KLM Baggage delay

[lukey121]

My parents who flew in from Canada on KLM have had their bags delayed now for 8 hours.(they have no clothes Anyone know if they can get any compensation? Can not seem to get anyone at KLM on the phone. Thanks if anyone can can help.

[neliacamacho]

Hopefully they have insurance, if they do, as far as i know, only if they buy clothes over there, keep the receipts, only when they get back home, with a letter from the airport confirming the delay of luggage & receipts of what they brought out there, only then can they claim to there insurance.

[SteveD]

This is from the KLM web site:

http://klm.com/travel/nl_en/travel_information /customer_support/delayed_baggage/index.htm

[Cakeboy]

If their bags are delayed for a few hours and not lost, then I doubt very much that there will be any compensation coming.

If the airline lose the bag, then they will have to stump up, but if it comes out on the next flight then the airline is not required to compensate. I would imagine that they might anyway for goodwill, btu they don't have to

[goosing]

klm are well known for failing to get passengers and luggage on the same flight. the luggage usually arrives on the next flight and arrives by taxi at your home - as i have found on several occasions!

[KARL]

There is an international convention on this sort of thing and airlines are (I believe) obliged to give you compensation for immediate necessities. You should be able to get hold of KLM at the airports they fly to and get from them a number that you can ring in order to in effect announce your parents will buy toothbrush, paste, etc. toiletries needed overnight, also things like underwear socks, shirt/blouse - and see what KLM say. You need to remember two things: be reasonable (no Gucci, etc.) and keep all receipts (they will want them). Claiming from travel insurance comes after this because, as said elsewhere, the baggage is likely to arrive around 24-30 hrs after arrival. An insurance claim will only come in if the baggage is lost completely, otherwise most insurance is not worth claiming from due to "excess" deduction and future complications due to having claimed. KLM completely stonewalled my complaint when they ignored EU legislation on the consequences of "bouncing" me off a flight which was neither full nor had it left. Their prices are competitive but their service frequently stinks, although their cabin crew are generally average or better in attitude/helpfulness.

[Narolines]

Blimey, Karl, if you find KLM prices competitive you must fly VERY expensive routes! I fly frequently from the UK to Amsterdam, and with BMI Baby I can do it for about �45 return if I choose my dates and times carefully, or about �70 if I choose more convenient times, while the cheapest KLM can offer me is �102; from the UK to Cyprus, another route I fly fairly often, Cyprus Airways can fly me for around �160 (depending on the time of year), with KLM at the same time of year quoting between �362 and �777! I've looked at KLM for quite a bit of travek round Europe, and always discounted them simpoly because they seem to be the most expensive airline on the continent.

[Rooboru]

Lukey,
Presumably your folks would have completed a lost baggage report and recv'd a lost baggage report file number before they left the airport.
If their bags were simply left behind or misloaded, the baggage tracing system works on tracing the bag tag numbers. So if someome enters the tag numbers into the Worldtracer computer system, wherever they may be, a match is immediately associated to your folks file, and return of the bags could be effected fairly smartly. In the case of emergency funds, yes the airline is liable for a payment of
$100 US for foreign passengers in any 24 hour period, but as Karl correctly pointed out, if the bags are retuned in less than 24 hours the only people you can then talk to is your travel insurance company. Hope this is of some help.

[carryonken]

We cruised with Costa Cruises using KLM and they did not deliver our luggage until the 7th day of our cruise.We did another Costa cruise and the airline used was AIR FRANCE.Again our luggage went missing for 7 days.Suffice to say both cruises were ruined.However we have just recieved full payment for our out of pocket expenses from AIR FRANCE.This took three months lots of e-mails and expensive telephone calls to Air France.Incidently Air France/Air Italia/Air KLM and Air Europe are all part of the same companies