Lost Travel Luggage Tips

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A Few Helpful Lost Travel Tips Luggage

After having a family member recently recover a lost travel baggage that had been missing in action for over 3 months, I thought I would offer a few helpful tips on how to help prevent your luggage from going missing in the first place, and possibly recover that missing luggage as well.

This goes for any form of travel, either by air, sea and or land.

First, check out this short video on some of the new high tech gadgets that make recovering luggage so much easier!

View on …

Our Lost Luggage Story

Airport Bus Shuttle

My son was on his way home from the United Kingdom after spending a term as an exchange student in University. He had two pieces of heavy luggage, one piece made it home, the other was lost upon stepping off the bus upon arrival at the airport in the UK.

It was obvious the bus driver had removed the bag at the first of two airports in the London area while en route. The driver was immediately notified and after a search at the previous airport the bag was Gone! A claim was made with the bus company immediately and my son boarded his plane for home, less one bag. 🙁

* Note *

Airlines are not required by law to reimburse passengers for delayed luggage. Most however, do allow a daily allowance to assist in purchasing clothing, incidentals and so forth. So it is important to read the airlines policies and procedures carefully before travel. This is basically the same when traveling by sea and or taking any form of land transportation as well.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that when traveling by land such as bus transportation, always keep an eye on your luggage at bus stops, as companies can always use the excuse that someone else must have removed your bag that looked the same as yours!

Back to the story …

Story Telling Cartoon

After numerous emails and telephone calls to the bus company, the bag could not be found and a claim for the bag was denied because of the possibility that another person must have taken the bag from the curb, thus taking the blame away from the driver.

Needless to say, without naming the bus company involved, we will never recommend this company to any of our family or friends in the future. After thinking about this over a period of time, it then occurred to me that the majority of airports around the world have a Lost and Found Department!

Knowing that my son’s bag was …

Clearly marked with a name tag;

Had some identifiable features;

Name of the manufacturer and label on the baggage;

Color and material.

I then began to search on the internet the two airports lost and found departments. As luck had it, these departments were so organized that it was easy to track the day in question, type of article and so on, making a search for the luggage simple. There it was, sitting at the wrong airport for months! 😯

To make a long story short, we contacted the bus company and they accepted blame for the lost luggage and had it promptly shipped home to our door.

Help Prevent and Recover Lost Luggage

Canada Luggage

Ensure your bag has a name tag inside and outside the bag! (Name, email and phone number only)

Add some form of easily identifiable unique feature. (Colored straps, lock, decorative cover and so on)

Know the bags manufacturer name and if a label is attached.

Know the color of the bag and material (cloth or hard case)

Immediately report the lost bag to the appropriate officials and obtain a claim number.

I always try to pack a few necessities and a change of clothing appropriate for my final destination in my carry – on luggage. If you your travel plans are a week or more, then I would strongly suggest including some form of travel insurance that includes a lost luggage policy with a prompt lost baggage and contents replacement allowance coverage.

Imagine arriving on your fabulous all inclusive vacation to some beautiful Caribbean Island wearing and having only the clothes on your back! No shorts, no bathing suit, no nothing! Again, a prime example why I pack a few clothes in my carry on at all times. Losing your luggage and all your belongings can certainly cause a great deal of stress and anxiety for many people.

On Average 10,000 Bags a Day Go Missing

That’s right! 🙁

Around the world a staggering amount of luggage does not arrive with their owners at their final destination. Luckily, most people’s luggage is returned within 2 days to their rightful owners. This is only because most bags are properly marked, identified and easily tracked.

In concluding this article, here are a few extra tips to help prevent lost or delayed luggage.

If you are a frequent traveler, especially by air, do consider some of the new high tech tracking travel gadgets available on the market as outlined in the video above.

Be sure to remove all previous destination labels, tags and or stickers as to prevent any confusion in the baggage handling areas.

Again, immediately report and complete a lost luggage claim at the appropriate counter, whether traveling by land, sea or air. Always obtain a claim and contact number before leaving. This will be necessary for insurance purposes as well as for reclaiming your lost luggage in the future.

Continue to check with lost and found departments where it may be possible your luggage has arrived.

Make your luggage easily identifiable and be creative!

Take a photo of your luggage. With today’s cell phones and digital cameras, there is no reason not to!

If you have expensive items and clothing in your lost luggage, then it is advisable to keep a detailed list of each item in the bag and its value. Again, this will be necessary for insurance companies and/or dealing with your travel provider for compensation.

Losing luggage is a drag, but above all, try not to let it ruin that long awaited vacation. Remember, it happens to thousands of people each and every day! Taking a few steps to help prevent loss and prepare yourself ahead of time in the event of loss, will make things a little bit easier to deal at the time.

Update:

Below, are statistics gathered showing the main reasons luggage gets lost during air travel. Not surprising, a whopping 45% of lost bags are when travelers are taking direct or stop over flights. This is when your bags have to be taken off the first aircraft and then found their way onto your next flight. Other reasons include baggage tagging errors, overweight bags an so forth.

Lost Luggage Update