109
votes
Accepted
Forgot item in a hotel in Spain; hotel says I have to send a courier myself because they don't handle international shipments
UPS, DHL, and pretty much any courier company can deliver from anywhere to anywhere, they don't require that the person handing them the package is the same person as the one paying the bill. So ask ...
- 99.6k
76
votes
How do you prevent somebody from stealing your luggage when traveling by air?
In principle, yes, this can happen. In practice, it is very rare. Speaking personally, in years of travelling, I have only ever once had someone try to walk off with my own luggage ... and that was on ...
- 3,886
55
votes
How to get back a backpack lost on train or airport in Germany?
We're just strangers on the internet, so we're not in a position to look for your bag based on your description.
You can report your lost item to the Frankfurt Airport lost & found or Deutsche ...
- 84.8k
48
votes
Tips to avoid forgetting a bag
Put everything which isn't physically attached to you in one place. You're less likely to leave all your luggage behind than forget one item, so it's a bad idea to have your gloves are on the seat ...
- 3,534
40
votes
Tips to avoid forgetting a bag
Attach numbered tags to each bag. Then all you need to remember is the total count or attach the highest +1 to your keychain and count.
You can get 50 from Amazon for ~$10. Key Tags with Ring, ...
- 32.1k
33
votes
Luggage was stopped by customs (we learned about it after our flight)
The most important thing in this situation is to get documentation about your luggage as soon as possible. No matter what the airline says, the only thing that matters is what they write. As this ...
- 22.2k
31
votes
Accepted
What is the probability of "true" lost baggage (never returned to owner)?
From the data available here which is sourced from Air Travel Consumer Report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, 0.021% of luggage is never found
The rate of mishandled bags dropped ...
- 28.7k
30
votes
How do you prevent somebody from stealing your luggage when traveling by air?
Definitively stolen or lost bags are extremely rare (about 0.025%). What does happen in a few instances (though again, this is very rare, but a little less rare than the whole bag being lost or stolen,...
- 50.2k
29
votes
Accepted
What will happen if my luggage gets delayed?
Under virtually all circumstances if an airline fails to deliver your luggage to you when you arrive at your destination airport, they will deliver it to you wherever you are. Failure to deliver ...
- 58.3k
24
votes
Accepted
What does the 10 digit code on luggage tags represent?
That's the IATA 10 digit "license plate" code. A summary can be found in this document, which gives this example:
The baggage license plate is a unique 10 digit number. The only
correct format of ...
- 84.8k
24
votes
Accepted
What is an effective means for complaining to an airline and having my complaint properly addressed?
Twitter. Seriously, use twitter.
I've not done it a lot, but have had to complain to a few airlines in my time travelling.
Phone: they didn't care, usually, just wanted to end the call.
Email: ...
- 157k
23
votes
What is an effective means for complaining to an airline and having my complaint properly addressed?
Social media is the way! file a proper complain via the airline's webpage or email, then follow up in Twitter or Facebook.
Airlines hate it when people pick on them publicly. They will love to look ...
- 93.9k
23
votes
Forgot item in a hotel in Spain; hotel says I have to send a courier myself because they don't handle international shipments
I looked on UPS and DHL but didn't see anything obvious.
For DHL, the service you need is called scheduled pickup. You essentially arrange the shipping as usual, but you pay extra for your parcel to ...
- 9,300
16
votes
Tips to avoid forgetting a bag
Each person has a bag or a couple of bags for which they are responsible.
So when they start walking they count (one, two or at most three items) and one or (when traveling as a couple) two people do ...
- 50.1k
15
votes
How to get back a backpack lost on train or airport in Germany?
Based on personal experience: About one hour into a train journey from Berlin to Dresden, we noticed an expensive looking camera under one of the seats. We stopped the next conductor who told us they ...
- 3,739
14
votes
Why does typically nobody check whether one picked up one's own luggage at the airport's luggage claim area?
"Bang for the buck" mostly.
In the US you can certainly walk into any airport's domestic arrival area and grab any bag you like. Apparently it's not enough of a problem to warrant any type ...
- 64.2k
13
votes
Tips to avoid forgetting a bag
In addition to all the good ideas presented so far: You have to think of the one object you never fail to leave behind, that can be used to remind you to get the other objects you're usually not used ...
- 940
12
votes
Luggage was stopped by customs (we learned about it after our flight)
No laws as such, but check with your travel insurance or your flight/holiday booker. If they are a part of ABTA, you should find the process relatively painless.
Responsibility is a tricky thing - ...
- 12k
11
votes
Accepted
Why is it that the small barcode on the stickers placed on one's check-in bags generally cannot be accessed by airport staff after 72 hours?
The barcode on the baggage tag consists of a 10 digit number, of which 9 are used to identify the bag.
The first 3 of these 9 digits will usually be the specific code allocated to the airline by IATA....
- 107k
11
votes
How do you prevent somebody from stealing your luggage when traveling by air?
The chance of checked luggage being stolen or damaged or taken by mistake or just disappearing is vanishingly small. But it does happen. If you cannot relax about it, you won't enjoy the trip.
Thus, ...
- 20.4k
9
votes
What is the probability of "true" lost baggage (never returned to owner)?
Also some data here: (and bonus - you may find your lost stuff ;)
Although over 99.5% of domestic airline’s checked bags are picked up
at the baggage carousel, lost luggage is an unfortunate part ...
- 191
8
votes
Tips to avoid forgetting a bag
You can get pairs of tags. You attach one to your bag, and to other your person (or pair to your phone by bluetooth). When the two tags are separated, the tag on your bag will beep very loudly. They ...
- 2,769
8
votes
Lost my phone in Termini Station, Rome
We're a travel website and are not responsible for Termini Station.
The people responsible for the station recommend that you contact the lost property office run by the Rome City Council and/or the ...
- 84.8k
8
votes
Possibility of delayed luggage during transfer at DXB
Luggage handling is much better than it used to be and large airports have sophisticated systems to track and transfer luggage.
The main issue is generally connection time in which it is possible for ...
- 40.3k
7
votes
Compensation for denied boarding due to baggage delay
You can fly without your luggage, your luggage can fly without you if it fails to make the connection which you made, it is done often.
I guess it is a case of an airline mistake that they do not ...
- 50.1k
7
votes
Tips to avoid forgetting a bag
Plan ahead
Travel follows a similar pattern: You board, travel and then alight. Set some time aside to prepare for alighting. This will give you unhurried time to check your luggage as well as ...
- 319
7
votes
Who else to contact about missing luggage?
If you purchased your Ticket through Delta, they will be responsible for your baggage. You should file a claim through the Delta baggage claim website.
They will then take care of your reimbursement ...
- 2,076
7
votes
What will happen if my luggage gets delayed?
the very important things about what are your rights and airline duties are hold by the Montreal convention:
Lost baggage
The Montreal Convention changes and generally increases the maximum
...
- 2,196
6
votes
Do I have any options for getting a delayed bag back from behind customs in Montreal?
Things you could try if you're getting nowhere with the Central Baggage Office, trading your time and inconvenience for the possibility of resolving this more quickly:
Track your bag on WorldTracer ...
- 84.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Contact Fisherman Guesthouse in Penang
Their phone is in the Lonely Planet for Malaysia - it's (604) 885-2936. The first three numbers are the country code and the area code for Penang, if you're calling from outside the country. Here's ...
- 718
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible