Danielle Covarrubias was understandably upset when she discovered that American Airlines had lost her suitcase, but she became really mad when the airline then refused to refund her $25 baggage fee. That’s when she decided to sue American Airlines for $5 million. The class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of Covarrubias of Pierce County, Wash., is the first since American Airlines started to charge a fee for handling and transporting luggage in June 2008, according to industry experts.
[…]
“It just goes to show you how enraged people are by the lack of common-sense regulation in the airline industry,” said George Hobica, an aviation expert and creator of airfarewatchdog.com. “It doesn’t make any sense at all that somebody should charge for a service and then screw up and not give you your money back.” […] “This case … is about an entire industry that has lost touch with its customers,” Casey Ingels, one of Covarrubias’ lawyers, said in a statement.
[…]
American Airlines damages, loses or delays more than 2,400 pieces of luggage every day.
[…]
The fees, the lawsuit said, represented a “clear and unambiguous agreement with passengers to handle bags with care, and deliver them to their destination in a timely fashion.”
Obviously, trains good, planes bad.
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Trains good
Planes bad
woo woo
As one who travels extensively and just went through the lost luggage situation earlier this week, I can shed a little (very little) light on the issue. The airlines do not have an automatic refund procedure in place and leave it to the discretion of the employees with whom the customer speaks. The issue in this case, not mine, is that a disgruntled employee will automatically say no or else the customer is such a jerk to the employee that the employee chooses to say no. Thankfully my situation was resolved to my satisfaction and I eventually, more than 24 hours later, received my bags.
Ethanol: So, I guess you are saying that they forced her to pay an unpleasant passenger tax. Sounds like she is forcing them to pay an unpleasant airline tax.
A non-story – well actually, this is a good story to show why we need tort reform.
Danielle Covarrubias will get squat from this frivolous class action and the lawyers will rolling in the money.
“We already do allow customers to include a checked bag charge refund request in their baggage claim if they file one for other damages and the claim is accepted for full or partial payment,” said the spokesman, Tim Smith.
It was unclear whether Covarrubias filed such a claim.
Gee, I wonder why it is unclear if she filed a refund request claim? Maybe because she was being a total bitch at the lost luggage counter?
The fees, the lawsuit said, represented a “clear and unambiguous agreement with passengers to handle bags with care, and deliver them to their destination in a timely fashion.”
I agree with the above statement.
I don’t know the details of what happened in this case but I think that if they loose your luggage they should have to refund the luggage fee automatically plus $200 for damages even if you didn’t take out insurance.
[Lose, lose… not loose. Cripes! – ed.]
Why are airlines charging for the checked bag to begin with? This just leads to more issues with heavy carryons and taking longer at boarding. Or perhaps they want to force more people to check their bags by enforcing carryonsize limits.
#5: maybe it’s unclear whether she filed a request because they lost that, too!
Love the image there. That’s baggage pickup at the Sacramento International airport. What you see is actually artwork next to the carousel, it’s not really a big mess pile, but there’s more than one pile (about 3 or so). Still funny!
I’ll say again: there is no such thing as “a lost bag.” THEY ARE ALL STOLEN!!! and I’ll believe Homeland Security is actually effective when the stolen/broken into luggage count drops to zero.
Years ago when it was an issue for me, I recall that “lost baggage” was fully covered by Federal Airline Regulations, so much per item and what not. Anything “valuable” in luggage is there at your own risk. Over time, the baggage folks learned they could go thru luggage and take what they want. Never caught, no repercussions.
Lawsuit will be dismissed.
Perhaps a more reasonable amount to sue for would be something like $40,000 to replace the stuff & for all the hassle involved therewith. 5 mil, however, for lost luggage is simply absurd. Lawerly silliness like that should be sanctioned.
In this situation,
It is a CLAIM that you are paying a TICKET price for your Luggage.
OR
A freight charge, as UPS/USPS/… would charge.
If this is deemed so..Then she can get anything she wishes.
Its an unwritten contract. They took money to ensure delivery.
I’m just waiting for Homeland (in)Security and the airlines themselves to coerce everybody into flying naked.
Since not everyone looks like Pam Anderson they’ll charge for airsickness bags.
But then again, they’ll probably charge a “potty tax” for “eating before a flight” so you’d probably get the dry heaves.
Screw it. I take the train to go anywhere.
I’m disabled, and therefore unemployable, unemployed (ever seen the expression on an HR person when you walk in with a cane? Priceless… I’m might as well be applying at Arthur Murray’s Dace Studio,) forced to retire without a pension, (wiped out by the 401k debacle,) but I was smart enough to have no debt, own my own home and have some cash in the bank (which earns me @#$% all but at last I got some,) so I should ride out my turn at bat without embarrassing myself too badly.
#4 Civil lawsuits are one of the few avenues we poor sheep have to fight back against our corporate masters. Once that is taken away, your just a lamb on the way to…
Obviously, this lawsuit is not intended to enrich the primary plaintiff. It is intended to try and shake an industry that has lost all sense of responsibility to its customers!
MSB
nice trick to advert your site..
Being a Capitalist, is very entertaining, IF’ you live by the rules.
But, as in ANY monopoly game, Someone CHEATS, usually the person in charge of the money.
Im capitalism, as a corp gains money, it Shares it with better wages and Increasing product lines and Quality.
In the CURRENT AIRLINES…its not happening. In MOST USA corps its not happening.
In Japan, the CEO of JAL took a wage cut(BELOW HIS PILOTS WAGES) to keep his airline IN THE AIR.
IN THE USA DELTA went broke, took all the money away from the retirement funds AND ALL THE Stock payments. What this did, was those on retirement, went onto social security. This from a corp that PAID 1 person 6 years corp wages of $20million and retirement benefits EQUAL to 20 year, with a Clause against bankruptcy.
#10, Bobbo,
Lawsuit will be dismissed.
I disagree. To a quick read she is claiming fraud on the part of the airline. She paid extra for a service which the airline refused to perform. The airline then refused to refund her the cost of the service. That is fraud no matter how you cut it. I would guess the airline will lose big time.
Carry on luggage anyone?
No comments?
They were already paying for the lost bag, which is …?… 250?
Why not pay the extra 5? Bad management. We will give you ~$250 to shut up, but not a damned penny more!!!
Sloppy.
Funny, we haven’t been hearing anything about another little problem the airlines have had with baggage handling. Outright theft! Did that magically go away, with the TSA boys hanging around. I seriously doubt it. Does that fee also guarantee against baggage tampering, and theft of contents. Bet NOT! The reason so many people started taking their most valuable things with them, on board. Was they were becoming aware of how the baggage handlers were routinely rummaging thru checked bags for valuables. So the carry-on load began to increase. And rather than fix the theft problem. The airlines decided they had to X-Ray everything being brought onboard, in case it contained explosives or something. And yet the Lockerbee explosion was caused by a bomb in a radio that was in down the baggage compartment. And probably never was X-Rayed.
So it just seems like the airlines are always going after the wrong people. Making their trip harder and more costly. And not cleaning up their internal security problems. Or inefficient and problematic baggage processing.
#20
1 OF THE BIG Podcast groups, lost 2 PRO movie cameras in the airport. Worth over $3000 each.
yes you can buy insurance (at least USED TO)..
but this is getting so bad, I would rather SHIP my luggage with UPS (3day) or USPS (1st class).
If UPS can do it, WHY cant the passenger airlines?