When an airline loses your luggage, does it have to fully refund your expenses? That’s what Adam Hirsch would like to know after Swiss International Airlines lost his luggage on a flight from Los Angeles to Venice, Italy.
Swiss says no. But our advocacy team has a different opinion.
Before we get to the details of this case, let’s talk about lost luggage. It’s a massive problem, according to Sita, a company that handles IT systems for airline luggage. It recently reported that after more than a decade of reduction in mishandled baggage, the global mishandling rate surged to 7.6 bags per thousand passengers, up 75 percent compared to the previous year.
So his problem could easily become your problem on your next flight.
Hirsch’s case also raises a few other questions:
- If an airline loses your luggage, how much compensation are you owed?
- If an airline misplaces your luggage and offers to reimburse your expenses, how much does it have to pay?
- What if the airline doesn’t reimburse me? How do you appeal?
Before we get to those answers, let’s find out what happened to Hirsch.
“I just want all the stuff we bought refunded”
Hirsch, who lives in Los Angeles, was traveling to Venice for a special occasion — a black-tie event. He was flying in business class, so his bag had been tagged as “PRIORITY.”
Somewhere between Los Angeles, his stopover in Zürich, and Venice, the airline lost two bags — his, and his fiancée’s. He called Swiss to ask for help when they arrived in Italy without their luggage.
“A Swiss representative told us that there was no ETA on our bag,” he says. “He said that all of her replacement clothes would be covered for the following days and the event.” (Related: Problem with luggage: I waited too long to file a claim with my airline!)
So Hirsch went shopping and bought “some very price-conscious things.”
The bill: $342.
But when he filed a claim, Swiss only agreed to pay $171. A representative said that because he and his fiancée were U.S. citizens, the airline was only liable for half the amount.
Hirsch thinks that’s wrong. He reviewed the Montreal Convention, which governs lost luggage, and did not see any such exclusion for American citizens.
“I just want all the stuff we bought refunded,” he told me. “They told us they would.”
If an airline loses your luggage, how much compensation are you owed?
It’s true that the rules for lost luggage compensation depend on where you’re flying.
On U.S. domestic flights, you’ll find the reimbursement rules in your carrier’s contract of carriage, the legal agreement between you and the airline. If your luggage is lost, the Department of Transportation requires that airlines must compensate passengers up to $3,800. (Related: Why won’t Swiss International Air Lines compensate me for my lost luggage?)
But that number doesn’t apply to short delays. If your bag is lost, the airline usually covers the cost of buying a new bag and some replacement clothes. Your airline will ask you for receipts, and if you can’t provide them, the carrier may only refund a nominal amount, if anything. (Related: ‘Unless your mother is dead, there’s nothing we can do and this conversation is over’.)
Pro tip: Make sure you negotiate any reimbursement before you go shopping. If possible, get the promise in writing. Some airlines will even give you a cash advance for buying new clothes.
On international flights, the Montreal Convention applies to lost luggage. When you’re dealing with a loss on an international flight, you’ll want to refer directly to the convention text if you think your airline isn’t compensating you appropriately. (Related: Why did I pay Swiss an extra $99 for a middle seat?)
The text of the Montreal Convention can be confusing. The important part is in Article 22. It sets the liability limit for damages associated with delayed passenger baggage at about $1,700 (it’s calculated in something called Special Drawing Rights). There’s no fixed rule for compensating a passenger when baggage is misplaced. It’s up to the airline’s policy, outlined in its contract.
Incidentally, U.S. law forbids an airline from violating the Montreal Convention. It constitutes unfair or deceptive business practices, and unfair methods of competition. Here’s my ultimate guide to lost luggage.
Swiss was technically correct that there were different compensation rules based on where you’re flying. But those rules don’t depend on your citizenship; they depend on the flight origin and destination. And Hirsch was on an international flight, so the Montreal Convention applied to his lost luggage.
If an airline misplaces your luggage and offers to reimburse your expenses for, how much does it have to pay?
Airlines must compensate you for reasonable expenses for essential items while you wait for the return of your luggage.
But what constitutes “reasonable”? That’s debatable.
A backpacker sitting in economy class may only need a change of clothes and some toiletries while he waits for his missing knapsack. But a couple flying to a black-tie event in business class? That would be pricier.
As I review Hirsch’s case, I can see that he was doing Swiss a big favor by finding formal wear and all the necessary toiletries for just $342. He must have gone to the second-hand store in Venice to find something to wear to his black-tie event. Swiss should have noted that he was sitting in business class and paid the claim immediately. Personally, I think all passengers should be treated equally when their luggage goes missing, but that is not permission to treat passengers equally bad.
Airline agents have a lot of discretion when luggage gets misplaced. Here are some of the options:
A promise to reimburse you for reasonable expenses
The most common response is to offer to reimburse a passenger for “reasonable” expenses. You’ll need to keep all your receipts to file a claim. This is not the ideal situation for a passenger because it leaves open the possibility that some of the expenses won’t be reimbursed. Pro tip: Meticulously save all receipts and label each with an item description. You’ll have to submit them to get reimbursed.
A cash advance
As I mentioned before, I’ve seen airline agents give passengers a cash advance to buy essentials. These advances can be quite generous. This is a better deal when your luggage goes missing because you know exactly how much you have to spend on essentials.
An instant replacement
I’ve also seen airlines offer a replacement. This happens most often when luggage is damaged and it offers you another bag. An airline agent might also offer you a toiletry kit to get through the day. I would consider these offers on a case-by-case basis.
Bottom line: If you can get the airline to offer you cash or a money card, take it. There’s no guarantee that it will pay all of your expenses, and no rule exists that says it has to.
What if the airline doesn’t reimburse me? How do I appeal?
Typically, refunds for incidentals are handled by a small department governed by some informal policies. They range from common sense (“no designer shoes”) to incomprehensible. (For example, I just mediated another case where the airline lost the claim and then rejected it after the customer refiled it. The reason? It was past the deadline.)
There’s no clear way to appeal a decision like the one Hirsch faced. He had to continue pushing back to the same person, given that he was not able to escalate his issue to a supervisor.
Actually, there is a supervisor. I publish the names of the Swiss supervisors on this site. The airline has tried to bully me into removing them, but I refuse.
A review of the paper trail between Hirsch and the Swiss reps is enough to drive you mad.
The rejections by Swiss were clinical (and comical).
“Although we understand your situation, in order to guarantee all passengers affected by a similar problem receive an adequate and fair solution, we rely on policies and a compensation matrix,” a representative told him.
Then it linked to a website — in South Africa.
You have to escalate your request to someone higher up, following the Elliott Method.
Will he ever get his money back?
Our team believes the Swiss policies do not align with the law. In fact, our advocate Dwayne Coward pointed out that in 2011, Lufthansa (which owns Swiss) faced an enforcement action by the Department of Transportation because it had a 50 percent reimbursement policy.
In response to our query, Swiss changed its mind about reimbursing Hirsch.
“This morning I received a message from the same contact I’d been communicating with at Swiss that after further review, they will in fact be covering the full amount of my claim. Thank you for your help in resolving this issue!” he said. “But I also want to try to ensure that Swiss doesn’t keep getting away with this clearly illegal practice, as I know most consumers won’t have gone to the lengths I did to get help.”
We also asked Swiss for a comment.
“To be able to provide you with any information on this case, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, we require the attached consent form completed and signed by the passengers concerned, as well as a scan of their ID or passport,” a representative said.
I like Hirsch’s idea better. I think I’ll write a story about this.
