Shocking Allegation: Air Italia Temporarily Lost Baggage: No Compensation
- From: Robert Cohen <robtcohen@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:40:25 -0700
and a rational reason for avoiding a not so idyllic tuscany vacation,
while, yeah, have insurance if you fly, because it apparently
frequently occurs all over the world
----------- Practical Traveler | Air Travel
When Lost Bags Put You on a Carousel
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
Published: August 19, 2007
FOR a vacation to Italy in June, Dominique Linchet had packed
everything she thought her family of four would need when they
arrived: toiletries, bathing suits, dental retainers. But when they
stepped off their Alitalia flight in Rome, the suitcases they had
checked were missing.
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and being reassured by an Alitalia employee that they would be
reimbursed for half of the expenses incurred because of the delay, the
family frantically shopped for bare necessities.
"Underwear is not easy to find in Rome," said Ms. Linchet, an
associate professor of French from Birmingham, Ala., "except for the
high-end kind." Finding clothes that would fit her husband, whom she
describes as "a big American guy," proved difficult as well. "It
wasn't like going to an American mall and finding what we need at the
Gap," she said.
The Linchets ultimately spent 2,300 euros (about $3,250 at $1.41 to
the euro) on everything from bathing suits to tennis gear as the days
passed and the bags remained lost. "I think we were pretty good at
just buying what we needed," Ms. Linchet said. "At the same time, we
had to buy enough so we could have a nice week of vacation." She
added, "When you think about it, 2,300 euros for four people is not
outrageous, but it was about $3,000 more than we had planned on
spending."
Finally, nine days into the trip, the Linchets were reunited with all
of their luggage, thanks in large part to repeated visits to the
airport to search for their belongings.
But as August wore on, they still hadn't yet received any compensation
for their inconvenience in June. "What is the airlines' responsibility
in such a situation, and what are the travelers' options in making
sure that this responsibility is fulfilled?" Ms. Linchet said.
It's a question on many travelers' minds these days as reports of
mishandled luggage continue to increase. The top 20 domestic airlines
mishandled 7.92 checked bags per 1,000 passengers in June, higher than
both June 2006's 6.30 rate and May 2007's 5.93 mark, according to the
most recent Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the Transportation
Department.
The answer largely depends on the carrier. Most will pay for
reasonable expenses you incur while your bag is missing, but specifics
are often vague. For example, if you are traveling away from home on
United, its Web site says, it "may consider up to 50 percent
reimbursement of the necessities purchased, taking into account your
ability to use the new items in the future."
Other airlines state that they will attempt to return your luggage
within 24 hours but make no promises about reimbursing you for your
costs. Northwest is among the most straightforward. Its Web site
states that a customer whose luggage is delayed may request a free
toiletries kit at the airport and reimbursement for personal items
purchased as a result of the delay, limited to $50 for the first 24
hours and $25 for each additional day of delay, up to $150 per
ticketed passenger. Alitalia says it refunds all expenses incurred by
clients during the period they are without luggage. The airline is
investigating why Ms. Linchet has not yet received reimbursement.
Airlines are required to pay valid claims for luggage that is never
returned, but the Transportation Department doesn't specify how much.
In fact, liability rules favor the airlines, not the passengers. For a
trip within the United States, an airline can invoke a ceiling of
$3,000 a passenger on the amount of money it must pay, up from $2,800
before Feb. 28, according to the "Fly-Rights" guide of the
Transportation Department (airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publications/
flyrights.htm).
On international round trips that originate in the United States, the
allowable liability limit is set by a treaty called the Montreal
Convention at roughly $1,500, depending on the exchange rate of the
dollar against foreign currencies.
When Air France misplaced her bag for her entire weeklong trip in
Europe last month, Rebecca Bernstein, 13, from Bergen County, N.J.,
spent $564 to furnish herself with clothing, luggage and toiletries.
Her father, Peter A. Bernstein, a marketing communications consultant,
paid for the items and eventually received an apology letter and a
note saying he would be getting a check for the full cost.
BUT that was only after he made multiple long-distance calls to the
airline's Paris office (after being turned away by the stateside
customer service office), wrote a letter to the airline detailing the
issue, and eventually tracked down the assistant to an Air France
executive to hear his case.
"All in all, not exactly a ringing endorsement of Air France," Mr.
Bernstein said. His advice for getting the airline to pay up: Go
through the appropriate channels to start with. Keep a diary of what
you're told, and include the names of people you speak with. "If
that's unsatisfactory, call headquarters and ask to speak to the
secretary of whoever is in charge," he said. "Then you say, 'O.K.,
here's what I've done.' "
His daughter's lost bag eventually made its way to Mr. Bernstein after
she returned home. "A guy shows up in a station wagon loaded with bags
and proceeds to drop off a green bag," Mr. Bernstein recalled. "My
daughter's is black. I look at the guy and say, 'You've got to be
kidding. That's not her bag.' " Mr. Bernstein ended up digging the
right bag out of the back of the vehicle.
For those who don't mind paying for convenience, companies with names
like Luggage Express, Luggage Forward and Virtual Bellhop will pick up
and deliver bags, bypassing the airline baggage system altogether.
Prices vary depending on a bag's weight, destination and shipping
time.
Luggage Express charges an average of $89, for example, to send a
duffel bag weighing up to 40 pounds one way ahead within the United
States, with three to five days of shipping time. Overnight delivery
costs $137.
You can also buy travel insurance to protect yourself if your bag is
lost or delayed. American Express, for example, charges cardholders
$5.75 a trip for up to $500 against loss or damage to your checked or
carry-on bags and up to $200 for replacing personal items when bags
are delayed six hours or more.
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