zrs70 From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 2872 posts, RR: 10 Posted (10 months 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 2941 times:
Hey all. Need advice from the sages.
I know that the final carrier a passenger arrives on is ultimately responsible when dealing with lost luggage (right or wrong, this is how it works).
Here is my circumstance, and I would like insight:
On one ticket, I flew CMN (Casablanca) - LIS-LHR on TAP. Overnight in LHR. Next day to LAX on VS. Again, one ticket.
Checked the bags to LHR, as that was the final destination of the day. One of the three bags didn't make it. Filled a claim in LHR with TAP. The bag didn't arrive the next day in time for our LAX flight.
Upon arrival, VS told us to keep our previously filled out form, but that they would now be involved as well.
So the question is, with many hands in the pot, who is the best point person? VS or TP?
HT From Germany, joined May 2005, 6471 posts, RR: 27 Reply 1, posted (10 months 6 days 1 hour ago) and read 2902 times:
In my perspective TP primarily is responsible to find the piece of luggage at their LIS bag hold area **)
That VS wants to get involved might be due to the fact that it will be them who will fly the bag across the pond once it is found, as unaccompanied bag.
As a bag of "potential risk" it will get treated specially while transferring at LHR, a transfer which TP and VS hopefully will be able to arrange among the two of them (not that TP just flies it to LHR and it gets stranded there ...).
And I can think of that special note will need to go to US CBP that bags will arrive unaccompanied.
As a good customer, please do VS the favour and keep them informed too resp. copy them in in any email correspondance.
**)
I have had the pleasure a few years ago to visit this very bag hold area at LIS when my bag did not make the transfer at ZRH inbound to LIS.
Without any special reason like prior strike action or weather influence there were hundreds of bags sitting around on carts and stacked into shelfs. I was aware what my suitcase looked like so I could spot it fairly soon (with more paperwork before and after), but I can imagine that it takes quite some time to catalogue all the unaccompanied bags and those bags not getting picked up from the bag carroussell after a flight.
-HT
Carpe diem ! Life is too short to waste your time ! Keep in mind, that today is the first day of the rest of your life !
FlyingHollander From Netherlands, joined Jul 2011, 210 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (10 months 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 2879 times:
I don't have any knowledge about this but this is how I see it: TAP lost the bag, they are responsible. VS didn't have anything to do with that bag so ff VS were to help that would be a bonus.
MGASJO From Nicaragua, joined Feb 2005, 449 posts, RR: 8 Reply 3, posted (10 months 5 days 20 hours ago) and read 2845 times:
The carrier that brings you to your final destination is responsible for your bag. In this case, since you spent the night in LHR, TP will be responsible for your bag. They will need to locate it and make it available to you, however, since they show your final destination as LHR they will forward it as far as LHR. VS will be involved making sure to contact TP and having your bag forwarded to LAX.
Bags traveled unaccompanied every single day, with different airlines and routings. In this case the bag will travel with a document sating that the bag was missloaded somewhere along the way and it is on its way to the customer; the document has the customer name, phone number, address, itinerary and the bag description. It also includes the new routing on a different tag (known as rush tag).
VS will need to contact you once the bag arrives in LAX and problem solved, TP will close their claim and everyone happy, well, not so happy.
As for compensation, TP will be liable, VS has no involvement in that.
debonair From Germany, joined Jan 2004, 2097 posts, RR: 4 Reply 5, posted (10 months 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 2744 times:
Quoting FlyingHollander (Reply 2): I don't have any knowledge about this but this is how I see it: TAP lost the bag, they are responsible.
Yeap, that's the way it is! TP did the mistake and will have to deliver the bag to your home address. VS has nothing to do with it- as the bag was labeled ONLY to LHR.
reifel From Germany, joined Feb 2005, 1134 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (10 months 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 2687 times:
I see it exactly the same. Since the VS trip is basically some complete seperate ticket and trip , and since the bags were checked to LHR, VS has nothing to do with it. It could be a good sign that they want to be involved however, showing some customer service.
But basically, the incident happened on a ticket to LHR with at least from this point of view final destination LHR. TP lost your bags, TP needs to fly them where you are now (you could also be on a cruise ship going from port to port and bags would need to fly to a port where it would arrive in time for you to be there). TP will need to send your bags through LAX, and not necessarily through LHR by the way.
reifel From Germany, joined Feb 2005, 1134 posts, RR: 1 Reply 8, posted (10 months 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 2649 times:
Quoting CXB77L (Reply 7): Either carrier may be open to liability as it is, as you say, one ticket. I think you can contact either, or both to get information about your bag.
Good point... Is it one ticket or through tickets? Actually, how the thread opener wrote, it could mean both... I was suspecting he had 2 tickets...
xjramper From United States of America, joined Dec 2003, 2345 posts, RR: 52 Reply 10, posted (10 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 2620 times:
Not taking away the responsible party's responsibility, but if that were my bag, I would clear some room in my schedule to make sure I got to lax asap and not wait an entire day.
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