it only applies to the person flying - NOT the airline. So if I check a bag, but don't board a flight, the airline HAS to pull my luggage off. But, if I check a bag and make it onto the airplane, the airline is not legally obligated to make sure my bag is on that same flight - they can fly it on another plane going to the same destination, or they also have the option to put it on a completely different airline if they screw up and don't get the luggage to the plane.
So now my bag sits somewere in the vast beyond of Atlanta's LARGE airport, and Delta claims that there's a 99.9% chance that they will find it within 24 hours. But if they take more than 5 days to find it they will just have us file a claim and get cash (they will take possession of the suitcase if it is found and its items) and we will have the option to request single items that are not replaceable. (We will not have the option to decline the reimbursement and claim the bag!)
This Disney trip was wonderful - met with our Disney Wedding coordinator, had engagement photos taken at the Poly and rode Space Mountain about ten times! However the homecoming was something I would give back - lost bags, 25 degrees and snow today!
So today, I contacted Delta to check on our bag. I was greeted by the rudest "customer service" rep that I have ever encountered - I was crying by the time she was done with me. The whole time I tried to be polite but firm (but she must have just gotten an earful from the last customer she spoke with because she was a complete #$@&$. I asked her how our luggage could have ended up on a completely different airline with the new TSA/FAA regulations for bag matching. She told me that this only applies to the first leg of your trip. Also, it only applies to the person flying - NOT the airline. So if I check a bag, but don't board a flight, the airline HAS to pull my luggage off. But, if I check a bag and make it onto the airplane, the airline is not legally obligated to make sure my bag is on that same flight - they can fly it on another plane going to the same destination, or they also have the option to put it on a completely different airline if they screw up and don't get the luggage to the plane.
So now my bag sits somewere in the vast beyond of Atlanta's LARGE airport, and Delta claims that there's a 99.9% chance that they will find it within 24 hours. But if they take more than 5 days to find it they will just have us file a claim and get cash (they will take possession of the suitcase if it is found and its items) and we will have the option to request single items that are not replaceable. (We will not have the option to decline the reimbursement and claim the bag!)
This Disney trip was wonderful - met with our Disney Wedding coordinator, had engagement photos taken at the Poly and rode Space Mountain about ten times! However the homecoming was something I would give back - lost bags, 25 degrees and snow today!
