This week’s Reward Clinic grew out of a trip I took on Avianca and Copa Airlines from the Galapagos to Santiago de Chile via Quito and Panama. My checked baggage was delayed and stolen.
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Galapagos to Santiago
I used LifeMiles to book a business class ticket from Galapagos to Santiago de Chile. The first leg to Quito was operated by Avianca Ecuador (economy only), while the Quito-Panama and Panama-Santiago de Chile legs were operated by Copa.
Quito airport experienced wind problems, first aborting the landing twice and then diverting to another airport.
Initially, the connection time between flights was three hours, but many passengers missed their connections, and some even had separate tickets to Madrid that were likely lost completely.
I also had time to visit the lounge in Quito before boarding my Copa flight to Panama. I approached the gate just before it was scheduled to close and they were surprised to see me (I think it was due to my late arrival).
They tore up the boarding pass issued by Avianca and gave me a new one (no seat change). I was also informed that Avianca was not forwarding my checked baggage and that I would need to file a property fraud report upon arrival in Santiago.
Swissport Santiago and Real Estate Fraud Report
After arriving in Santiago, I followed the air tag to see where my baggage was and luckily it was still registered in Quito.
I headed to Copa’s luggage desk upon arrival and found it empty (it was early in the morning).
It took a while before the two agents showed up. One person was very hostile and clearly didn’t want to work at this early morning time.
I requested that a property fraud report be processed on the spot to ensure that all information including my contact details and delivery address was correct. The older woman insisted that I fill out a form to be processed later in the office and email the report to me, and that there was no other way.
This really didn’t work for me as it’s not the correct procedure. Fortunately, the younger woman had better customer service skills and offered to follow me to the airport office and process my report there, which she did.
I left the airport early in the morning, PIR in hand, and headed to the Ritz-Carlton hotel.
It was assumed that these two bags would be delivered to the hotel later that night, but that was not the case.
Delay in package delivery
The two bags arrived at Santiago airport on Friday evening, but were not delivered to the hotel 16 hours later.
Google Street View shows the bag was left at the unspecified address for several hours on Saturday, but there was nothing nearby.
Theft and Police Report
When I checked my luggage at the hotel, I quickly realized that my Tumi duffel bag had been vandalized.
The men’s amenity kit was completely removed and the Hermès bottle was removed from the other bottle.
My next step was to report this to the police so the airline and insurance company wouldn’t suspect something like this had happened.
That day, I went to the police station near the Sheraton where I was moving and filed a report.
They were first asked to write down what happened and then used Google Translate to discuss it with the police officer who made the report. I was given a file number and advice on things not to do in the city (I have been to Santiago many times so I didn’t really need this last part).
Claim with Copa
For multi-carrier itineraries, the last airline that is supposed to transport the baggage is responsible for handling the claim, regardless of the airline that caused the loss. I don’t know how they resolve these claims internally, but I’m sure it will even out in the long run.
Remember that you will need a receipt for any stolen items. Fortunately, when Air France delayed my luggage, I had purchased all my non-Hermes items in Japan and Hong Kong, and I had saved the purchase receipts, so I was able to use this claim as well. Ta. As for Hermes, Copa accepted a screenshot of the price I can buy today.
Copa’s website was in complete disarray when it came to handling complaints. Avianca does not accept baggage tag numbers, and the error occurred so many times that I thought it was intentional.
Eventually, the claim form was accepted and I received a confirmation via email. The email said they would contact me within 15 days.
However, a response came within just four days, requesting additional information, and the complaint was accepted.
It took some back and forth until I got the correct type of bank verification (the bank doesn’t trust your routing number and account number to be correct).
A few days later, I received an email confirming the payment.
And the next day the cash was deposited into my bank account.
conclusion
For the record, I’ve flown millions of miles and been on thousands of flights, and this is the first time I’ve had something stolen from my checked baggage.
I’ve recently had my luggage delayed several times on Air France (more details here and here) and had my phone taken from my hand three times (twice in Santiago and once in São Paulo).
The theft probably took place in Quito or Santiago, but I don’t think we know for sure. If I had known I wouldn’t get the bag by the first night, I would have bought a few items.
Copa was overall very good at handling complaints, but they really should have worked on their website. The form was not designed properly and did not work. I also don’t know what’s wrong with Swissport employees who hate their jobs. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone, including this one woman, to explore other career opportunities?
Have you ever had your luggage stolen and filed a claim with your airline or insurance company? Please leave your comments and thoughts below.
