Hugh James
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Unfortunately, baggage does not always arrive at its intended destination, or if it does, it might turn up damaged or with something missing. Special rules apply to luggage claims connected with air travel. When this happens, an airline is liable for the damage under the Montreal Convention. The Montreal Convention provides for compensation for passengers whose luggage is lost (or delayed or damaged) on all scheduled or chartered flights. The convention is an agreement between signatory countries to be bound to certain conditions relating to air travel. Many of the signatory countries have incorporated the terms of the convention into their own legislation. In the UK the Carriage by Air Acts (Implementation of the Montreal Convention 1999) Order 2002 implements the convention.
There are limits placed on what passengers can claim under the convention. Claims cannot be for an unlimited amount, but are subject to a limit of 1000 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger. SDRs are essentially currency units whose value is set by the IMF. This way compensation can be paid in local currency and is made on a consistently fair basis, regardless of the currency it’s paid in. One disadvantage is that the value of any SDR claim will vary daily according to exchange rates. On 1 October 2009, 1000 SDRs were equivalent to approximately £990.
Since this amount may not cover all of the contents in your luggage, you are advised to take out a travel insurance policy. This way, you can settle your claims for any sum exceeding that covered by this Convention.
For more information, see our ‘Travel insurance’ section.
The Montreal Convention allows airlines and air service companies 21 days’ grace to locate baggage. During this period, baggage is treated as delayed. After 21 days have passed, the Convention requires the airline to treat the baggage as lost (see Lost baggage below). Generally speaking, this makes a difference to how airlines settle claims. There are no set rules for how airlines must assess baggage claims. For delayed baggage, some airlines offer immediate one-off payments at a set amount to cover emergency purchases (such as toiletries or underwear). Some will pay a set amount per day up to a maximum number of days. Others will not make cash payments at the time, but prefer to reimburse expenditure on essential items on seeing the receipts. But the general principle is to cover essential expenditure resulting from the delay to delivery of the baggage.
The Montreal Convention requires airlines to treat a bag as lost after 21 days. In assessing your claim, an airline may well ask for a list of the items that were in the missing bag, and possibly for original receipts. In doing this, they are behaving like insurance companies, and like insurers, their offer of compensation will be unlikely to match a claim in full. In particular, they will probably reduce the payment because of depreciation. Remember that the airline’s maximum liability is 1,000 SDRs as mentioned at the beginning of this section. You may find you can get a better settlement from your travel (or home contents) insurance, even after allowing for any excess on the policy. If you claim on an insurance policy, it is likely that your insurer will re-claim the money from your airline or its insurer.
In assessing claims for damaged baggage, most airlines make a payment based on the value of the damaged bag or on any of its contents that were also damaged. They may ask for receipts, and they will probably apply a scale of depreciation to any payment. If it is just the bag or suitcase that is damaged, some airlines simply offer a new one from their store cupboard.
Where individual items are missing from baggage, it is very difficult to get any compensation from an airline, because it is difficult to prove that the items were there in the first place. This is another reason to use only good quality luggage, not to put valuables in baggage checked into the hold, and always to have travel insurance. Most airlines have a clause in their terms and conditions saying that they do not accept responsibility for perishable or valuable items (such as cameras, camcorders, mobile phones, documents or jewellery). It is arguable whether such exclusions are compatible with the provisions of the Montreal Convention in all circumstances; but remember that an airline is liable only for items that it has agreed to carry. If you packed items in your luggage that were listed as “items unacceptable as baggage” in the airline’s conditions of carriage, you will not be able to claim against the airline if they go missing.
When you check in certain items, some airlines attach a Limited Release Tag (LRT). Such items might include musical instruments, sporting equipment (bikes and surfboards etc.) or even prams and buggies. The LRT is intended to remove the airline’s liability if the item is damaged, and you may find that the airline refuses your claim. However, if an airline accepts an item as checked baggage, it must accept liability for it as set out in the Montreal Convention.
If your journey involves connections between more than one airline, you may be able to check in your bag for the entire journey at the first point of check-in. If you do, and something happens to your luggage, you can claim against any of the airlines that carried it. Some airlines try to blame the other airline and refuse to handle the claim. If they do so, they are in breach of the Montreal Convention.
The Montreal Convention says that an airline is liable for cabin baggage if the airline is responsible for what happened to it. Cabin baggage is generally not the responsibility of the airline, because it is in the possession of the passenger. However, this is not an absolute rule and if something happens to your baggage which is attributable to the airline, then arguably they are responsible for your compensation. Our advice is to take care of your personal belongings - take the same precautions as you would in any other public place.
If at all possible, you should report any mishandled baggage problems to the service desk in the baggage collection hall before you leave the airport. It is not a legal requirement to do so, but it is very difficult to make a claim if you do not.
When you report a baggage problem at the airport, the airline or agent (there will not be separate service desks for every airline) should make out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) and give you a copy. Your airline will want to see the PIR when making a claim. However, it is not a legal requirement to have a PIR and an airline should not simply dismiss your claim without one.
The PIR does not itself constitute a formal claim. You will need to write to the airline, within certain time limits (see below), enclosing a copy of the PIR.
The Montreal Convention states that claims should be made to an airline in writing within specified time limits. The time limits are:
Until recently, the general practice was for airlines to give all passengers separate, free allowances for baggage checked into the hold and for baggage taken into the cabin. However, this is starting to change. You may now find that you have to pay for any baggage checked into the hold, and the price may be higher if you wait to pay at the airport rather than paying in advance.
In order to avoid a costly surprise, make sure that you know the baggage policies of the airline you plan to fly with before you book – or at least before you start packing.
Details of airlines’ baggage allowances will be on their website. Alternatively, you should be able to find out from their sales outlets or from your travel agent.
If you already have a ticket, the hold allowance will be printed on the ticket itself, and ticket wallets contain additional general information about baggage allowances. For e-tickets, the allowances are usually specified on the confirmation notice.
For hold luggage, there are two types of allowance. You will either have a “weight” allowance or a “piece allowance”. A weight allowance will typically range from 15kg to 60kg per person, depending on the airline, class of travel and destination. A piece allowance will usually restrict you to two pieces of hold luggage, but these tend to be more generous allowances because they typically allow up to 32kg per piece.
Both weight and piece allowances will also have limits on the maximum size of your baggage, as well as the weight limits.
For baggage you take with you into the aircraft cabin, the allowance is usually a combination of maximum weight, number of pieces, and maximum size per piece.
If you are on connecting flights, the baggage allowance can be different for each sector, depending on the airline or even aircraft. Check before you pack.
Some airlines, particularly the “low cost” airlines, no longer give free allowances for baggage checked into the hold. If you want to check in your bag, you will have to pay for it. Charges are typically on a “per bag” basis, and they are less if you pay in advance rather than wait until you get to check-in.
You may find that, if your airline charges for checked luggage, it compensates by giving a bigger allowance for cabin baggage. So you may be able to avoid the charges by packing carefully; but if you do, beware (see ‘Excess baggage’ below).
Many airlines also charge for carrying certain types of baggage, such as sports equipment or large musical instruments. This charge can usually be prepaid.
If your hold baggage is more than the allowance, the airline is entitled to charge an excess baggage charge. This could be in addition to any charge you had to pay because your airline does not give free baggage allowances.
If your cabin baggage is overweight or too big, you might be asked to check it in to the hold. If doing so takes your hold luggage above your hold baggage allowance, you might have to pay excess baggage charges.
Excess baggage charges can vary considerably. Some airlines have a set rate per extra kilo. Others base their charges on a percentage of the full one-way economy fare. These rates are typically 1-1.5% of the fare per extra kilo. On a long-haul flight this can soon add up to a considerable sum.
The airline can decide whether or not to charge, and very often they do not do so if the baggage is only slightly overweight. However, just because an airline does not levy the charge on the outbound leg does not mean that it cannot charge it on the return trip, and for passengers taking a series of flights, there may be different excess baggage charge policies depending on the aircraft type or the airline.
Some airlines allow the pooling of hold luggage – this is when the shortfall between the actual weight of a passenger’s bag and their allowance can be used by a travelling companion in addition to their own baggage allowance. However, this practice is becoming increasingly less common.
There will be some things that you will not be allowed to take with you because they are classified as “dangerous goods” or are considered a security risk. Check the airline’s website for examples of such items. Detailed and periodically updated information is available on the Civil Aviation Authority website 
.
If you have already made a written complaint to an airline or airport, and you are not satisfied with the outcome, the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) may be able to help although it can’t force a service provider to accept its view.
If you write to AUC, make sure you include copies of all correspondence you have exchanged with the airline or airport.
Their website address is: AUC
For more information on the AUC and other consumer bodies, see our ‘Consumer bodies’ section