My son recently went through an experience where his luggage was lost, I thought I would share it "Around the Campfire" to see what other stories people had.

On short notice my teenage son was selected to do a 2 week trip to canoe the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories, Canada. We quickly assembled his gear and packed it in 2 bags. His clothing and equipment for the river trip all went into a waterproof duffle bag that was to be checked with the airline. In a carry-on backpack he had clothing and essentials for 2 days, his new camera, entertainment items for on the trip and any last minute purchases.

The trip started with an all day (2) bus ride to get to Toronto. The difficulty started the next day when his checked bag was placed in the wrong cargo section of the plane, this was identified before takeoff and the airline baggage staff tried to correct it, but there was not the time so the error was just noted for the next baggage handler. The connecting flight in Edmonton was in a short timeframe so the airline did the checked baggage transfer. Later that day in Yellowknife, my son's checked bag was not present.

The lost bag was reported to the airline and my son texted me the news. The next day he received no contact, but an airline staff person did call our home, unfortunately she spoke to our young daughter who provided her with limited information and did not take a contact number!

Time was getting short because soon my son would be heading for the bush, if the bag was not found quickly then he would need to do a lot of gear shopping in Yellowknife ASAP!

That evening I got involved, I spent hours on the telephone trying to be connected to the correct person. I finally found what I thought was the correct department, in the right location, but had to continually call the number in the hope of getting through. After about 2 hours and just before the department closed I managed to speak to a real person. She was terrific, no more run-around and re-routing of my call. Within a minute she was able to tell me that the lost bag was already in Yellowknife, had been there for 8 hours, what the on-hand luggage number was and that is was available to be picked up the next morning.

I contacted my son through the hotel he was staying at and he was very relieved!

So, lessons learned. Check your ticket to be sure that your connections and final destination are clearly marked on it. Take a carry-on bag with essential, expensive and important items in it, you can live out of this for quite a while if required. Clearly identify your bags with not only your home information but also your trip contact info (e.g. cell phone number), and stay available for the carrier to contact you. Report lost items ASAP and record the lost item occurence number, it is key to tracking the bag.

I have not heard from my son since this contact 3 days ago (teenagers?) so I suspect he was able to recover his bag and is now enjoying the spectacular scenery while canoeing through the remote mountains.

Lets hear your "Lost Baggage Horror Stories" and please educate us on the lessons you learned from the experience.

Mike

On a trip to Japan for a conference, my suitcase ended up in Bangkok. It was a non-stop flight from LA to Tokyo so I didn't bother with a carry-on. I did the conference and returned home without my suitcase, feeling a bit ripe. After I had been back two weeks my bag was finally returned secured with a nylon strap which had to be cut off. Everything was there just like I'd packed it before the trip.

Training your youngsters to take phone messages properly can be a big help, can't it?

I'm glad your son didn't have to miss his trip.

I was coming home on leave, right after Gulf War I, and was travelling with a buddy (we both lived near Boston, so we flew home together). We checked in together in WA, put our bags on the carrier, everything. Flew home together, were given free champagne and we could smoke on flights at the time. Straight flight from WA to MA-no layovers. got to the baggage claim area-his bag was there, mine wasnt. Needless to say I was angry. Went home-my bag made it there 2 days before I left to go back to base...at that time I had bought new clothes, so almost everything was tossed out.
Little side story though; as I am sitting there, cursing the airlines, I turn around and there is arguably the largest man I have ever seen. He HAd to have been almost 7', and VERY broad chested & thick. I said something to the effect of "holy cow! What do you EAT?" The guy just smiled at me. I later found out this guy was a professional wrestler for the WWF, or whatever it was in 1990-1991. I dont recall the guy's name, but I havent seen anyone that big since. And thats a GOOD thing!

Here's but one of my lost luggage stories.

In 2005, I had a contract to do some seminars and executive education in Cyprus as a part of their recent entry into the EU.

My flight was from JFK (New York)to Shiapol (Amsterdam) and then direct to Nicosia (Cyprus).

I was scheduled to arrive Sunday, early evening local time, and my training sessions would start 8AM Monday.

I was to be there for a few weeks, so I needed to pack more than my usual carry-on. My big mistake - I wore casual, comfortable clothing - I thought that since I was arriving a full day early, all would be OK.

My departure from JFK was delayed almost 2 hours, my connecting flight was at 14:12, the original itinerary had me with a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam, and flying to Europe you can often gain lost time with the favorable winds. I wasn't worried.

We landed at 13:15 in Amsterdam - I immediately looked at a map. I was at the "G" pier. The connecting flight was at the "B" pier:

That's a long run. But I could make it.

I asked the gate agent if there was a fast route - maybe a shuttle - to get me to "B" on time. That's when I knew my luggage was lost - the reply, "Oh, no, there's no way you can get on that flight - you have to go through security again and there's simply no way you can make it on time."

Urgh.

I went to "B" anyway, sure enough my flight was long gone. I also knew my suit, my underwear, some other stuff - it was also gone. After some hassle and chaos, I got booked onto another flight - to Budapest - that left at 7PM - and I had a 4 hour layover there - so now I'd be arriving around 00:30 local time or some such. Knowing that there's was NO chance my luggage would correctly follow me, I went into the only store selling men's business attire - I dropped $800 on a jacket, shirt and pants (at least I was wearing business-appropriate shoes). Well, my flight was delayed, and of course, I arrived in Cyprus at 03:20 - and as expected, no luggage.
I wandered over to the counter where the agent (who happened to be an American from Brooklyn who had moved to Cyprus in the 1980's) slowly filled out forms with carbon paper - actual carbon paper - and he promised me that I "might get my bags back!".

I somehow got through day one, no luggage. I went shopping that evening for more shirts and underwear. My bags were eventually tracked to Zurich by Wednesday, and arrived in my Hotel Friday evening at 10:30 PM. By then I had replaced everything I had brought, so when I went home I had twice the luggage as when I went.

Lesson learned: It's cheaper and lighter to carry $2,000 and buy what you need when you get there than to trust checked luggage.

And that is why I now ship my bags either UPS or FedEx to my hotel a few days in advance. Important stuff goes on the carry on, and I still take the funds to replace everything....

Just in case

Me too. Plus I usually have a few things shipped to me that TSA would freak out about!

Good idea Desperado, Thanks. Mike

I had the phone message discussion a couple of years ago with my kids (and spouse) but it is obvious they need a refresher course!

Mike

That was my last straw and I ship everything I might need for longer trips in a pelican case via Fedex or UPS. Quick, cheap, effective, and a great way to get stuff that's a hassle on planes there too.