MISHANDLED BAGGAGE REPORTS U.S. Airlines January - March '99 Reports per 1,000 passengers The 3 lowest: America West 4.24 Southwest 4.61 US Airways 5.25 The 3 highest: TWA 6.75 Alaska 7.10 United 8.83 Source: Department of Tranportation

LOST LUGGAGE LIABILITY Domestic liability limit: $1250 International travel reimbursement: $9.07/lb

July 2, 1999
Web posted at: 1:43 p.m. EDT (1743 GMT)

From John Defterios
CNNfn Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- You've finally muscled your way to a spot in front of the baggage claim that will allow you to grab your luggage and make a quick getaway from the airport. You wait... you wait... and you wait, solemnly watching the carousel turn. The bags never appear. Eventually you come to accept your fate: your luggage is lost.

"I always worry about losing bags," says one traveler. "You never think it will happen to you, but eventually it will."

The U.S. Department of Transportation tracks mishandled baggage reports. In the first three months of 1999, the U.S. airlines with the fewest reports per 1,000 passengers were America West, Southwest and US Airways. At the bottom of the list, with the most mishandled bags were TWA, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.

But the actual numbers of permanently lost bags is probably lower than you might suspect, says David Fuscus, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association.

"Out of the almost one billion pieces of baggage checked each year, 99.5 percent arrive at the destination with their owner," he says.

That's little consolation to the travelers who do lose luggage.

For domestic travelers in the United States, airlines are liable for losses up to $1,250. The Transportation Department is proposing to double that. International travelers are reimbursed by the pound -- about $9 a pound with a ceiling of $640 for each checked bag.

If you do lose your bag, documentation of the contents is key.

"The airline is going to require you to list all the articles in the bag and value all those articles," says Sam Podberesky, General Council for the Federal Aviation Administration. "Typically you will only be able to get the depreciated values of the articles in the bag."

Receipts can help expedite the reimbursement process. Many homeowners' and renters' policies also cover so-called "off premises" damage or disappearance of personal items. Deductibles often apply.

Some higher-end credit cards also offer automatic baggage protection. American Express, for example, offers additional baggage insurance costing from $5 to $10 a trip, covering up to $2,000 in losses.

But there is a way to make sure you never lose a bag.

"Never check anything in," one skeptical traveler advises.