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Northwest Airlines - Luggage Damage

Northwest Airlines • Ticketing snafus • Luggage lost, stolen, destroyed • General hostility • Disgruntled Employees • Northwest vs. KLM • Pray for food --- News • Delta, Northwest Merger Faces Heavy Chop • Troubled Northwest Strikes New Deal With Pilots • A Seething Summer of Discontent for Northwest Airlines • Northwest Passengers Face Uncertain Summer • Pilot Shortages Plague Northwest Passengers • Machinists Pact May Head Off Northwest Airline Strike • Northwest Hopes to Cancel Employee Contracts • Delta, Northwest File for Bankruptcy • Northwest Flying Despite Strike • Northwest Warns Of Bankruptcy • Strike Looms At Northwest • Northwest Seeks Replacement Flight Attendants • Northwest Pushes Up Fares

Karl of Los Angeles (12/15/03):
On Wednesday, November 26, 2003, I flew from LAX Airport in Los Angeles, California to Erie, Pennsylvania. There was a connecting flight in Detroit, Michigan. Both flights I took arrived ahead of schedule. I had packed my bags the night before I left (the 25th of November), and made sure I packed my Dell 5100 Inspiron laptop computer in the larger of my two luggage bags.

The next day, at the airport, I checked those two bags with Northwest, watching the workers send my bags through the X-Ray machine. I then proceeded to the ticket counter to get my tickets. When I arrived at my parents’ house in Erie, Pennsylvania, I discovered my laptop computer was not in the bag I had packed it in. It was gone. The next day was Thanksgiving Day (November 27th), and my father and I went to the Erie airport to report that my laptop had been stolen.

We filled out a Damage Report with Northwest. After the report, I spoke with TSA (the Transportation Security Administration) and the airport police. I filled out some papers with TSA, which have been mailed. I contacted Northwest, and was told to send a fax to them with the laptop information, which I did, on December 2, 2003. I’ve also filled out a police report with the Erie, Pa. Airport Police. The airline is obviously responsible for the theft or my laptop, since my luggage was in their care.? My laptop computer was stolen in either Los Angeles, Detroit, or Erie. I believe the theft either occurred in Los Angeles or Detroit. I doubt TSA stole my laptop, and that only leaves the workers of Northwest.

I have all the information from the incident, including the number's I've called, the faxes I've sent, etc. Northwest Airlines sent me a letter, stating I shouldn’t pack valuables in my suitcase. This advice does me NO good. Perhaps they should have told me this BEFORE my laptop was stolen. No one from Northwest told me not to pack valuables in my suitcase, nor was it mentioned on my ticket or on the pages of Yahoo Travel, where I had purchased my ticket. Northwest is to blame because Northwest is hiring thieves who steal and walk out of Northwest with the stolen merchandise of their customers. Northwest has done nothing but offer petty apologies.

I'm a graduate Professional Writing student at USC. I write fiction, nonfiction and screenplays. As a result of the theft, I lost some pieces I had written (thank goodness I made a backup disk a week before the theft), I had to buy a new laptop, and I was pained emotionally because of the incident. I felt, and still feel very wronged, and taken. It makes me sick to know someone has my laptop with my personal files.

Losses of this kind are usually covered by homeowner's insurance. Karl should call his agent. And in the future, he should carry his laptop. Valuables should never be checked as baggage.

Thomas of Rockford MI (9/7/03):
while travelling from Anchorage to Grand Rapids MI, two of three bags checked were damaged. One of the bags was 70 lbs & I was charged an additional fee of $50 for a "heavy bag". it was explained to me that the additional charge was due to the fact that more than one baggage handler was required to lift the bag.

While on the plane a travelling companion was sitting in a position to view loading of baggage. She advised me that the bags were being loaded by no more than one person per bag, and they were being thrown into the baggage compartment. When retreiving bags at the end of the trip I found one bag had a smashed wheel and a second bag had the zipper split open and clothing was hanging out of the bag. Also in this bag a plastic bottle of shampoo was split open and had caused a real mess in the bag.

Richard of Ansonia CT (3/20/03):
On Feb. 16 I intended to travel on Northwest Airlines (NWA) from Hartford CT to Vancouver BC, via a connecting flight in Minneapolis. Before leaving, I noted that NWA web site cited that I could purchase additional insurance for valuable luggage at a rate of $1 per $100 of value when I checked in. I attempted to purchase this insurance for a brand new, custom made guitar (Carvin CL450) which cost $1047.99. The ticketing agent refused to sell me this extra insurance and assured me that all luggage was covered up to a value of $2500.

The ticketing agent also inspected my identification (a copy of my birth certificate) and verified that it was sufficient for entry into Canada. I arrived in Minneapolis, however when I attempted to board the flight to Vancouver, NWA personnel refused to allow me to board, saying that only an original birth certificate was sufficient to enter Canada. They then agreed to pay for a night's hotel stay. Since this meant that I would miss the training class that I was to attend in Vancouver and since there would be no way to have my birth certificate sent in time (the next day there was to be a massive blizzard in Hartford), I asked that my luggage be unloaded in Minneapolis and scheduled a flight directly back to Hartford.

When I recieved my Guitar from them, I found that it had been extremely damaged. Far beyond anything that would normally be expected by airline baggage handlers. The guitar was in a custom made hardshell travel case. The damage was as though somene had taken a sledge hammer to it. Both the guitar and case were destroyed. I went to the luggage desk and filed a damage report. The next day I called NWA's central luggage desk. I spoke to Ms. Linda Kay, who told me that NWA would take full responsibility and that I was in fact lucky that I had been stopped in Minneapolis since international law limited liability to $640 for international flights.

As Ms. Kay advised, I sent the guitar and case to the repair dept of the original manufacturer, Carvin. The head guitar tech sent me a statement saying that the guitar and case were beyond repair and a copy of the original invoice stating the cost as $1047.99. I Fax these along with a cover letter to NWA luggage service dept.

About a week later I recieved a letter from Ms Rhonda Farmer saying that because I had traveled internationally NWA's liability was limited to $640. I then called Ms. Farmer and explained that I had not traveled outside the United States, that NWA had prevented me from boarding the Vancouver boud flight. I also explained that my travel agent had gotten NWA to reimburse my fare since they sould not have let me on the Hartford flight if they were not going to let me on the Vancouver flight. She asked that I FAX her a letter stating this, which I did.

This evening I recieved a voice call from Ms Farmer stating that because I was originally ticketed for Vancouver, it was considered international travel and that NWA would only pay $640. Furthermore she stated that I was lucky because had this been a domestic flight NWA would have no liability at all. I have confirmed that NWA's web site states that their limit of liability for domestic travel is $2500. I have not and will not agree to accepting the $640 offered. I insist on being fully reimbursed thr full cost of the guitar and case. I am flabbergasted by NWA's refusal to issue additional insurance at checkin.

I believe that since neither I nor my guitar were ever on an international flight NWA's limit of liability is $2500. Since I live in Connecticut it is very difficult for me to file suit in small claims court in Minneapolis.

Unfortunately, since Richard had an international ticket, even though he did not complete his journey, it's likely Northwest will prevail. It can't hurt to file in Small Claims CourtSmall Claims Court however. Since Northwest has facilities in Connecticut, Richard can file there. He would not have to travel to Minnesota.

Jaclyn of Nelson, B.C. Canada (2/24/03):
Baggage damage. Basically I would say one can't claim because on a connecting or disrupted flight where more than one airline is used everyone passes the buck. My daughter had a flight from Paris to Vancouver B.C. on KLM connecting in Amsterdam. Her baggage made the flight, she didn't. She ended up on Delta/Continental with hops to Detroit and Spokane. The bags were delivered from Vancouver via a small interconnecting Air Canada flight and delivered to the door.

So you see the problem, many airlines involved. KLM had the bags, but they tell me even so, my daughter flew Delta they are responsible -go figure- then they say it must be made in 7 days, by the time we got the bags, were told to see the local airport about it and they said forget it go see KLM and got them on the phone the time was up, they said not their problem call Delta, they said forget it call Continental? then it became see Air Canada etc. etc. and the handle was damaged among other things, its not covered anyways.

Basically I doubt it is possible to recover baggage damage unless one airline is involved and you walk up to a counter with the damaged bag in person immediatly, otherwise don't waste your time.

Sabrina of Lansing MI (1/6/03):
In September 2002 my husband and I flew with our 1 year old daughter from Lansing, MI to LaGuardia airport in NY. Upon arrival our checked luggage and carseat were nowhere to be found. When our luggage was delivered to us our Digital videocamera and Palm Computer were missing. Northwest has refused to reimburse us anything even though the total for the items (approx $1,000.00) cost less than what they ensure each bag for. They state they do not replace lost or damaged electronics.

I claim the items were neither lost nor damaged but stolen while they were in control of Northwest. My attempts to discuss this with the head of Luggage Services were ignored and my letters referred back to the original Luggage Service employee I had been dealing with. I was told if I didn't agree with their interpretation of the limits of liability clause I could take them to court!

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