Photo: Dave Herholz, Flickr
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. 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?
Not all airlines offer passengers the same protections or reimbursements — not by a long shot. Compensation varies from a $3,500 rebate to nothing at all. Here’s what you can expect if your airline breaks your bags, according to the airlines’ official policy:
Delta | 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. Additionally, if Delta places the blame with the TSA and federal & state agents, you’re probably not going to receive any compensation.
United | Full disclosure, I have a bit of personal experience here. 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. 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. The fine print changes a bit for international flights, but is still mighty generous. International checked bags that incur harm will fetch you up to $640, with unchecked bags covered up to $400.
United warns that wear and tear won’t be their responsibility, again with wheels, feet and extending handles falling outside of accepted responsibility. Though despite that, the airline was happy to repair my broken wheel. Check out United’s handy infographic for how to report a damage claim.
American | 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. 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. 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.
Southwest | Southwest gives you just a 4 -hour window to report damage, or all bets are off. And even then, the airline accepts no responsibility for any baggage in the passenger cabin of the plane. Yeesh.
jetBlue | Similar to Southwest, jetBlue gives passengers just 4 hours to report a broken bag. The airline provides no information about liability, reimbursements or what damage it considers itself on the hook for. But hey, at least jetBlue has an online baggage incident tracker.
Alaska & Horizon Airlines | This duo puts the onus not only of liability, but of ownership on the passenger in the event of a damaged suitcase. 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.
For 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 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.
Spirit | Vague is the name of the game at Spirit. As in, the airline’s entire damaged baggage policy consists of about 4 sentences. Domestic passengers have 4 hours to report damage (in writing), while international flights will score you a whole week to do the same. But get this: all claims must then be sent via postal mail to the company’s Luggage Resolution Department. Spirit offers no information at all about reimbursement ceilings, or even what happens next after mailing in your report.
Allegiant Air | Allegiant’s damaged luggage policy reads as cheeky at best, but downright snarky if we’re being honest: “Luggage by nature is designed to protect its contents and provide suitable protection for the contents of the luggage. Allegiant Air is not responsible for any damage to luggage that does not impair this ability.” Oh really? Tell me more.
“Allegiant Air will not accept liability for damage to a bag not attributed to the negligence of Allegiant Air, including without limitation where the damage is inconsistent with the type of damage typically caused by airlines.” Well, OK then.
Allegiant’s policy gets stranger still. Don’t even think about filing a claim for damage to your bags caused by natural fur products, blueprints, silverware or “irreplaceable items”. They won’t be covered, nor will a rather extensive list of other items that will null any liability Allegiance assumes. Buried in the small print is the same $3,500 figure that some of the other airlines toss around in terms of reimbursement, but with a policy several times longer than its peers, you may just give up before ever filing a claim.
Virgin America | Virgin has some serious restrictions that travelers should know about in advance (including, like Allegiant, damaged silverware). For starters, the airline assumes zero responsibility for all carry-on luggage, but Buddy Pass passengers and anyone traveling on a reduced rate ticket also forfeit any claim in the event of damaged bags. In the event that your damaged items fall outside of these non-negotiable parameters, you’ve got just four hours to return to the company’s Baggage Service Office within the airport to present your belongings for assessment.