Passengers Battle Airlines Over Fees for Lost Luggage
It's bad enough that passengers get socked with up to to $120 in fees for checking just two bags on round-trip domestic flights. But what about if the airline loses the luggage, damages it, or delivers it days, even weeks late? What is the airline's legal and financial responsibility?
Some miffed passengers are filing suits, claiming that they deserve a refund since baggage fees were assessed and the luggage didn't arrive when they did. One lawsuit was filed recently in California claiming breach of contract, "unjust enrichment" and of course, detrimental reliance (the passenger relied on the airline, in this case US Airways, to the passenger's detriment).
There is also a pending $5 million class-action suit against American, filed in the state of Washington. In that action, the plaintiff, Danielle Covarrubias, claims that American is reaping significant profits from the practice of charging to check bags, but with that charge comes an obligation to perform the service. If not, that fee should be returned.
Airlines, meanwhile, are fighting back, claiming they never promise on-time baggage delivery, nor do they guarantee in their contracts of carriage refunds in instances of delayed luggage.
The stakes for losing this legal battle are high. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the first half of 2010, U.S. airlines mishandled (lost, delayed or damaged) 3.68 bags per 1,000 passengers, or more than a million bags total. The good news? That's an improvement over the same period the year before (4.15 bag per 1,000).
Official Airline Liability for Lost Luggage: Not Much
In the days when the airlines checked bags for no fees, the Department of Transportation rules kicked in when it came to liability for lost, delayed or damaged bags. Reimbursement for passengers on domestic flights was capped at $3,300 per incident. The limit is also based on the depreciated value of a bag's contents, not the replacement cost, and there is a lengthy list of exclusions. Each airline outlines its liability in its contract of carriage. (Here are major airline's policies: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and US Airways.) Internationally, liability varies as determined by Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention.
More often than not, passengers don't see cash. A "settlement" will almost always be offered in the form of airline vouchers, with dollar amounts to be used against future airline flights.
And if the airline simply delays your bag, the passenger may be entitled to purchase essential items for the trip -- like clothing, toothpaste, et al., but each airline differs on what dollar limits it places on each passenger.
And often the airlines outsource the delivery of the bag(s), which means that your bags -- and others -- are loaded into a van, the driver is given a list and off he goes. These delivery services are not given any real direction as to how to prioritize that bag delivery system. As a result, if you're a business traveler with a hard and fast itinerary, your bags may end up trying to catch up to you for days -- and in some cases, two weeks! (This has happened to me).
These new lawsuits are pushing for additional airline liability. But will they succeed?
You may remember when the New York State legislature unanimously passed an airline passenger bill of rights law. The airlines quickly ran to federal court and got the law invalidated, claiming that under federal deregulation, individual U.S. states have no jurisdiction to rule on or regulate airlines. That claim was upheld. The same may happen here.
Solutions to Lost, Delayed and Damaged Luggage
Until the courts sort this out, what recourse do travelers have? A few.
Assuming you charged your checked bag fee to a credit card, you can often dispute that charge with your credit card issuer, the claim being you contracted for a service you did not receive.
Of course, you can always do what I do. I courier my luggage ahead of time on domestic flights. (I use FedEx, but there are several other services that also do this door-to-door job). And for about $20 more than what the airlines want to charge me to lose or delay my bags, I save about two and a half hours of my life every time I travel by using that courier service. Something to think about.
Do you have a way of getting around airline baggage fees? What do you think the airlines' responsibilities are when it comes to delivering luggage on time and in one piece?
Photo courtesy of Flickr user MelvinSchlubman.
Related:
What if the Airlines Really Wanted to Make You Happy? A New Year's Resolution Fantasy
How to Avoid all Those Extra Airline Fees
NBTA's Airline CEO Panel on Travel Outlook and Bag Fees
