JetBlue Luggage NIGHTMARE-1007 Boston to JFK / 215 JFK to Long Beach
 

I have always been a big fan of Jet Blue. When traveling for my company it's well known that my first choice is always Jet Blue. That all changed last Sunday when I actually had a crisis occur, one other than a change of seats or change in reservation. One that actually required you to back up your claim of superb customer service. My luggage was lost. Not one piece but two. This is where the nightmare began.

I was returning from Boston where I had been for nearly a month. I went to my home office and stayed on for the holidays. I was traveling with a month's worth of clothes, coats, jackets, watches,pants, gifts, family photo's etc. I flew out of Boston on flight number 1007 Boston to JFK 10:40-11:49, after a four hour lay over I connected with flight 215 JFK to Long Beach 3:59-7:32. When I landed my luggage was missing. I was given a number to call at Long Beach to check on the status that no one ever answered. I then spoke with Jet Blue at close to midnight and was told that MY LUGGAGE HAD BEEN FOUND. I was told that the courier would deliver it within 5-6 hours. I mentioned that I had been traveling all day and that I was exhausted. I was afraid that perhaps I might fall off to sleep and miss them completely. I was informed that if I did so I would be responsible for my luggage. With no choice, I lay on my couch in a daze waiting for the courier that never came. I called Jet Blue in the early morning and was told that they'd made a mistake and my luggage was never found. WHAT????? What could that be all about? We have your luggage and now we don't. Not only did they lose my luggage but BOTH pieces. My garment bag had a grey tag attached with my business card inside. You still have no idea where my luggage is located. What are the tags for that you attach when a customer checks in? They have bar codes...for what purpose if you cannot track baggage? Are they just for show?

Jet Blue has no excuse for losing luggage, especially two pieces. One had my business card attached. In comparison to airlines like Delta, American, and US Air, Jet Blue covers a fraction of their territory. Most of your destinations are in the US with a major hub-JFK. It's a new experiment and it's NOT working.

I was a loyal Jet Blue customer but feel that the courtesy was not returned. For all the PR you do regarding customer service and the TruBlue experience you fail miserably when called upon to actually handle a problem. A few questions still remain-Why was I told my luggage was found? Who was it that told me such and WHY? Where is my luggage?

Any help would be appreciated.

With all the great innovations over the past years, e.g. bar codes on luggage tags, the airlines still can't seem to get it right. I guess that's why when comedians make jokes about the airlines, baggage seems to be right at the top of their routine.

Well, the barcodes are not there just for the airline's own use. There are airports that use the bar codes to route bags in the conveyor system. Also, they can scan the barcodes once the bag arrives at a city. But most airlines don't track bags point to point simply because #1 the cost and #2 it's very difficult to try loading bags on a plane with a scanner in your hand. It's just not as practical as you think.

Also so many people say that the airlines should scan the bags, that they wouldn't get lost, at least as much. Not true. Northwest and United track point to point, and their baggage handling numbers are not exactly on the top of the list.

UA bags are only scanned when they are loaded on the airplane. So, if a bag gets lost in the shuffle at a big airport while in transit, it can remain there, unknown, until it actually is loaded onto a flight. So, scanning bags doesn't necessarily mean the airline knows where your bag is at all times.