Have you ever arrived at your destination to watch other passengers on your flight retrieve their luggage at “Baggage Claim,” except you? You got that sinking feeling that your bag was lost forever?
Was it lost forever, or did you eventually get it? Did the airline reimburse you for items you had to purchase while you waited for them to find your bag?
Susan Miller, according to a lawsuit she’s filed against Delta Air Lines, for breach of contract, had her baggage delayed last year, and she’s still trying to get reimbursed for the moderate expenses she incurred for purchasing essential items, due to the delay.
According to the December, 2011, Air Travel Consumer Report, Delta alone had 15,693 mishandled baggage reports for October, 2011, the last month reported, so if you’re like Susan you’re likely in good company.
Miller stated she flew on Delta from Miami to Las Vegas in November, 2010. Upon arrival at McCarran International, she discovered Delta had lost her baggage. According to her class action law suit, Susan Miller v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., Case No. 22-cv-10099, Miller was left without any warm clothing and other essentials.
According to the suit, Miller spent less than $350 to buy toiletries, medication, some clothing and other items, but when she tried to obtain reimbursement from Delta, they told her passengers were entitled to no more than $50 per day in expenses. Her bag was found a couple of days later.
The class action lawsuit alleging breach of contract and consumer fraud asserts that Delta “uniformly and systematically” misleads passengers into believing they are only entitled to $25–$50 in daily expenses when their bags are delayed, but that government regulations and Delta’s “Contract of Carriage” require the airline to pay as much as $3,300 per passenger for delayed luggage expenses.
I examined Delta’s “Contract of Carriage” for US domestic flights, to directly see what they say about their liability for delayed, damaged, or lost luggage?
Section I., Baggage Liability, part 1., entitled “General Limitation of Liability For Loss of, Damage to, or Delay in Delivery of Baggage” states, in part,
Delta’s liability for the loss of, damage to, or delay in the delivery of a fare-paying passenger’s personal property … shall be limited to proven damage or loss. Actual value for reimbursement of lost or damaged property shall be determined by the documented original purchase price less any applicable depreciation for prior usage. Under no circumstances shall the liability for loss of, damage to, or delay in the delivery of baggage exceed $3,300 per fare-paying passenger unless the passenger elects to declare a higher value in advance and pay for excess valuation as provided below …
So, Delta states their limit of liability is $3,300, per passenger, not $25–$50 per day. In fact, I can find no daily loss limitation in Delta’s “Contract of Carriage,” the document which controls the legal relationship between Delta and its passengers.
I’ve found, in general, US domestic airline liability is all governed by very similar provisions in all the airlines’ various “Contracts of Carriage,” so we all can learn from the problem Miller encountered, when flying in the US.
Delta’s liability obligation is not absolute, so we must examine the “Contract of Carriage” further.
As a practical matter, passengers must prove they actually checked a bag(s) with their airline, so when you get your baggage receipt(s) for checked luggage, put it in a safe place. You may need it later.
Delta requires you to make an initial claim for lost or delayed luggage within 24 hours of the loss. Written notification of the loss must then be presented to Delta within 21 days of the loss.
United Airlines suggests filing an initial baggage claim before leaving the airport. I follow that advice to protect my reimbursement rights. I always make sure I get a receipt of the claim with claim number.
Luggage and contents’ damage can be hidden. It may take a while to realize some items are missing from your bags. I use numbered luggage “Privaseals,” or TSA approved locks with “tell-tales,” so I’ll likely know if anyone’s been in my bags while in transit. If they indicate the bags were opened,, I search through them at the airport before leaving, and immediately report any loss.
Delta like the other US domestic airlines doesn’t accept liability for fragile, perishable, or precious (valuable) items. If Miller had put in a claim for damage or a loss of a computer, camera, glass, musical instrument, jewelry, etc., Delta could have legitimately denied that part of her claim.
Always pack fragile, perishable, or valuable items in your carry-on to prevent their loss or damage.
Delta, like other airlines, requires “proof” of loss, and value documentation. I have an electronic packing list(s) in my smartphone, I use to ensure I take the proper clothes, etc., I need while traveling. I use the list to create a loss list for the airline.
For the claims I’ve made to the airlines, I had my list of missing belongings with estimated original purchase prices and purchase dates, notarized. The airlines have accepted this, including a Delta claim made several years ago. The airlines may or may not require your list to be notarized.
Reviewing the rules, it appears as though Delta should have promptly paid Miller’s claim, based on their “Contract of Carriage.”
If your luggage is delayed, damaged, or lost, it’s important you know the rules for making a claim with your airline, and follow them precisely. If you do, you may be able to avoid the problems encountered by Susan Miller.
(There are too many other specific rules, about airline luggage and specific belongings’ liability, which are to numerous to be covered in this article.)
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
