All airlines try to provide the most efficient baggage handling and transportation services for their customers. Nevertheless, baggage transportation systems have their limitations, and suitcases and packages may be delayed or misplaced while they are being transported from one destination to another. While some air travelers manage to get their lost luggage back after a long wait, others never see their belongings again.
According to airline statistics, over 30 million luggage pieces are mishandled by airlines around the world every year. Most of the time, airlines are able to reunite the luggage pieces with their owners within 24 hours, but there will still be a large number of pieces that will never be recovered. Many people wonder what happens to lost luggage. Actually, different airlines, airports and countries have different ways of handling lost luggage, and some of them are more patient than others.
Some airports have a general method for handling lost baggage, meaning that all airlines serving the same airport have to deal with lost luggage the same way. Bags that are lost in Heathrow Airport are sold at a South London auction site called the Greasby’s at very low prices. The practice of auctioning off lost luggage is also prevalent in the United States, where the contents of unclaimed bags from certain airports are sold at a 40,000-square-foot facility called the Unclaimed Baggage Center, which is located in Scottsboro, Alabama.
Certain airlines have customer service agents stationed in each airport to deal with lost baggage. These agents will try to reunite lost luggage pieces with their owners for a few days. After the initial attempt has failed, the bags will be sent to the central baggage tracing office, where they will be opened and searched. The agents at the office will try to look for personal documents, business cards, or tags that reveal the identities of the owners. If they cannot identify the owners after searching, the agents will enter descriptions of the bags and their contents into the World Tracer, a worldwide lost-and-found system that matches claims with bags. If the bags remain unclaimed after 90 days, the airlines will donate certain items in the bags to charities and dispose of the remaining contents.
Lost baggage can amount to great financial loss for travelers, especially those who have expensive items in their bags. While airlines offer compensation for lost luggage, the compensation may be much less than the actual value of the luggage. To ensure that they will get sufficient compensation for their lost belongings, travelers should purchase a travel insurance policy before their trips. Most travel insurance policies feature coverage for lost baggage, and the coverage can be upgraded to suit your needs.
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Wheres my luggage?? | Dec 17, 2011
This past summer I went from Vancouver to LA to Chicago (my home
destination. I had a bad connection at LA to Chicago due to a late
flight by the Vancouver to LA airline company. NOT UNITED. Now let
me state a few facts. I am a cardiac patient so I have to rest
every now and then while walking long distances, especially
between gates. Anyway, I thought I was late arriving at my gate to
Chicago. But in reality had plenty of time. United kept paging me
to pick up a courtesy phone in the terminal. I couldn’t find one.
So I walked as fast as I could to the Chicago bound gate. By the
time I reached the gate I was panting and puffing enough to cause
another grabber. Showed the agent my ticket and went up the ramp.
I was stopped by (2) airline personnel and was told that I would
have to “gate check” one of my (2) carryons. (You are allowed 2 if
one is a computer bag or smaller). I said I cannot gate check this
bag because it contains all of my company’s electronic equipment
worth thousands of dollars. BAD FRIGGIN’ MISTAKE !! The personnel
said it needed to be checked because the flight is totally full
and all space is taken in the bins. I stated my position again.
They stated theirs. It happened a 3rd time…they however assured
me that my bag would be waiting at the carousel with all my other
luggage. Needless to say when I got to the carousel, my (2) other
luggage bags weren’t there either or my promised ramp checked
carry on. Now these baggage people know that if you carry on a
bag, there must be something valuable in there. We’ll there
was…cameras, lenses, memory cards, internet gizmos, laptop, etc
etc…everything was electronics to the tune of $5,300.00 value. I
filed the claim and because this was considered an international
flight, airlines only need to pay pennies on the dollar up to
about 30% maximum. If it is a domestic flight, they pay up to
$3,500 based on your claim. So what did I learn on this trip….
1. Airlines are allowed to pay less in lost claims if its an
international flight.
2.ALWAYS, ask for your ramp checked bag ON THE RAMP. Don’t leave
without it.
3. Never agree to picking up your ramp check bag at the carousel.
4. File claims for lost luggage asap with the carousel agent or
your claim will be denied.
5. Save receipts for electronic equipment you buy.
6. Never ever fly UNITED OR THEIR AFFILIATES.
A MESSAGE TO ALL THE UNITED THIEVES…
YOU GUYS ARE PATHETIC. YOU THINK THAT ALL THE LUGGAGE FLOWING
THROUGH YOUR HANDS IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL SHOPPING MALL. YOU THIEVES
ARE HARD TO CATCH BECAUSE THE LUGGAGE IN YOUR HAND COULD BE
CONSIDERED PART OF YOUR JOB DUTIES EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE STEALING
IT. SOMEDAY, HOPEFULLY YOU WILL GET CAUGHT AND LOSE YOUR JOB. BUT
I HOPE IT’S WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR UPPER 50′S CLOSE TO RETIREMENT SO
YOU HAVE TO STRUGGLE WITH PAYING HIGH COBRA HEALTH INSURANCE AND
HAVE 5 YEARS LEFT ON YOUR HOUSE AND LOSE IT BECAUSE YOU CANNOT PAY
YOUR BILLS. YES, I AM BITTER FOR ALL THE HEADACHES YOU GAVE
ME…BUT YOU HAVE FUN WHILE YOU CAN.TECHNOLOGY WILL CHANGE TO
CATCH YOU.