Wish you weren't there

On a stopover in Dallas, Becky Mortensen’s family agrees to check in their carry-on luggage after American Airlines implores passengers to lighten their load before a full flight. But even though a gate agent assures Mortensen that the luggage will make it to Maui, the bags go to Los Angeles. Now the family has lost two days of vacation.

Q: My family and I recently traveled from Connecticut to Maui on a vacation sponsored by the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a group that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Because of heavy snow, our American Airlines flight from Connecticut to Dallas was delayed by two hours. We realized we would miss our connection to Maui, so we called from the plane and rescheduled our flights. American rebooked us on a flight to San Francisco and then on to Maui, which delayed our arrival by six hours.

When we arrived in Dallas, I heard an announcement that asked people with lots of carry-on luggage to check their bags, because the flight to San Francisco was completely full. A gate agent assured us several times that our luggage would make it to Maui. So we surrendered our carry-on items.

Needless to say, our luggage didn’t make it to Maui. Instead, it went to Los Angeles.

So we arrived in Maui with nothing – no toiletries, no clothes, nothing.

American authorized $25 per person in toiletries, and the luggage finally turned up the next day. But we had already lost two days of vacation, one to weather and the other because we didn’t have any bathing suits or shorts to wear.

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This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for my daughter, who is sick. After all of the assurances we received in Dallas that our luggage would make it, shouldn’t American do more than just offer to buy us toothpaste?

— Becky Mortensen Farmington, Conn.

A: Actually, American Airlines handled your case by the book. The airline’s Conditions of Carriage, the contract between you and the carrier, only states that in the event your checked luggage doesn’t arrive on your flight, “reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that the bag is returned to you within 24 hours.”

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The agreement makes no specific mention of an allowance for toiletries when baggage is delayed, although it is a common practice to reimburse passengers for basic necessities when their luggage goes missing. Beyond that, American isn’t responsible for any other inconveniences, such as being overdressed for your vacation.

But this isn’t a by-the-book case.

There were two things that made your situation unique. First, the fact that American pleaded for you to check your carry-on luggage. You were repeatedly assured that the bags would follow you. Second, the fact that this was a special trip for your seriously ill daughter – a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, perhaps literally.

A lot of the things that went wrong were easily preventable. American Airlines allows one carry-on bag per passenger, and you shouldn’t have given that one up, no matter how many announcements were made. Don’t forget to pack at least a change of clothes in your carry-on bag so that in case your airline loses the luggage, you’ll be able to survive for a day (most missing luggage is recovered within 24 hours).

Also, when you check your luggage, take a minute to inspect the luggage tag. A “LAX” label means it’s going to Los Angeles, while “OGG” means it’s headed to Kahului Airport in Maui. If you don’t understand the city codes, just ask.

When your luggage failed to show up in Maui, you should have explained your circumstances (right down to the Make-A-Wish vacation) to a supervisor. He or she could have seen to it that your basic clothing and toiletry needs were taken care of until your personal belongings were tracked down.

I brought this case to American’s attention, and it agreed that your trip could have gone smoother. Although it can’t give you a day of your daughter’s special vacation back, it agreed to issue each member of your family a transportation voucher worth a total of $1,000.

Christopher Elliott is National Geographic Traveler's ombudsman and a nationally syndicated columnist who specializes in solving your travel problems. Got a trip that needs fixing? Send him a note or visit his Web site. Your question may be published in a future story. Want to sound off about a story? Try visiting Elliott's forum.