Let me start by saying that I am not a seasoned traveler like many of you out there.
I traveled from Charlotte to Philadelphia via American Airlines on Wed Oct 21s 2015. Not being a frequent traveler, I was one of the last ones allowed to board the plane. I had a single bag with me in addition to my book bag that I carried on. Unfortunately all of the overhead bends were full so the stewardess in the back instructed me to take my bag up to the stewardess in the front. I did so and asked the stewardess up front if I would be getting a baggage claim ticket. She simply asked me - 'Is Philadelphia your final destination?' to which I replied - 'Yes'. She said - 'You're OK then.'
We arrived in Philadelphia and I made my way to baggage claim. I was the second one from my plane to arrive to the baggage claim area - well before the belt started dropping our bags. Suffice to say when our bags finally came out, mine was nowhere to be found. I waited a few extra minutes after the belt had stopped, then went to Baggage Claim services to inform them of my missing bag.
A case number was opened for me and I made my way to my hotel. I tried to check on the whereabouts of my bag for the 12 hours or so. A representative in Central Baggage was hopeful that it would show up on one of the two early morning flights from Charlotte. It did not.
So that Thurs morning, I proceeded to the business meeting for which I traveled in the same pair of blue jeans and yellow polo that I was wearing the previous day. I did the same thing again Friday morning. Hopeful that my bag would show up and not wanting to take advantage of American Airlines, I didn't go purchase new clothes. I did go purchase a few toiletries at a nearby CVS. On my way out of Philadelphia on that Friday afternoon, I stopped by Baggage Claim services again.....and in Charlotte as well when we landed, to no avail.
As instructed, five days later I completed and mailed the American Airlines Passenger Property Questionnaire and Baggage Content description forms. And since then I've called three times to confirm the receipt of these forms and to determine the status of the investigation of my missing baggage.
- On Nov 7th, I was reassured a second time that I would I would be 'hearing' back from American Airlines one way or another, in 4-6 weeks following the submission of the aforementioned paper work. She suggested that I call back at the end of November.
- On Nov 27th, due to high call volume, I was instructed to leave a message and that I would receive a call back. I did not receive a call back.
- On Dec 10th, (Day 45), I waited on the phone for almost one hour while the representative tried to sync up with someone in the Bag Solutions office. While he was courteous and repeatedly apologized for the delay, he was ultimately unable to provide any insight. Thus I asked to escalate and ended up speaking with a second person. The second gentleman finally confirmed that my paperwork was processed and stated that the SLA is now 12 weeks, 'due to the merger' - and that American Airlines will continue to look for my bags until approx. Feb 9th 2016. He informed me that I will not hear from them unless they find my bag. So I asked to escalate further and was instructed to do so via an email to central.baggage@aa.com. So I did - and as expected, I did not hear back.
In closing, as I near Day 60. I understand that nobody is perfect, that bags get misplaced and/or lost from time to time. And in the end, I want more than anything from American Airlines to find my bag. Several of the items contained within mean more to me than the money they are worth - namely a Carolina Panthers jacket that was gifted to me last Christmas.
The customer service received thus far is completely unacceptable. I'm seeking advice from ya'll on how to proceed. I'm not looking to take legal action - I'm thinking my next course of action will be to send a certified letter to their corporate office with all correspondence (one way) to date. I just want some sort of timely resolution.
Thoughts?
