Ms. Sarah Levine Simon
 

Sarah Levine Simon
109 ****** Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Delta Airline
PO Box 20706
1030 Delta Boulevard
Atlanta, Ga 30320-6001

Lufthansa
750 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10022

January 24, 2009

Flight #106 jan 10, 2009 0062155513855

Re: Business trip debacle due to lost luggage and Failure by Delta and Lufthansa to search for luggage: and to provide temporary assistance in the form of money for clothing etc. until luggage could be located.

History: My daughter Abigail Simon is a Ballerina with the Joffrey Ballet Company in Chicago. Between tours with the Joffrey she frequently does guest work. I manage that work. Hence, I booked a flight and hotel room for her to Amsterdam and scheduled an audition for the Dutch National Ballet and other companies in striking distance from Amsterdam. The cost of the airline ticket was $1500. USD, plus expenses to and from airports. The cost of the hotel in USD for the five days she planned to stay was aproximately 500. There were expenses to replace clothing, pointe shoes, cosmetics, and there were overseas phone expenses and local phone expenses from a hotel. Food expenses added up as she waited for her bags. Potentially there was a loss of revenue because she was unable to pursue future bookings.

The scheduled direct flight out of Kennedy Airport to Amsterdam was cancelled; and she was put on another flight to Frankfurt, Germany with a connection to a Lufthansa flight to Amsterdam (Schipol Airport). When she arrived in Amsterdam, her luggage containing 7 pairs of pointe shoes (too many to put into carry-on baggage), dance wear, her clothes, winter coat, cosmetics, etc. had not arrived. She notified the baggage handler at the airport and was promised that the luggage would be delivered to her hotel in the morning. It was not. Nor did it come the following day, or for the remaining days of her stay in Amsterdam. I had to put money into her account to purchase pointe shoes, a coat and something to wear.

She spent nearly two hundred dollars on the hotel phone, on hold with Lufthansa, Delta, baggage claims. I worked at my end to trace the bag, as did our travel agent ****** Avenue Travel. All to no avail. Neither airline was cooperative, there was a total failure in the customer service of both airlines. They passed the blame onto one another, never offered even enough money to get her through the week. It was necessary to cancel many of the leads. Each day of her stay in Amsterdam, delivery of the bag was promised for the next. It was never delivered. She returned to New York after obtaining promises that the bag would be delivered there. It took another 3 days after her return, with daily promises to deliver the bag before it finally was. The consumer is powerless. If this trip hadn't been planned far in advance, the cost of the ticket would have been 3500. USD. With our planning, we lost close to 2000 USD.

This was an aborted, wasted business trip. One other reason our economy is in such a grave state is that the airlines have a stranglehold on small businesses. There is another issue larger than the loss of one person's baggage. The inability of these airlines to keep track of the passenger's bags is also a serious security issue. Abby's bag sat on a carousel and Delta and was never sent to Lufthansa or at least that's what Lufthansa claims. That could give someone evil ample opportunity to plant a bomb or other device in the luggage.


I demand that Lufthansa, and Delta make restitution for the cost of this trip to the maximum allowable in small claims court . I furthermore expect to have the 15 dollar baggage handling fee returned to us.

"Tools of the Trade"
 

Any experienced business traveler wil tell you either hand-carry items that are essential to your business trip or have them sent ahead by a courier who tracks your shipment status and guarantees delivery such as FedEx. You cannot rely on the airlines to transport your baggage so that it arrives with you at your destination at the same time nor do they guarantee this. Furthermore I know your daughter's pointe shoes are valuable and would be costly to replace if damaged or lost. Had this happened you would have no recourse as airlines do not insure such items. With a courier such as FedEx you can purchase insurace up to the full replacement valkue of the items.

Unfortunately neither Delta nor Lufthansa are going to refund your entire trip. They may make some allowance for replacement of everyday clothing and the purchase of some toiletry essentials but that's about all you can and should expect. As for the phone calls made from the Amsterdam hotel phone anyone who travels abroad will tell you to avoid using the phone in a hotel at all costs. Hotels tack on pricey fees and surcharges, sometimes even if you reach a busy signal or are dialing a call which would otherwise be local or toll free. I wouldn't expect much if any compensation for that expense either.

Finally there were these two points in your letter which should have been left out altogether. First, "Food expenses added up as she waited for her bags." What could the delay of her bags possibly have to do with food expenses? She was going to eat with or without her bag, wasn't she? Second, "Potentially there was a loss of revenue because she was unable to pursue future bookings." The operative word here is "Potentially." You stated in your letter that she was traveling for auditions. There is no guarantee those auditions would have resulted in work even if she had her bag, shoes, clothing, cosmetics, etc. Now I grant you that without those "tools of the trade" her chances were zero however you cannot expect to be compensated for a potential loss only actual losses unless you really do intend to pursue this matter in a court of law and still your chances are not good.

Perhaps you haven't mailed these letters yet and there is still time to omit those two lines. Honestly with those two statements it appears as though you're trying to be compensated for whatever you can. Also, the statement "I demand that Lufthansa, and Delta make restitution for the cost of this trip to the maximum allowable in small claims court." should be modified. They will only see this as a challenge the response to which will likely be, "See you in court!"

Sad but true
 

It is utterly pathetic that our expectations of airline service are so low that this could be true. Why do we accept such low standards from airlines? It is a mystery to me! Delta in particular are amongst the worst. Would any other service industry get away with this? Could FedEx reasonably say that they cannot guarantee your package will arrive at it's destination... this isn't just a delay, this is a total failure to transport the luggage at all. Delta charged for a service they did not deliver and left a customer stranded in a foreign country with only the things they could carry. Of course, the implication of PHX's response is "it's your own fault" because you didn't sufficiently anticipate the appalling service you would receive and instead pay someone else (such as FedEx) to provide the service instead. Why? Why is it unreasonable to expect an airline to carry the luggage that you have paid for to be transported? Why should airlines have "terms and conditions" which negate the very service you have paid for. Next we will have Cablevision having a clause which says "Cablevision cannot guarantee that you will receive a picture".

Why is it also ok for Delta to lie through their teeth? The luggage never left their care, and the old "it will be delivered tomorrow" is nothing but a lie to placate an angry customer. Punitive damages are called for, and for that reason, I do feel the customer should be compensated for the excessive telephone costs they had to pay chasing their possessions. Why should the customer pay this?

No, which is why I expressly mentioned FedEx. The airlines make no guarantees for delivery of baggage on the same flight or at the same time as the passenger. When you ship with FedEx the price you pay includes the guarantee of whatever service you purchased - Priority Overnight, Next Day, Second Day, etc.

Did I ever say "it's your (the OP's) fault? You are putting words into my mouth again and I DO NOT LIKE IT. In this case the OP's daughter was not traveling for leisure but for important auditions for ballet companies abroad. In her "trade" her "toools of the trade" are slippers, pointe shoes, dance wear, cosmetics, etc. My statement was that if these things were so critical to the trip they shjould not have been placed in the care of the airtline as baggage to begin with. As one who travels for business if there are documents, exhibits, charts, media, etc. which are critical to the reason I am traveling I will have that all sent ahead by FedEx. They not only guarantee delivery in the amount of time I specify but also have tracking so that I can see online anytime where my shipments are while they are in transit.

Punitive damages? For failure to deliver a service which was never guaranteed in the first place?

Why should the airline have to pay for the telephone charges? The OP's daughter had the option of either purchasing a cheap calling card to use from a pay telephone outside the hotel or taking the train to the airport for a few Euros and discussing the matter in-person. Why should the airline pay the hotel's telephone surcharges and long distance rates?

My dear jimworcs, you comment heavily in the airline forums for US based airlines, yet you are British. How is it that you are such an expert on what goes on on this side of the pond? You also come off sounding like an attorney - oh, i meant barrister. Are you? If so, are you licensed to practice law in the U.S.?

That's absolutely ridiculous. There are certain assumptions that all need to make. Otherswise why pay a fee or bring baggage.

Frankly you can make assumptions about big business and travel with that absolutely don't apply to the arts or to start up small business.

Just pull out the credit card and buy what you need. Does anyone really get what's wrong with the picture. We're in major trouble and can't pursue business and the airlines are part of this sad picture;

No? You're daughter is a professional dancer. She is selling a product, namely her talent. Part of making the sale is having the tools at her disposal to do so namely her shoes, costumes, make-up, etc. You need to seriously re-evaluate the situation and realize that checking a bag on an airline is no guarantee that it will arrive with you at your destination. I challenge you to find any such guarantee in any airline's contract of carriage.

Just like the old FedEx commercials used to say..."When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." If my employment, or potential employment, were dependent on having certain things on my person at my destination at a particular date and time I would either carry them on my person or ship it FedEx. Hope you learned a valuable lesson this time.

Phx
 

I didn't put words in your mouth, when I quote you I use quote marks. In this case, I specifically said..

in other words, I was specific in stating that it was not your own words, but the implication of your words.

I am not an attorney, but thanks. I am British so what? It is not legitimate for me to have an opinion about the service provided by US Airlines? I make no claim to be an expert on US Airlines, but I have experienced their "service" and am as free to comment on that as the next man. I also have commented on my experiences on European airlines both here and in other forums such as Skytrax.

You didn't answer the fundamental question. Why do you think it is legitimate for an airline to have terms and conditions which negate the very service the customer has purchased? Why should a customer have to pay other providers charges and fees (such as FedEx) to provide a service, on the assumption that the airline will fail to deliver?

You make comparisons here which are totally non comparable. You are a frequent flyer with friends in high places in the airline industry. This customer is a dancer auditioning for work. It is nice that you, from your lofty perch, can afford to pay extra to get FedEx to send your luggage ahead; but not everyone is in such a comfortable position. The vast majority of people don't have the means to do so, and instead just have a simple expectation. That expectation is that the service provider will make a reasonable effort to deliver the service paid for. Delta failed to do this. The reason the customer incurred the excessive phone charges was because of Delta's failure to deliver the service paid for. I think her costs are consequential damages and should, at least morally, be paid.

Lost Bags
 

This discussion lined up like so many of today's issues. Eg. Those with employer based health insurance think the US has the best medicine in the world. Those who don't have it go without primary care. Here in this discussion we have what sounds like a corporate person who flies frequently at the behest of his/her job telling us how to ship what is necessary in advance. I work out of my home and for the most part by the hour. I would have spend at least two of those hours getting to a shipping place. Or would have to be at home waiting. Not like I can leave the package with the receptionist. Then again, I don't use FedEx enough to get preferred rates. My guess is that it would have cost a bundle to send the stuff my daughter needed. That's burdensome in an otherwise hectic life. Everything I do is paid for out of my pocket like so many other's today. I know many people who were downsized by corporations like IBM and have started their own enterprises. We depend on the services of big guys like the airlines and when we can't the big guys eventually feel it, too.