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No need to fly off the bag handle over lost luggage.
An insufficient reimbursement for mishandled suitcases can feel like a slap in the face for anyone who has been forced to replace a wardrobe’s worth of personal items.
However, there’s a little-known airline regulation that gives international travelers more leverage than many realize, Fodor’s reports.
When travelers get a “final offer” from airlines for a reimbursement — which often doesn’t even begin to cover the cost of their inconvenience — they tend to stop there, accept defeat and take the money offered.
But staying organized, citing the rules regarding delayed luggage and refusing the purported payout can lead the airline to increase the reimbursement, nearly tripling the amount.
Bailey Berg, an Alaska-based travel writer, told Fodor’s that her bag never made it onto her flight from Dulles International Airport in D.C. to Lisbon, Portugal, prompting TAP Air Portugal to offer only $800 in reimbursement.
And yet, Berg ultimately walked away with nearly $2,200 — and she shared how.
After Berg returned to the US, she filed a reimbursement claim which included a detailed list of the lost items and cost, why they were necessary to replace, as well as receipts proving purchase. After tax, the total came to just over $2,300.
TAP was reluctant to acknowledge her losses. “The receipts you shared are too high,” they told her, offering her just $800.
Luckily, Berg had documentation — and she knew her rights under the Montreal Convention.
The Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99) establishes a modern framework for airline liability in cases of passenger injury or death, baggage loss or damage, and cargo issues, according to the International Air Transport Association.
According to ReFly, the maximum compensation for lost, damaged or delayed baggage under MC99 is approximately $1,700, and the request must be made within seven days of the flight for lost or damaged luggage, or 21 days for delayed luggage.
It’s important to note, however, that if luggage arriving late requires the passenger to buy essential items, they are entitled to reimbursement for those expenses and should keep their receipts and invoices to submit to the airline as soon as possible.
In response to TAP, Berg wrote, “As TAP is aware, under the Montreal Convention (Article 19) and reinforced by TAP’s own Customer Service Plan (May 2023), passengers are entitled to reimbursement for such expenses when baggage is delayed.
“This is not a goodwill gesture — it is a legal obligation,” she continued in her letter to the airline. “Your current offer does not reflect the reality of the hardship imposed by the delay, nor does it meet the standard of care outlined in international passenger rights law.”
It still took two follow-ups and nearly two more months before the airline responded, but they increased the reimbursement offer to $2,193. Berg believes she was compensated fairly.
Berg noted that “airlines bank on passengers not knowing their rights or not wanting to deal with the hassle.”
Many passengers will accept the first offer given to them because it’s easier, but travelers have the right to get reimbursed for what they’re forced to repurchase due to the loss.
