Two major airlines are facing a class action lawsuit over much-maligned luggage fees, with the complaint charging that United Airlines and Delta/Northwest Airlines routinely lose or misplace bags and refuse to return the hefty fee to inconvenienced flyers.
The suit points out that American described the fees as an extraordinary measure when it first implemented them in 2008. Within months of American's announcement, Delta, United, and Northwest followed suit with nearly identical fee schedules for passengers' checked bags, according to the complaint.
According to the suit, once airlines accept passengers' luggage and the corresponding fee, they take on the obligation to not lose or damage the baggage or delay its delivery such that it arrived with the passenger free of damage.
As nearly any regular flyer can attest, that obligation doesn't always translate into reality.
The complaint details two instances in which lead plaintiff Tony Schultz paid the luggage fee and didn't receive his bags on the other end.
Schultz paid Delta $15 in June 2009 to fly his bag from Hawaii to Seattle, but the airline lost track of the bag and didn't find it for more than a day. Four months later, in October, Schultz forked over $25 to United get his luggage from Seattle to Sydney, Australia. United never loaded the bag onto the flight.
In both instances, despite breaching their obligations, the airlines refused to refund the money to Schultz, the complaint says.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, is being brought on behalf of anyone who flew on a flight originating in the United States, were charged a baggage fee, and had their bag(s) lost, delayed, damaged, and/or destroyed while they were in the care of either United Airlines or Delta/Northwest (the two airlines merged earlier this year).
Congress looking at remedies
The fees, based on the bags' weight and size, have already attracted the attention of Congress, which held hearings on the matter in July. Kate Hanni, Executive Director of FlyersRights.org, testified that the fees are applied in a haphazard manner and make it difficult for consumers to compare the actual cost of a flight on different airlines.
The Baggage Fee Fairness Act of 2010, which is languishing in committee, would require airlines to refund fees if they lost or damaged passengers' luggage.
The complaint charges the defendants with breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and negligent misrepresentation. It demands a refund of all fees charged for lost or damaged bags, and requests a permanent injunction prohibiting the airlines from charging fees in such circumstances.
