Okay Laugh. The Airline actually LOST my luggage

[snarlingcoyote]

I fly home through houston on a 6:30PM flight. According to the airline's records of bar code scanning, my luggage got sent home on the flight immediately prior to mine.

It is now missing.

Twelve years as a flyer and this happens this year.

I am seriously considering changing allegiance to airlines. I've already complained about the local FA's unprofessional and rude behavior once and now I sincerely suspect my luggage got stolen on their watch.

Sigh. My new cashmere sweater, my trusty old black leather jacket, my TomTom, my good top of the line running shoes. A brand new laptop sleeve I got a real deal on. . .all gone.

Ah well, I'm not going to pout or panic or be unhappy. If they find it, they find it. If not, I'm safe and sound and healthy. My mother did something to a disk in her back when she fell in the shower and will need surgery and my DSIL just had a stroke - in ONE week. I'm sure either one of them would be thrilled to change places with me.

But still. I've always been sooooo "Well, I've certainly never lost MY luggage." smug.

But it's lost. They won't say it's lost, but uh yeah. I think it's gone for good. I'm listing out all the things that were in it. Nothing irreplaceable, but dang it - my favorite jeans were in there!

 

[DebbieB]

Sorry to hear it. Something similiar happened to me about a year ago on Northwest. I got to the airport early, I thought about seeing about catching the earlier flight but decided to stop and have lunch and wait for the one I was reserved on. I got to PIT and my luggage did not come. I walked over towards the baggage office and there it was sitting outside the office, it was put on the earlier flight. Anyone could have picked it up.

 

[bumbershoot]

It hasn't even been 24 hours?

Hubby had his bag disappear flying home from Mexico (through Dallas/Ft Worth), and about 24 hours later they found it and brought it to us. Try not to worry too much about it...

 

[Glencora]

My cousin had her suitcase disappear on a flight to Phoenix. Two years later she gets a phone call from an angry guy in Boston who keeps yelling that she must have his suitcase, because he ended up with hers. The one she'd lost in Phoenix. Two years previously.

If only that suitcase could talk...

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Well, the first person I talked with from the airline said that it had been scanned in on the flight previous to mine.

I've had many a bag take a tour without me - go somewhere much more fun and exotic than my boring old destination. But if the airline scanned it and showed it being ON this flight, the odds are that it was stolen out of my local airport.

 

[NotUrsula]

Presuming that we're not talking about MSY, I would check dumpsters behind businesses near the airport. (No point to that at MSY as there are too many places nearby to dump trash, and it would be dangerous to go looking, IMO.)

You might find it, but I'll bet anything that if you do, it will be minus the leather jacket and the GPS. However, odds are that the sweater and the laptop sleeve would still be there.

Remember that for new items, if you purchased them with a credit card, you can use the buyer's protection on your credit card to get reimbursed.

PS: I should say that I would assume that it was taken only if the airline was adamant that it had arrived at the destination airport. Otherwise I'd just be annoyed and presume that it would show up in a few days.

 

[Karlzmom]

We got home to California from our last Disney jaunt, only to find that our bags had decided Albany was lovely this time of year.

Seriously, I'm hoping you bag shows up somewhere and that you will be reunted with you sweater et al. post-haste!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Presuming that we're not talking about MSY, I would check dumpsters behind businesses near the airport. (No point to that at MSY as there are too many places nearby to dump trash, and it would be dangerous to go looking, IMO.)

You might find it, but I'll bet anything that if you do, it will be minus the leather jacket and the GPS. However, odds are that the sweater and the laptop sleeve would still be there.

Remember that for new items, if you purchased them with a credit card, you can use the buyer's protection on your credit card to get reimbursed.

I fly BTR, mostly. DH got me the TomTom on his Cabela's Visa a couple of months ago - I hadn't thought about that. I know it won't be covered, although everything else would be (books and clothes and such.) I'll get him to see about buyer's protection. Thank you!

As for the rest. . .well, it's the airline's responsibility. I have to say, they're keeping me updated. Although, I will miss both pairs of my favorite jeans and a BRAND NEW black cashmere sweater! I bought a really pretty red and white pashmina in Reno - that's gone too. I just lined out brand new things - things that haven't ever even been washed and it was quite a list. I really wish I'd gone ahead and worn this little runner's fleece I just bought instead of saving it back (I already have two, and thought I might return it. . .) .

Oh! I had a DIS green suede Travelon mini-messenger in there as well! Like I'm ever going to be able to replace that? Travelon doesn't make 'em in that color anymore. Maybe I will go through the dumpsters after all. . .

<sigh>.

No whining. No whining. I didn't have a stroke, I didn't rupture something in my back. I'm happy and healthy - they were only things.

But no way am I ever, ever, ever packing really nice things in my checked luggage again.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You are getting upset far too soon. Chances are that your luggage will turn up.

Twelve years as a flyer and this happens this year.

Then you should know not to pack anything valuable in checked luggage.

 

[Jaymie]

I think I would be most bummed about the jeans. I love my favorite jeans.

Hopefully they turn up...with everything else of course.

 

[ironz]

You are getting upset far too soon. Chances are that your luggage will turn up.

Twelve years as a flyer and this happens this year.

Then you should know not to pack anything valuable in checked luggage.

Actually, she seems to be taking it fairly well in stride, compared to so many other posts (on various subjects) around here.

I agree that it will more likely than not turn up...but you never know.

 

[Uncleromulus]

THis happened to us this last trip--you know that feeling when the luggage carousel is finally empty and your luggage isn't on it. This was Airtran, but they did find it and delivered it to our home late that night. I spoke to the fellow who brought our luggage and he opined that he could probably make a living just delivering "lost" luggage out of BWI.
Of course actually "lost" is a lot worse than "misdirected", but I wonder how many checked bags are misdirected or lost by the airlines each year. Seems to me that I read once that it was over 1 MILLION bags(???

 

[keishashadow]

Been there, done that, more than once...just glad it was always on way home

As i recall airlines have 30 days before 'paying up', sounds as though you've filed your claim with airline, so all you need to do is sit back & relax, keeping copies of receipts for replacement items jik requested. Airlines do set a maximum $ limit on value of suitcase & contents; almost laughable if you have lost an expensive set of luggage once you've factored in contents.

btw, depending on your coverage and whether you want to file a claim, your homeowner's insurance policy may cover the electronics, etc.; neither will cover 'collectibles' which is what i was told disney pins were.

this will pass, concentrate on your family's health

 

[Missytara]

THis happened to us this last trip--you know that feeling when the luggage carousel is finally empty and your luggage isn't on it. This was Airtran, but they did find it and delivered it to our home late that night. I spoke to the fellow who brought our luggage and he opined that he could probably make a living just delivering "lost" luggage out of BWI.
Of course actually "lost" is a lot worse than "misdirected", but I wonder how many checked bags are misdirected or lost by the airlines each year. Seems to me that I read once that it was over 1 MILLION bags(???

That's interesting. We were on our way back from Europe and we had a puddle jumper from Philly to BWI for US Air. My friend's mom took a turn for the worse and her husband had her booked on a flight to Raleigh, VA the next morning out of BWI. Our bags arrived, but alas, hers was missing. She told them she had a very, very early flight out of BWI, and needed to clean her clothes before she left. They got to her house in DE, about three a.m., just in time for her to do wash and drive back to BWI for her flight out. Phew.

 

[seashoreCM]

>>> 3 am just in time for her to do wash
She needs more (sets of) clothing, so she could be packed and ready to go while the clothes coming back in the delayed suitcase can wait a few weeks to be washed.

>>> If only that suitcase (the man in Boston took by mistake) could talk
The column above the carousel probably did the talking, "many bags look alike"

 

[bumbershoot]

>>> If only that suitcase (the man in Boston took by mistake) could talk
The column above the carousel probably did the talking, "many bags look alike"

Well I think the wild part of that story is that the luggage had re-appeared 2 years after being lost in a different part of the country.


FWIW, hubby's Mexico bag was scanned something like 3 times onto HIS flight...no other scans...just reappeared the next day. So weird.

 

[Luv2Diz]

Funny you should mention this. Last night we had a connection through Phoenix. As we were walking across the sky bridge between terminals, we looked out the window and there sat a luggage cart with about a dozen suitcases. Nary a soul around. No flight coming or going, no employees around like they were expecting one soon. We wondered why the heck a luggage cart was "abandoned" there....and wondered about the people who were likely missing their suitcase and wondering where it was!

 

[paults]

this happened to us last May with SW. We got to the airport earlier and checked our bags. SW put the bags on an eariler flight (1 before ours). Now that was OK for us but they neglected to tells us what they did. So now we get to PHL and go down to retrieve bags and guess what, we stood by the carosel for 45 to 55 mins while everybody else was grabbing there bags. Then they were done and there were no bags left on the carosel and it stopped. We saw one other couple waiting and they didn't get their bags either. I went to the office there and they don't know what happened and started calling around. Another 15 min goes by and guess what they had our bags from the eariler flight in their office all the time but again neglected to try to contact us. If we had known this we would have been half way home buy the time they found them.

 

[colinsdad]

Like another poster, my wife's suitcase was lost going to Phoenix too (from Boston, and no I'm not the guy calling )

It was our 10th anniversary (going to Sedona) and we were flying on an airline that also makes faucets. Their customer service was awful, and we got like $10 a day for our trouble. WOW! THANKS!

It was a big p.i.t.a. calling everyday to tell them they hadn't found our bag (they don't know this?) and having to waste vacation time buying underwear, toothbrushes and conditioner.

They found her bag in Aruba the day after we got home, and when they delivered it, the lock and snap was busted.

We now pack 1/2 of our stuff in each others bag so if one gets lost at least we have some stuff.

 

[crashbb]

I've only had my luggage misdirected once - I flew Canada to Paris; it flew Canada to Tokyo.

It was, partially, my fault. I had my dad's business card on it as a luggage label, rather than my name (in my defense, I was about 14); and I didn't notice that the check-in agent never put a luggage tag on my suitcase. When they noticed that it had no luggage tag, they looked at the label and found that someone with my dad's name was flying to Tokyo, so they sent it there! This was long before 2001.

Needless to say, it took a while to get to me. Especially since I didn't stay in Paris, but was living in a small town near the Spanish border.

Hawaiian Airlines often sends luggage by the next flight (even if it isn't the one you are on). Since there are often many flights, I often checked in before the flight before mine as left - I learned to check the pile of luggage before going to the carousel.