Damn the Airlines to HELL...

[animal2b]

I was in Albequerque, NM flying to NYC. There was a 40 minute layover in Chicago, and then I was to board another plane and fly into La Guardia.

WELL, we land in NY, I go to baggage claim at 11pm and lo and behold... my luggage aint there. As in missing. Lost. Forgotten about. Could be in New Mexico...could be in Chicago...could be in Kenya for all I know.

So I'm pacing back and forth, furious, and I go into the baggage claim office where I'm greeted by a woman who is ANGRY AT ME from the getgo, shouting,

"SIR! EXCUSE ME, SIR! EXCUSE ME! PLEASE STAND OUTSIDE MY OFFICE UNTIL I AM READY FOR YOU, SIR. I WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION WHEN I CAN TAKE YOU!"

so I go outside and I'm waiting, furious, and finally, she waves me in and goes,

"What can I get you, sir?"
"A ham sandwich, you IDIOT. My suitcase is missing."
"Well, what did it look like?"
duh duh duh, it looked like a SUITCASE you dumbass.

So she tells me its been forgotten and is probably in Chicago and I should just go home and it will be delivered in the morning.

Well, its 6pm the next day and guess what, STILL no suitcase. I had over 100 dollars worth of electronic items in the suitcase, along with a 500 dollar suit, 100 dollar shoes, and all of my clothes and toiletries.

I come home, furious, and my mom, always the sunny optomistic one, says, "I'm sure they opened your bag and stole everything. It's gone."

So the lady at the airlines says they believe they found it, but it wont arrive for another 3 days. My toothbrush, socks, boxers, shirts, razor, medication, etc. is in my suitcase.

The airlines won't reimburse me for a suit, tie, shoes, etc. - which means cha-ching, lawsuit - however, they offer 25 dollars a day for necessary clothing.

what a hassle.

[Alperin]

On what grounds are you suing them? I'm sure when you purchased your ticket with them there was a clause that covered them in instances where they lose your bag. Unless you can prove gross negligence, which judging by your story you can not, you're out of luck.

[nutsy54]

Originally Posted by animal2b

which means cha-ching, lawsuit

Yeah, you go ahead and live in that dream world There are some very detailed requirements and responsibilities for airlines handling luggage and providing reimbursement if needed. I seriously doubt they've violated any of those regulations. Do you, in fact, even know what they are. . . ?

[fehzan]

I remember in August '05 they lost our bag for 1 1/2 months. Everything got delivered though, nothing stolen.

[animal2b]

Originally Posted by Alperin

On what grounds are you suing them? I'm sure when you purchased your ticket with them there was a clause that covered them in instances where they lose your bag. Unless you can prove gross negligence, which judging by your story you can not, you're out of luck.

you folks sure are literal. I obviously wont sue them as I have no grounds for a lwsuit. I'd say there was over 3000 dollars worth of clothing and electronic items and etc. in my suitcase, maybe some other stuff I don't feel like posting on the internet which brings the value of my missing suitcase to an even higher cost.

i'm sure theres some sort of insurance, but I can't imagine theres a law that allows them to be void of paying for missing luggage.

After all, how in the f*ck do you lose a SUITCASE?

I flew Southwest into terminal A8 in Chicago. The connecting flight was at terminal B26 on an airline called ATA. So, if you were smart, you'd assume that there were two compartments on the plane - one for the final destination of Chicago, and one for connecting flights. You would then assume that somebody from ATA would have a list saying, "Go to terminal A8 and pick up the luggage from compartment B which will go on ATA flight 4208. The person would then take the bags from Southwest to ATA and put them on the plane.

Easy enough, huh? But obviously some waterhead isn't that smart and because of him, my suitcase is now missing.

[nutsy54]

Originally Posted by animal2b

After all, how in the f*ck do you lose a SUITCASE?

I flew Southwest. . .

Asked and Answered

[animal2b]

Originally Posted by fehzan

I remember in August '05 they lost our bag for 1 1/2 months. Everything got delivered though, nothing stolen.

a month and a half?! Where the hell did it go? Who found it? Did they pay you for replacement clothes during the month and a half you lived w/o your luggage?

[fehzan]

Originally Posted by animal2b

a month and a half?! Where the hell did it go? Who found it? Did they pay you for replacement clothes during the month and a half you lived w/o your luggage?

It was lost internationally, but they couldn't track it. They that it was at the port of entrance in the US for the longest time... never showed up. 30 days in, had to send in a sheet that told every single item in there and it's price. I didn't have much clothing in there, alot of dvds, some toys for my brother, and maybe 2-3 pairs of pants along with 4 shirts. They never offered to re-imburse for clothing, if I didn't have any, I would complain. At home, I still had a closet full. We had about $5,000 USD worth of goods and that was an extra-incentive for them to find it, or else they would owe me $5,000 USD! haha...

[El Gilbro]

Unfortunately, there's no way for you to adequately prove to them what was in your suitcase and what it was worth. Even if you could, I imagine they'd do what most insurance companies do and say "Well, you paid $500 for the suit, but with depreciation we'll only give you $200 for it."

[SDFlip]

eh, don't stress it. just go out and buy some new ****.

i've had that happen to me recently, too ,superbowl sunday in fact. i'm in the military and i went to biloxi, ms for a class. we have to wear our uniforms to class and ALL of my things were who knows where.

so i have a class the next day at 6am and i have nothing with me except what i have on and my wallet. i could have stressed out about it, but what can i do?

instead i went to the casino, watched the game, got drunk..... when i got back to my hotel room at 4am my stuff was waiting for me in the lobby.

[SDFlip]

Originally Posted by El Gilbro

Unfortunately, there's no way for you to adequately prove to them what was in your suitcase and what it was worth. Even if you could, I imagine they'd do what most insurance companies do and say "Well, you paid $500 for the suit, but with depreciation we'll only give you $200 for it."

if you have a decent insurance policy, they will just replace the items for you.

i pay like $18 a month and if anything i own is lost, damaged, stolen, whatever, they will replace the item for an identical one.

[El Gilbro]

Originally Posted by SDFlipStyle

if you have a decent insurance policy, they will just replace the items for you.

i pay like $18 a month and if anything i own is lost, damaged, stolen, whatever, they will replace the item for an identical one.

That's cool. Is that a traveler's insurance or something? I was referring to any insurance that the airline would carry, not the traveler himself.

[SDFlip]

Originally Posted by El Gilbro

That's cool. Is that a traveler's insurance or something? I was referring to any insurance that the airline would carry, not the traveler himself.

no it's just regular property insurance. it covers all your belongings.

[animal2b]

well good news, people - they found my bag in chicago and it is en route to nyc as we speak. i'll have my belongings by midnight tonight.

[PRiSM92289]

good for you, next time don't go all anal and start cursing, I have had a back pack with my iPod video, wallet, cell phone, clothes stolen from me

$700 worth of stuff in total. that is a lifetime for a High School junior

What did I do? First I through a temper trantrum, then I went to the hospital where I volenteer and injected myself with 2mg of morphine