![]() Domestic passengers have 4 hours to report damage ( in writing), while international flights will score you a whole week to do the same. As in, the airline's entire damaged baggage policy consists of about 4 sentences. Spirit | Vague is the name of the game at Spirit. But there is a glimmer of hope: Alaska and Horizon will accept credit card statements as proof of purchase, so with a bit of research, you should be able to find the line item in question. Alaska requires passengers to return their baggage claim stub (The original sticker provided when you check in), proof that the value of the bag exceeds $200, and proof that you even own the bag.įor those of you who don't necessarily hold onto years-old receipts for your luggage, you're essentially out of luck when flying with these two. But hey, at least jetBlue has an online baggage incident tracker.Īlaska & Horizon Airlines | This duo puts the onus not only of liability, but of ownership on the passenger in the event of a damaged suitcase. The airline provides no information about liability, reimbursements or what damage it considers itself on the hook for. JetBlue | Similar to Southwest, jetBlue gives passengers just 4 hours to report a broken bag. And even then, the airline accepts no responsibility for any baggage in the passenger cabin of the plane. Southwest | Southwest gives you just a 4 -hour window to report damage, or all bets are off. So if your overstuffed carry-on was ripped or dropped by a flight attendant, you won't be receiving a payout unless your bag actually fits into the measurement bin placed at the entrance to the gate. After filing a report, you have 30 days to present your luggage to the airline for repairs. In the event that AA does accept the blame for your bag, you can potentially be reimbursed up to $3,500 if you can prove that your bag met the strict requirements outlined in its baggage policies. Check out United's handy infographic for how to report a damage claim.Īmerican | If you want a shot at holding the airline responsible for breaking your bags, you must file a report within 24 hours of retrieving your baggage from the carousel. Though despite that, the airline was happy to repair my broken wheel. United warns that wear and tear won't be their responsibility, again with wheels, feet and extending handles falling outside of accepted responsibility. International checked bags that incur harm will fetch you up to $640, with unchecked bags covered up to $400. The fine print changes a bit for international flights, but is still mighty generous. And no wonder: United's damaged baggage policy is one of the best in the biz, reimbursing passengers fair market rates up to $3,500 per customer on domestic flights. United's baggage handlers broke a wheel off of my partner's roller bag, and while it took a bit of time after surrendering the suitcase to the airline, United did repair the bag and return it to us as good as new in the mail. ![]() United | Full disclosure, I have a bit of personal experience here. Additionally, if Delta places the blame with the TSA and federal & state agents, you're probably not going to receive any compensation. Here's what you can expect if your airline breaks your bags, according to the airlines' official policy:ĭelta | Passengers have 24 hours after a domestic flight to report damage to the airline, and 7 days when traveling abroad, but Delta strongly recommends seeing an agent before even leaving the airport if damage is discovered so your belongings can be evaluated and a damage report can be opened. Delta is vague on what it will do to make broken bags up to you, but does outsource repairs to Rynn's Luggage, where demoralized users can track the status of their repairs online. Delta passengers beware, the airline has an extensive list of questionable damages it simply will not cover even if employees are to blame, including broken wheels or feet, broken handles or straps, and cuts and scratches. Compensation varies from a $3,500 rebate to nothing at all. Not all airlines offer passengers the same protections or reimbursements - not by a long shot. Besides, there are plenty of ways to ensure you don't lose your luggage and a standard protocol to follow if your luggage does end up lost. But what about missing baggage's often ignored sibling, damaged baggage? What do you do if your bag shows up at the luggage carousel looking a lot worse for wear than when you dropped it off at the check-in desk? Airlines are losing less baggage than ever, and most bags do eventually turn up safe and sound, even if not quite when you expected them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |