I Done Messed Up the Bags Again

The bright orange Kenneth Cole suitcase circled the baggage claim carousel at Dallas Love Field with what looked similar an antenna.

A piece of wire was all that remained of the retractable handle on the hardside bag.

I pushed information technology into the Southwest Airlines baggage claim part to file a claim, brusk on time and unsure of what came next.  Information technology was the showtime time an airline damaged my bag. Delayed bags, I knew the drill. Lost bags, besides, as an airline permanently lost a bag of mine several years ago.

Here's what I learned: Travelers have options when it comes to damaged bags, and knowing your rights will put you in a better position to resolve the claim.

If you take a claim, that is. An airline's definition of impairment, backed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, may differ significantly from a passenger's definition. Normal wear and tear, including scratches, scuff marks, stains, dents and dirt, are non covered.

Every airline damaged purse policy has a disclaimer about normal wear and tear. And it applies even if yous bought the suitcase the nighttime before your flight or are checking a designer bag.

"If y'all have a Louis Vuitton (pocketbook) and it goes through the (conveyor) chugalug system, it is not white glove service,'' said Lisa Ouimette, an analyst in American Airlines' central baggage services role. "These are chugalug loaders. If y'all have a brand new bag, look it to have normal habiliment and tear.''

Airlines also reserve the correct to deny claims to passengers with damage caused by overstuffed bags, such as cleaved zippers, besides equally poor quality bags and bags that were damaged when checked in.

So what is covered?

Harm to baggage components including wheels, handles, straps and other glaring problems, such equally holes or a cracked hardside bag, are covered. The latter is a big problem in cold conditions, Ouimette said. (So are removable straps, which regularly get stuck in the bag loading systems, and so take them off, she said.)

"We anticipate harm and when it does happen, we take a program in place to take care of our customers,'' she said.

Rider rights if an airline damages your bag

More 87 per centum of U.S. travelers don't file claims against airlines post-obit an event with lost, damaged or delayed luggage, according to a survey earlier this year by AirHelp, a service that helps passengers become compensation for claims against airlines. The three main reasons: They didn't call up they would be entitled to compensation, they were not aware of their rights and they did non know how to file a claim.

Airlines are responsible for repairing or reimbursing a passenger for damaged baggage and/or its contents when the impairment occurs while the bag is under the airline's command, co-ordinate to the U.S. Section of Transportation's Aviation Consumer Protection division.

The cheapest option for airlines is a bag repair. Many use Dallas-based Rynn's Baggage, which bills itself every bit the largest airline luggage repair and replacement service in the country.

If a bag cannot be repaired, it will be replaced with a like bag or passengers will exist reimbursed. The reimbursement is based on the value of the handbag and its depreciation, the DOT says, subject to liability limits.

For flights within the United States, the maximum liability for a lost, delayed or damaged bag is $3,500. The limit on international flights, per the Montreal Convention, is about $ane,600, the agency says.

Airlines are complimentary to pay more merely there is no requirement to practise so, according to the DOT.

That doesn't mean you're going to get $3,500 or anything shut to it if a bicycle fell off your bag or your handle was destroyed. (The higher limits more often than not apply to a lost suitcase total of pricey personal belongings.)

My suitcase wasn't new and had enough of scuffs, simply the cleaved retractable handle was clearly a large trouble. I worried that Delta Air Lines, which I was flying the adjacent day out of Dallas, wouldn't accept it, or would have me sign a waiver absolving them of whatsoever liability should it get further damaged.

Southwest luggage representatives in Dallas were friendly and atoning and didn't doubt I needed a new pocketbook. Just they were clearly trying to limit their liability. (I never  place myself as a travel reporter for fear of getting special treatment, a violation of our ethics policy.)

They asked how old my bag was, where I purchased it and how much I paid for it. They took photos and went to a back room computer to search for a like handbag online. They couldn't find one, or only found heavily discounted bags. I didn't call up how much my bag was or where I purchased it but estimated it at between $150 and $200.  A repair never came upwards.

Then, in a move that surprised me, they wheeled out a couple new bags about the aforementioned size as my bag. Ane was a hardside handbag, the other a traditional suitcase, and both had spinner wheels and a retractable handle, similar mine. The hardside bag wouldn't fit all of my stuff and both bags looked relatively cheap, so I initially passed.

American's Ouimette said airlines keep and so-called stock numberless on mitt for cases where passengers immediately need a new bag. She ordered a bunch for American for the busy vacation flavor. Many passengers dearest them because their damaged pocketbook is older and they are thrilled to get a new one.

I was pickier and wanted something decent for the hassle.

Southwest said they would reimburse me if I bought a new bag and brought a receipt for a like pocketbook on my way out of Dallas the next morning. I didn't take time to shop during my 24-hour visit and needed a suitcase, then somewhen decided to take them up on the stock purse.

In the middle of the baggage claim office, I unpacked my broken purse and transferred everything to the new softside bag.

I wheeled it out of the part and into the corridor heading to the airport'due south Uber pick-up expanse. I didn't make it. The wheels kept circling, sending me a couple steps back for every step forrad.

I fumbled my mode back to the baggage claim function and told them the bag didn't work. They were atoning, again. I repacked everything into the broken purse and pushed it through the corridor and headed out.

Southwest said they would reimburse me for whatever purse I bought, never setting a price limit. I didn't purchase ane in Dallas; a generous friend I was staying with gave me a big suitcase they were no longer using.

But before Christmas, enticed past the offer of free expedited shipping, I bought a bag I'd had my eye on, a $245 Away acquit-on bag . It was nowhere most as large every bit the Kenneth Cole i Southwest broke, but my friend'south bag took care of my large-bag needs and I was in desperate need of a sturdy new deport-on pocketbook.

My claim was finally resolved the solar day afterward Christmas in Phoenix. I landed at Sky Harbor International Aerodrome after midnight and headed to the baggage claim office while waiting for bags to arrive later my flight from Providence.

I submitted my receipt for $260, which included taxes. Information technology took the agents time to find my claim considering I didn't have my "damage incident report'' and they were having calculator issues.

A supervisor offered $200, a figure noted in my report by the Dallas agents. I told her they said to buy whatever handbag and bring the receipt, no money figure mentioned, due to my hassles with the stock purse.

"We'll split the difference, how's that?'' she asked.

At ane a.one thousand., I walked out of the role with a cheque for $225.

5 things to do if an airline damages your bag

i. Head to the baggage claim part immediately if possible. You accept up to 24 hours to report a claim for domestic flights and seven days for international flights on most carriers, though policies vary past airline. Southwest and JetBlue require claims within four hours; Frontier, 12 hours.  It's easiest to exercise in person, having everything documented on-site instead of spending time on the phone and uploading claim documents online. Plus, you lot might exist offered a replacement handbag on the spot if y'all're not picky about a new purse.

2. Don't rip off your luggage tags. The airline will demand them.

3. Be at-home and courteous. A banged-upward bag is a bad mode to begin or cease a trip, merely blasting the baggage claim representative for a missing wheel or hole in your bag isn't going to assistance your merits or go information technology resolved more quickly.

4.  Know the gauge value of your bag and where you lot purchased information technology to give you some negotiating leverage in case of reimbursement.

five. Jot downwards names of airline representatives and details discussed and stay on peak of the claims process if it's not resolved immediately. Airlines effect a claim number and updates tin can be institute online. Not getting the answers you desire? Ask to talk to someone in the aerodrome office where you lot submitted the merits or a representative in the airline's fundamental baggage services office.

Major airline policies on damaged bags:

Alaska Airlines

Allegiant Air

American Airlines

Delta Air Lines

Frontier Airlines

JetBlue Airways

Southwest Airlines

Spirit Airlines

United Airlines

More:Travel nightmares: What to do if you miss your flying

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Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2019/01/07/airlines-damage-checked-baggage-passenger-rights/2237648002/