Lost Luggage: Tips to Minimize the Risk, Receive Proper Compensation

It feels like air travel has never been as fraught as it today, with the end of pandemic restrictions inspiring more Americans to fly than ever before. The conditions they’ve encountered, however, have been challenging – high ticket prices, short-staffed airlines and even in-flight confrontations among passengers and between passengers and crew. The friendly skies can sometimes seem anything but.

These conditions also have led to a sharp increase in the rate of lost luggage, with media reports regularly featuring images of mounds of mis-routed suitcases and lots of frustrated customers. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the chances your bag will go missing or, absent that, will receive just compensation for your luggage and its contents.

Minimize the Risk: There are things you can do to avoid lost luggage besides the most obvious strategy of not checking a bag at all. You can prioritize nonstop flights, avoid flying with multiple airlines, get to the airport extra early and take a photo of your bag. That way, if it does end up getting lost, you’ll have photographic proof of any important contents that you’ll want to later claim compensation for.

Take the Initiative: Consumers must always act as their own best advocates when dealing with corporate America and the airlines are no different. The moment you realize your bag has not arrived, go directly to the airline’s baggage desk and have the customer service representatives see if they can locate it. After all, your luggage might have been delayed but will arrive on a later flight or perhaps arrived early and was placed in a separate holding area. Always get the facts first.

Compensation: If your bag is missing, it’s time to file a claim. Filing a claim starts the clock for when you’ll be able to claim compensation. If your luggage has been missing for between five to 14 days, you’re entitled to reimbursement of the missing bag and its contents, up to $3,800 for domestic flights and $1,780 for international flights.

Insurance at a Premium: If you purchased travel insurance, read through all the terms regarding luggage. After you have filed a claim with the airline, always double check for any additional claims that can be made on your insurance.

Keep Those Receipt: Lost luggage not only disrupts vacation plans by stranding people without their belongings, but it also forces travelers to spend money on new things. The good news is you may be entitled to reimbursement for those items as long as your purchases are reasonable. Thus it is imperative you keep receipts for any purchases you had to make as a result of the missing bag, including clothes and toiletries.

Be Vigilant: If the airline is dragging its feet on providing compensation for a missing bag, don’t be afraid to file a complaint with the federal Department of Transportation. The agency’s Air Travel Service Complaint or Comment Form allows travelers to flag bad airline service as it relates to baggage, as well as other issues, like refund practices, discrimination, overbooking, family seating and more. You might also try getting the airline’s attention through social media.

At Harmony Communities, we feel strongly that each resident has a sense of home. That they come home from work and feel pride in their environment and in their place in the greater community. That families are comfortable raising children in our neighborhoods, and that couples and singles know that they belong to something bigger than their four walls. In other words, we seek to create harmony within each community, making our communities not just passable, but peaceful, safe, functional, and beautiful.