Every month, the Department of Transportation releases its Air Travel Consumer Report. This is where you find out how well U.S. airlines have handled your baggage. Statistics for April 1998, the month reviewed in the June 1 report, show that out of more than 41 million passengers on 10 U.S. airlines, the department received 188,182 complaints about baggage, or 4.56 reports per 1,000 passengers.
The bureau likes to present its statistics by stating how many mishandled baggage reports were filed per 1,000 passengers. So the figures you see behind each airline are the reports-per-thousand that the Transportation Department received from passengers on that carrier. From best to worst, here’s how things stacked up for April 1998:
America West, 3; US Airways, 3.42; Continental, 3.51; American, 3.56; Delta, 4.16; Southwest, 4.22; TWA, 4.53; Alaska Airlines, 4.81; Northwest, 6.55; United, 6.84.
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The past two weeks, we’ve told you what to do if your checked luggage is lost or damaged by the airlines. It’s important to act quickly and arm yourself with copies of everything, and as many trip details as possible — flight numbers, dates, times and names.
It’s also important to direct your complaints and claims to the right people. Here are the numbers to call for baggage claim problems for the airlines above:
America West: 602-693-6719
US Airways: 910-661-0061
Continental: 800-932-2732
American: 800-535-5225
Delta: 800-325-8224
Southwest: 214-792-4223
TWA: 314-253-5060
Alaska Airlines: 206-431-7425
Northwest: 800-648-4897
United: 800-221-6903