I flew home from key west (on a flight booked through united but flown by continental) last wednesday, the 31st, and what ensued after leaving key west is the worst travel experience i have ever had. we arrived in tampa to get a connecting flight (the rest of the trip was on united), totally exhausted from a little too much party the night before, and our flight was cancelled. we were told to reclaim our bags, and sent to a hotel. when we went to reclaim the bags, my friend's bag and my so and i's small bag were there, but my large bag which contained 75% of my summer wardrobe was not. at this point, we were not too concerned and the united baggage guy said many bags were missing and to check back in the am when we check in for our flight.
long story short (as i have to go to work), it has now been SIX DAYS and the bag is nowhere to be found. i have spent literally 5 hours on the phone with the airlines. neither continental or united knows where my bag is, and one airline tells me the other must have it. i'm so upset b/c all my favorite clothes were in there. stuff that is not replaceable. imagine -- your ENTIRE SUMMER WARDROBE plus a few seasonless items that are staples year round.
i know that in the grand scheme of things this is not a major tragedy. but it still sucks.
worse is that united's liability limit is $2800, and i have made a list of what i can remember was in the bag and it's value and it's way past that to replace it all. it was a big bag. it weighed 49 pounds. and it will probably take the airline months and lots of prodding to process my claim and actually get some $$ to buy new stuff.
i'm trying to stay positive and just keep calling everyone i possibly can hoping to get someone who will be able to figure this out.
OMG! I am so sorry. The bag has to be somewhere. It's not like it just disappeared into thin air. I would keep calling. Maybe you will eventually get someone who knows something.
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Oh god, I cannot even imagine. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I say keep trying - how can a bag just disappear? I don't get it. Good luck - I hope this works out for you. I'd be so upset if an airline lost all my stuff - you're right, it's not replaceable. (((hugs)))
That sucks! I hope you get it back soon! There is an article in this months Consumer Reports on what to do and what your rights are if an airline loses your luggage. PM me if you want it. I can fax it to you or drop it in the mail. HTH
cricket, i'll look for that consumer reports and if i can't find it, i'll def. pm you.
i have been fortunate to get people on the phone the past few times i've called that have been in this dept. of united for a while and therefore could offer me more help, suggestions, and a little reassurance that the bag will show up eventually. it just sucks waiting ... do i shop for new stuff ... with money i don't have since i spent sooo much in key west ... which initially was not appealing but today when i was close to shops seemed like a great idea ...
mara -- i'm glad to hear you know people that got the bags back after a few weeks. it's amazing how many bags people have lost out there. the guy was going through his computer and reading me every brown bag and there were tons.
I recently watched something on the news about airlines losing luggage. They only pay the value of items as being used, not new retail price. Also, they rarely ever pay even close to the liability limit. So hopefully your bag will show up.
I recently watched something on the news about airlines losing luggage. They only pay the value of items as being used, not new retail price. Also, they rarely ever pay even close to the liability limit. So hopefully your bag will show up.
I saw something about this too. Apparently there is an unclaimed luggage store in GA where you can go and buy stuff from people's unclaimed baggage.
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for you e doli
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I'm so sorry! That really sucks. If it makes you feel better, the same thing happened to my roommate last summer when he was flying back from europe. So he submitted a claim, and they approved something like $1800, and then he challenged it, and THEN all of a sudden they found his bag, after FOUR MONTHS. So don't give up hope on the bag - they may be able to find it. Big hugs! I know it's really upsetting...
Wow! That really sucks! But I can say you're not alone. One summer I went on a student program to Taiwan for 6.5 weeks. I flew Business Class and had the flight attendant spill drinks on me (luckily I had 1 extra pair of jeans in my carry-on.
After going through customs, I came out to never find my bag. more likely than not it was stolen. But like you, I had a massive wardrobe in there - cocktail dresses, new summer wardrobe, new underwear, etc - I basically brought everything so I wouldn't have to do laundry more than once or twice. Even after I itemized each thing and easy to do so since they were new and fresh in mym memory - the total was a few thousand dollar$. BUT, China Airlines would only reimburse (maximum) $600.
I have to say it took a few months to get that check and I had to buy all new clothes (save for my one pair of jeans).
My advice. List absolutely EVERY item you can remember with est dates when you puchased - provide reciepts if you have them, and get the MAXIMUM you can get.
It really does suck, but they say one of the best ways you can tell a person's character is how they react to lost/stolen luggage. I still had a great trip and now more careful to pack valuables on my carryon. (as well as a couple of outfits).
I am SOOO sorry. I think you are handling this remarkably well. I would be in tears. I agree w/ heatherlynn though, don't give up, it has to be somewhere. just keep your chin up and maybe buy yourself a little something as consolation in the meantime. we'll be pulling for you so keep us updated as well.
Vivi -- that sounds like such a nightmare. i can't believe they only gave you $600. i guess that's something to check out when deciding what to put in your checked baggage. if it comes down to it, at least united has a $2800 limit, and believe me i will be digging out every ounce of proof of the retail value of my stuff.
dizzy -- out of curiosity, what airline lost your roommate's luggage?
that unclaimed baggage store just sounds wrong to me (maybe i'm just extra sensitive ) what if there's some kind of scam going on where the baggage people pull bags that look like they might have good stuff in them and sell them to the unclaimed baggage store? there are multiple locations in the south -- www.unclaimedbaggagecenter.com .
again, thanks everyone for your thoughts and i'll let you know how things turn out.