With all the stories of baggage departments messing up, I thought I should give kudos to Delta for the baggage department's performance last week.
We flew out of Harare on SAA. We had to clear customs at Dulles before proceeding on to Minneapolis on Delta. SAA had apparantly only checked our three suitcases and my guncase as far as Dulles, so they went back on the conveyor and on to nowhere.
No bags at Minneapolis on Saturday. Paperwork filed. A phonecall was made to my house in South Dakota that evening. Three bags were delivered to my house on Sunday, but no guncase.
I am not sure why, but Delta baggage dept sent my 53lb Tuf-pack out Fed-ex overnight, and it was delivered to my house Monday morning.
A screwup happened, probably by the SAA agent in Harare, and Delta made things right in a most expeditious fashion. It's nice when it works the way it's supposed to.

don't worry - they'll make up for it next time

Reason to make sure your luggage is checked to your final destination, especially when switching airlines during the trip.

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
don't worry - they'll make up for it next time

Funny post, but so true.

it only took them three month to find my baggage that was sitting in there terminal in kenya. Did i mention that they only found it after I sent them a bill for 500 for the contents of the bag!! and i sent them copy's of the receipts for everything in the bag money talks I guess with DELTA

Delta gets bashed here often. This year, I will hit the 3,000,000 mile mark with them. I rarely have a problem with them.

no problems crashing here either

I received this response from Delta today after they left my luggage in Europe on our return flight from CAR. Very frustrating dealing with them on this matter as they blame everything on US Customs and absolve themselves of any liability in the matter. Here is their response.







Dear Mr. Maples,

We have received your claim for the mishandling of your luggage. I am sorry to learn about the circumstances you described.

While your frustration with this situation is understandable, Delta is not liable for imported goods that have not been cleared by the customs (for non-payment of duties, insufficient documentation, restrictions against their imports, etc.) to enter the commerce of the country. We are also not able to offer reimbursement for additional expenses resulting from rental car purchase, fuel, public transportation, cell phone use, long distance charges, extra nights of lodging, meals, or fees to change flight itineraries. Accordingly, we are unable to consider any reimbursement.

We recognize this was not the response you expected to receive and trust you will understand our position. We value your business and hope you will continue to choose Delta.

Sincerely,
Allison Sanders
Claims Manager
Customer Care - Baggage

Needless to say, I will be seeking an alternate method of travel in the future.

Anybody got any ideas about how to make sure your luggage is on the plane with you?













--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:

While your frustration with this situation is understandable, Delta is not liable for imported goods that have not been cleared by the customs (for non-payment of duties, insufficient documentation, restrictions against their imports, etc.) to enter the commerce of the country.

Pancho, did you finally get your guns back?

Yes, but thanks to Delta and US Customs, it was a major pain in the @##. You would have thought I was trying to smuggle in heorin when I spoke with the Customs supervisor in Atlanta. When I finally picked up the gun case in El Paso, TX (a 200 mi drive from my home), the US Customs guy that released the gun case to me wanted to see my drivers license to make sure my name matched the documents. Absolute BS.

Quote:
Anybody got any ideas about how to make sure your luggage is on the plane with you?

It is very simple, when you reach the check in counter at your boarding gate wait for a suitable opportunity and then ask one of the girls (very politely) if she would please check if your bags have been placed in the plane as they contain firearms and ammunition and that you would have major problems if they went missing. (I don’t even hint that they might have problems as well if my rifle case failed to show up.) Have your baggage claim stubs handy. On my last trip this worked like a charm for every flight, eight in total. When I left Heathrow the SA staff asked me if I wouldn’t mind waiting to board until they had my rifle case confirmed as on board, I was all smiles! They even apologized for the delay.

When I book by flights I always have my travel agent inform the Airlines that I will be flying with firearms and ammo.

great tip, thank you!

Asking ticket counter folks to check to make sure your bags are on the flight doesn't always work. I was lied to in Joberg by the people from SAA who told me twice that my luggage/guns were on a flight to Harare when they weren't.

Also had a problem on a flight from Philadelphia to Bismarck, ND via Minneapolis when I noticed a problem with my luggage claim stubs. The gate person with whom I spoke made a few phone calls then personally left their station to check on my bags. When she returned she told me the problem had been corrected and my bag and guns were on the plane. That was a lie since they did not arrive with me.

Bottom line, I think airline personnel sometimes just tell you what you want to hear so they can get rid of you when you're asking them for help.

On serveral occasions I have asked the gate keepers to check on my bags ---they have always assured me they checked and all is good --- twice no firearm showed up --- they lie!

In regards to the original post, I had a similar experience with Delta baggage folks last September. My final destination was Detroit and when we arrived there was no rifle case with my name on it (which seemed funny because I had it in ATL going through customs) and the Delta folks told me to go home and my rifles would find me. Well sure enough, about ten hours later a van pulled up my driveway and the rifles and I were reunited the same day.

As far as making sure your bags are actually on the plane, I dunno. I have asked the really nice Delta girls in both Atlanta and Detroit if they could check for me and their response has always been the same: Sir, we can verify that your luggage is in the system and that it should be loaded on the plane, but we cannot actually guarantee you of it. While that was not the answer that I wanted, I did appreciate their honesty. Maybe they could get a lesson from UPS on package tracking, they seem to be able to tell me where my packages are at any given time.

Regards,
Jason

I was on a trip in February this year to Mexico. The gun (and ammo) didn't show up in camp for 4 days. At the airport in Mexico they (the Army) confisicated the ammo as there was no gun to go with it. They explained the issue and they were nice/good to us.

Last May when checking in with Delta in Albuquerque for a trip to Namibia via Frankfurt, the agent told me that I would have to reclaim my baggage in Frk. as layover for Air Namibia to Whk. exceeded 8 hours !
The actual rule/policy reads "12 hours or the next available flight" While I carry both TSA and Delta baggage rules with me "just in case", I was not able to show back-up that particular point. Luckily I was able to persuade her otherwise !!
I now carry a hard copy should it be necessary to deal with that issue again.It is necessary to make one's case with officials who should know better...