Improved tracking at more points in the baggage journey has reduced the incidence of ‘lost’ luggage from 46.9 million pieces in 2007 to 24.8 million in 2019, according to the SITA 2019 Baggage Insights report, the industry’s most trusted resource.
That’s an improvement rate of nearly 50 percent. But it’s cold comfort when you arrive at your destination to find your checked bag has not arrived with you—and if your journey included a transfer of planes, it’s distressing to note that transfer bags accounted for 46% of all ‘lost’ or mishandled bags.
The good news is that traveling with just a carry-on bag improves the loss factor by 100 percent—and there are clever ways to stretch your bag’s capacity. But if you find yourself stranded without your luggage, here’s what you need to know:
- Report It Immediately – There are almost always a few unclaimed bags left on the near-empty carousel. Often, they are bags recovered for some other hapless traveler. If your bag is not among them, locate the airline’s customer or baggage service desk to file an immediate report.
- Take Heart – Most bags are recovered within 24 hours, and are typically delivered at no charge to your hotel or designated address. Also, most airlines will provide you with a courtesy survival kit including toothbrush and toothpaste, a few grooming essentials, sometimes even a spare T-shirt.
- Be Prepared to Shop – If your bags have not been delivered by the next morning, go shopping. You will be compensated for anything you purchase within reason—typically up to $300. Keep receipts to submit along with your claim.
- Check Your Travel or Credit Card Insurance – Frequently these policies will cover clothing and incidental expenses incurred as a result of missing luggage.
- Minimize Loss – It won’t help this time, but make it a point whenever you travel to take a survival kit aboard with you; a few travel-sized toiletries, one or two changes of underwear, and two days’ worth of needed medication.
- Learn to Pack Light – Again, it’s too late this time, but you can count yourself among the 100 percent of travelers who almost never lose their things by taking your bag on board with you. Pack sparingly, choosing mix-and-match pieces in a central color scheme and no more than extra pair of shoes. Roll your clothes to save space, fill corner crannies with socks and undies, use all those zippered pockets—and look into a couple of inexpensive packing cubes or compression bags.
