Thought there wasn’t much more the airlines could fob off on the customer? You were wrong. Apparently, the employees at American and Delta are so slow at tagging your checked bags that the airlines think you’d do it better yourself. [More]
luggage
Delta Fined $100,000 For Lying To Passengers About Lost Luggage Liability
By 11.1.10
According to federal regulations, airlines “shall not limit its liability for provable direct or consequential damages” to less than $3,300 per passenger. Someone should have told that to Delta, which was recently slapped with a $100,000 fine by the Dept. of Transportation for distributing pamphlets telling customers something very different. [More]
Pack Like A Pro
By 9.15.10
This guy show off a cool “clown-car” technique for packing a lot of clothes into your luggage. [More]
Southwest Also Breaks Guitars
By 9.3.10
Brian hasn’t written a song about it yet, but he tells Consumerist that Southwest Airlines broke his guitar. However, they won’t take responsibility for the situation because the case wasn’t broken [More]
Know How Much Your Bag Weighs Before Flying
By 8.9.10
Delta tried to charge “Frustrated Traveler” an illegitimate bag fee yesterday by claiming it was over the weight limit. He knew, however, that unless the bag had been eating tubs of frosting throughout the flight, it was still the same 47 pounds it was when he weighed it himself before boarding. [More]
Spirit Starts Charging Up To $45 For Carry-On Bags
By 8.1.10
Prepare to shift that carry-on bag to your other hand as you reach for your wallet because today is the day Spirit rolls out their new fee for carry-on bags. Billed as an ostensible solution to gate delays, the worst problem you never experienced, the fee ranges from $20 to $45. [More]
Buy These Suitcase Stickers If You Want To Get Frisked
By 7.22.10
If you want to get an equal amount of eye-rolls, giggles and terrified looks from those standing around you in airport security lines, affix one of these security-provoking decals to your luggage. [More]
Luggage Emerges From United Airlines Flight Totally Mauled
By 6.22.10
A Gothamist reader’s bags didn’t show up until three days after she got off the United Airlines flight, and when they did, they looked like they’d been ravaged by the gnashing of an angry monster. The bags and contents were torn, soaked, and moldy, and several items were missing. [More]
VIDEO: How To Pack For A Weekend Beach Getaway
By 6.11.10
In case you hadn’t notice, the summer vacation season is upon us. And even if people don’t have the cash to rent a beach house for a full week, plenty of folks are still going off for weekends on the water. And in the interest of keeping your luggage to a minimum, the editors at Lucky Magazine had put together a handy, perhaps even dandy, guide for how to get everything you need in one bag. [More]
Delta Smashed My Bike And Won't Refund The Baggage Fee
By 6.9.10
This guy is trying to raise money to build dams in Africa by doing 20 half Ironman races. Consequently, he has to travel with his bike a lot. He says that during a recent trip back from Hawaii Delta smashed his bike and won’t even refund the $200 fee he paid them to transport it. This makes him sad. [More]
Stop Luggage Thieves
By 5.28.10
Frugal for Life has some suggestions for avoiding your baggage getting stolen, the most surefire one being to not check a bag in the first place. You can also use a cheap, neon bag, as thieves prefer more nondescript bags and tend to target those fancy “LV” emblazoned bags. Also, you can insure your bag, usually as part of trip insurance, which usually costs 5-8% of the total trip price. Do you use any special tactics to thwart luggage thieves? Leave your thoughts in the comments. [More]
Unevenly Packed Bags Results In $1500 Delta Disaster
By 4.14.10
Reader Ariel writes in after Delta refused to let her check her bags curbside because one was 5lbs too heavy, despite the fact that her other one 10lbs under. She says she was told it was Delta’s policy that she couldn’t move 5lbs of her crap to the other bag. This set off a chain of events that cost her $1500. [More]
Spirit CEO Justifies Carry-On Bag Fees
By 4.13.10
Executives love to justify price increases or staff reductions by hauling out the customer service argument, because then any complaint you make can be framed as self-defeating. (“Don’t you want better service?”) On that note, Spirit’s CEO Ben Baldanza told travel blogger Christopher Elliott last week that the new carry-on bag fee is really intended to reduce gate delays. Remember to send a thank-you card to Baldanza. [More]
If An Airline Loses Your Luggage, Get Compensation
By 4.5.10
The U.S. Department of Transportation says that despite what the airline tells you, there are certain regulations it must follow when it loses a passenger’s luggage. Here are the things to remember if you’re in this unfortunate situation. [More]
This Suitcase Is Yours For Only $27,100
By 2.4.10
There are some cases in which a suitcase can be worth $27,100: If the banker on Deal or No Deal offers you that amount, if it’s full of $27,100 worth of drugs and there are not snipers waiting for you to hand over the cash before they take you out (but there always are snipers there) or… yeah, that’s basically it. But CNN contributor Bob Greene found another suitcase that costs that much, although whether or not it’s actually worth the price is dubious. [More]
10 Of The Strangest Unclaimed Airline Baggage Items Ever Found
By 1.31.10
You’ve probably heard of the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama. It’s where all lost suitcases that are never reunited with their owners end up. This makes it both the world’s most amazing thrift store and a collection of pretty weird stuff. A recent mental_floss article rounded up ten of the strangest (and most valuable) things they’ve found. [More]
American Airlines Raises Checked Bag Fees Effective February 1st
By 1.18.10
American Airlines announced today that they’re raising checked baggage fees by $5, effective February 1st. Your first bag will now cost $25, and your second one will cost $35. If you want to check a third bag, you will have to buy the airplane (cash or certified checks only), and if you want to check a fourth bag, you will have to endure a phone call from AA’s CEO Gerard Arpey, where he will cry at you and say he doesn’t know how to run a company and he’s scared. He only made $8.9 million in total compensation last year, so cut him some slack. [More]
