Airlines misdirect about three million pieces of luggage a year, and outright lose about 250,000 of those. This SOUNDS like a lot, but it's really less than one percent of all checked luggage (and all figures may be lower for 2008, given the reductions in capacity and travel).
I've had luggage misdirected twice - once recently - and my brother once that I'm aware (the rest of my siblings either carry on or don't travel).
My brother's problem was that despite checking in for his flight online in advance, he got to the baggage check at the airport at exactly 45 minutes before his flight departed. When AA says your luggage must be checked at least 45 minutes in advance, they mean 45 full minutes, or in/prior to the 46th minute (e.g. for a 6 AM flight, your luggage would need to be checked BEFORE 5:15, not AT 5:15). He ended up not getting on his flight; it took him nine hours to travel what should have taken five (I've eliminated time changes - add three to each number), and it took his luggage 36 hours. And for some stupid reason, he had NO backup outer clothing in his carry-on. Good thing the friend he was visiting is about his same size. The airline delivered his luggage to that address when it showed up, even though I offered to pick it up because one route I can take home from work goes by the airport.
My first misdirect was on the twice-defunct Braniff, in its second incarnation. After lies about delays on the way to Florida (and finally putting us Tampa people on Continental in Newark) and claiming snow delays in Boston on the way home, the connecting plane had no enclosed overhead bins - just open areas like on the DME buses - so a number of us had to gate-check our carry-ons. We were assured the bags would be waiting for us on the jetway in Boston. Nope. Then we were told they were with the rest of the luggage on the carousel. Nope. Again, when the luggage did finally arrive they delivered mine to my home.
Other time was last year going to Las Vegas. Due to storm delays, the plane I was supposed to be boarding in Boston, to connect in Washington, had not left Philadelphia at the time it was supposed to land in Boston. The gate agents insisted on changing three parties who thus would not be able to make connections. At 3 PM, while I stood at the counter, the GA called baggage handling and told them to remove the three parties' luggage and on which flights those bags should go instead. Now, our original flight had been scheduled to depart at 4, and remember the plane had not yet left the ground at its originating airport (it ulitimately arrives around 6, yes, making my intended 7 PM connection pretty much impossible). My new flight was departing at 8:30. Baggage handling had three hours to take my luggage off the Washington-bound cart, and a total of five and a half hours to place it on the nonstop to Las Vegas.
Nope. No suitcase in Las Vegas - which is not necessarily a
bad thing, given the ease with which I could now move through the airport and to the car rental center - AFTER filing a lost luggage report, where the gentleman tracked my luggage to... Boston! The next day, when I hadn't heard anything by the time stated and had changed hotels, I called the airline. Somebody tracked the bag, and it finally showed up around 3:30. Except it didn't go where the person on the phone told me (BOS-WAS-LAS). Instead, it traveled further than I did - BOS-JFK-LGB-LAS. I tried getting miles for my suitcase, but no go.
But, the airlines will deliver your luggage where you request, IF it's misdirected. And the chance of this happening is just one more argument for cruisers to fly to their departure port a day early
But I'm simply asking just because I've always wondered.
- but that was when I KNEW I'd only have to go one day without my luggage. )
