Airlines Castigated Over Lost Baggage Claims

Some of the biggest ‘no-frills’ airlines, such as Shiteair and Crapjet, are the slowest to pay up when they lose or damage baggage, a report issued by the AUC has said.
The Air Transport Users Council study said passengers were being ‘fucked over royally’ when claiming compensation for lost luggage.

In the ‘no-frills’ words of AUC chairman Tina Tatswiller : "Airlines are still too quick to load the risk onto the passenger and their compensation packages really suck – they’re a complete and utter rip-off."

Airlines around the world 'mishandled' 42 million bags in 2007 and irretrievably lost more than ten million – most of which ended up either on a beach in Somalia or on Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf - being pecked at by penguins.

Carriers like Crapjet and Shiteair, with their simple point-to-point networks, were less likely to mislay baggage - but once lost, their passengers found it harder to get compensation, with the usual economy response being “Tough shit – now fuck off before we set the dogs on you.”

Complaints showed travellers were being asked for receipts for each item of lost luggage and its contents – most of which would be years old, according to the AUC report.
In other cases, airlines were taking into account the depreciating value of items and paying nickels and dimes for prime dollars-worth items.

The AUC said that, with the number of air travellers expected to double in the next decade, (current recession and personal financial insolvencies permitting) airlines could be mishandling as many as 70 million bags a year by 2015.

Shiteair "often limits passengers to £15 whatever the length of the bag delay" Japan’s Fuc-U airline "refuses to reimburse passengers for claims under £3,000".
A passenger claimed £1,120 for a lost bag and contents, but had no receipts, for which the airline paid £79.34.
A claim for a surfboard crushed during a flight totalled £768.99. The passenger was offered £66.95 because he had no receipt and the board already had a shark bite out of one end.

One passenger claimed that on arrival in Darfur his luggage was eaten by starving baggage handlers and he had to wander round in the same pair of skiddies for three months before he received a Sainsbury’s underwear department voucher for five hundred complimentary Nectar points as compensation.

Remember that timeless airline slogan : “Breakfast in London – Lunch in New York – Baggage in Bahrain.”

Has an airline ever lost your luggage? Has an airline ever lost your family? Have you ever wasted your time trying to get reimbursed for lost luggage - or family members?

Send us your comments using the form below : In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location and sent on to the airline responsible, who will most probably, and promptly, manage to lose the details en route to their destination.