Help! I've Just Arrived for a Two Week Trip and I Can't Find My Suitcase

I've been flying around this country since 1995 and in and out of Europe since 1999. I've heard absolute horror stories about lost luggage and destroyed luggage. In all the years I've been traveling I've never permanently lost a suitcase, although I've arrived without them three times and have had them damaged four times. Yes, the Samsonite Gorilla really does exist and he seems to really like to fly in the hold of the KLM puddle jumper from Amsterdam to Brussels. That's where three of my damages took place.

The first time I arrived without my suitcase, was our first trip into Brussels. We arrived. But the suitcase came by another route. We were directed to the office that was designated for that particular airline. Each airline has a lost luggage office in the baggage claim area. I was asked to fill out a lost luggage report form about my suitcase. I was told to identify the specific item, its size, shape, color and brand if I knew it. I was also asked to note down my location in Brussels. Then I was informed that as soon as they had located it, they would deliver it to our hotel. Which they did that evening. Our hotel was about 45 minutes from the airport.

The next time, I was sitting on the runway in Amsterdam since our gate was not yet vacated by the earlier flight. we'd already been delayed in Brussels due to bad weather in Amsterdam, waiting for our flight to arrive from Amsterdam. As I sat in my seat I watched as the luggage handlers unloaded the plane. I then saw both of my suitcases loaded onto a cart and taken to the wrong plane. But I didn't have time to say anything since our plane was moving toward the gate and I had to run as fast as I could to even get on my next flight.

I arrived in Detroit customs without any of my luggage. This was the only time that I've ever been treated kindly in Detroit's customs. They assigned a person to me and they escorted me to my airline's baggage office. I was told to fill out a lost luggage claim form describing my suitcases in shape, color, size and brand and to note down my contact information. They promised me that they would relay the information to their local airline office in my home airport. They promised me that as soon as they found the missing luggage they would deliver it to my home. When I arrived in Tampa I went to the local airline lost luggage office and was informed the they had
already been given my information and that they would deliver my luggage as soon as they had found it. The next afternoon they delivered both pieces to our front door. Depending upon traffic we are 30 to 45 minutes from the airport.

The third time my luggage went missing I went through London on my way to Brussels. When I arrived in Heathrow, they'd mislaid my reservation. It wasn't in their system. So I had to go to my airline counter for them to manually locate it. Which took some time. When I arrived in Brussels, my checked suitcase did not arrive with me. This particular office I went to wasn't in baggage claim. I was directed to another floor and desk.
When I went to them, they told me that it was common for Heathrow to lose reservations and luggage. They filled out a claim form for me and told me that as soon as my suitcase was located they would deliver it to one of my friend's homes where I would be staying.

Five days later, when I was supposed to be going somewhere that day, I was instead, waiting at my friend's home receiving my long separated suitcase. Wearing the same pair of jeans for 7 days is quite an experience. I also had to come up with other ways to dress for some of the dressy occasions I needed to be in since my shoes were in the suitcase. The airport is over an hour from my friend's home. Next time I consider going to London I think I'll fly into Brussels and take the train through the chunnel to London.

There were also several times when I thought my luggage was missing. But when I went to the lost luggage office I found that my suitcase had arrived before me and was already sitting there waiting for me to claim it. Sometimes all I had to do was pick it up and take it. Other times I was required to show proof that it was my suitcase. I'm so glad that I'm careful to keep track of my baggage claim slip.

There was also one time when we were put in the wrong gate in Italy and were put on our plane a half hour after it was supposed to have taken off. When we arrived in Amsterdam we had missed our flight home. We were directed to go to a specific desk that dealt with these issues. They kept our checked luggage and put us up in the airport hotel, gave us meal vouchers and supplied us with missing toiletries.

Note: The listed websites in this article also have specific solutions to pursue if your luggage doesn't arrive in a certain time frame. Since I've never had that experience I can't tell you how well they fulfill their promises.

Sources:

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/traveltools/baggage/damagedbags.html

https://www.delta.com/baggage/landing.action

http://www.nwa.com/travel/luggage/delayed.html

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/baggage/delayed.aspx

http://www.klm.com/travel/us_en/travel_information/customer_support/delayed_baggage/index.htm