Q: I flew from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Las Vegas on Spirit Airlines almost six months ago, and my checked bags disappeared. I filed a claim at the airport in Vegas. My insurance company, Travel Guard, also got them to send me claim forms. But Spirit won't return my calls; my e-mails get an automated response and its online tracking system has no record of my claim.
I went in person to Spirit's corporate headquarters in Miramar, Fla., only to find a "self-service" lobby with a sign boasting that the airline "saves two cents" by having a phone on a desk instead of a receptionist. I got through on the phone to someone who told me to expect a refund soon. But that was a month ago, and I still don't have anything.
A: Spirit promises it will handle lost luggage claims two weeks to a month after receiving the paperwork and conducting a secondary trace. But did it ever receive your claims? Yes and no.
I checked with Spirit, and it says it got your claim, but not within 30 days of your flight, as it requires. It seems that when you filed your initial claim at the Las Vegas airport, Spirit had outsourced its baggage-claim operations and you didn't deal with a Spirit employee.
Travel Guard should have done more than ask Spirit to send you another claim form. Every Travel Guard policy comes with a "24-hour '911' travel emergency service" to help passengers with, among other things, tracking lost luggage. You should have leaned on them to keep the process moving.
You aren't the only one who has had trouble with Spirit's customer service, which is described by many passengers with whom I've spoken as difficult to reach, fond of sending form letters and reluctant to compensate passengers when things go wrong.
I'm not as baffled by Spirit's refusal to process your claim as I am by its ability to lose your luggage – permanently – on a nonstop flight. How did it do that? Usually it takes a connection or two, and most lost bags eventually are recovered.
But the airline isn't completely indifferent. After I contacted Spirit, it agreed to make an exception to its 30-day rule and processed your claim. You've been sent a check for $300 to cover your losses.
Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Read more travel tips on his blog, www.elliott.org, or e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.
