Q: Swiss International Air Lines lost my luggage for eight days while I was on a hiking trip to Geneva. It sent my bags to the wrong address, then finally to my home almost two weeks later after our vacation had ended. Swiss never compensated me for the hiking gear I had to buy and never provided a mechanism in person, by phone or online to get reimbursed.
The loss happened on a United Airlines codeshare flight from Washington, D.C., to Zurich, then a connecting flight on Swiss from Zurich to Geneva. Swiss has no process or points of contact online or in person, at their airport counters, for filing or getting reimbursed for lost luggage.
It seems Swiss contracts all of its public interface activities to a company called Swissport. Swissport can file a complaint, but it has no authority to process a claim. I had a three-way conversation with supervisors from United Airlines and Swiss in the U.S. regarding compensation. The Swiss supervisor gave me the telephone number of their point of contact in the Missing Bag department, which Swissport runs, but no one there could help me either. So I’m back to where I started.
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I, again, arranged a three-way call with United and Swiss, and this time, a representative recommended that I file a complaint with Lufthansa, the parent company of Swiss. I filed a complaint, but never heard from them. Can you help me? — Mark Bromley, Reston, Virginia
A: An airline representative should have helped you file a claim and then processed it quickly.
Who is responsible for your loss? Typically, you should file a lost luggage claim with the operating carrier that delivers you to your final ticketed destination, which would have been Swiss.
Your rights to compensation are governed by the Montreal Convention and the Swiss General Conditions of Carriage. Under these agreements, you are entitled to a maximum of $1,574 for your lost luggage.
I contacted Swiss on your behalf. A representative responded and said it had no record of your claim. Swiss suggested that you initiate a claim through its website, which you did. Ten months after your flight, the airline sent you $1,574.
Christopher Elliott
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.
