Southwest Airlines - Missing Luggage - Southwest flight #1434 direct from Phoenix to Nashville

Southwest Airlines - Missing Luggage - Southwest flight #1434 direct from Phoenix to Nashville

Southwest Airlines - Missing Luggage

I recently traveled on Southwest Airlines to attend a wedding and enjoy a long weekend with friends. On Friday, March 26th, I arrived 90 minutes early for Southwest flight #1434 direct from Phoenix to Nashville. I checked a black Atlantic duffel bag. I am always uncomfortable leaving my luggage in an unattended pile to await TSA screening, so I was relieved that the airport was not too crowded, and I was able to hand my bag directly to a TSA agent. She asked if the bag was unlocked, and I stated that it was. I haven't seen the bag since. When I arrived in Nashville, the bag did not come off the carousel, and I proceeded to file a claim with the Nashville Baggage Service Office. I was told that flight #1434 had already departed for Hartford and that the bag either never left Phoenix or had been left in the plane and was on its way to Hartford. For at least the first 24 hours, absolutely no action was taken to locate my missing bag. The agents simply assumed that someone at some airport would find the bag and eventually send it to the correct destination. I followed up multiple times over the next three days, and provided additional information regarding the contents in the bag. (I had to provide the contents information more than once, as the first person did not enter the data in the computer system). The bag was never located, and I returned to Phoenix as scheduled on Monday, March 29th. As if losing my personal belongings wasn't bad enough, the process for filing a claim is extremely cumbersome. (I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the lack of customer-friendly procedures from an airline whose boarding process is derisively known to travelers throughout the United States as "the cattle call.") I have been told that the process for filing a claim requires that a passenger with lost luggage (a) mail the required information to Southwest Airlines, (b) wait for SWA to mail back a claim form, (c) mail the completed form back to Southwest, and (d) wait for a refund to be mailed back. Why can't Southwest automate this process by using the Internet? This would at least show a small amount of regard for customers who have already been greatly inconvenienced. At the very least, if Southwest is unwilling to invest in technology to improve customer service, why not speed up the process by having claim forms available at the baggage service office? This bureaucratic, paper-intensive process is obviously a ploy from Southwest to cut costs by discouraging individuals with legitimate claims from requesting reimbursement. Although I might (eventually) receive monetary reimbursement from SWA for my missing belongings, I can never recover the lost time that I had to spend during my brief vacation dealing with this issue. To make things worse, I expect to lose at least a full day by the time I complete all the required paperwork and run around town trying to find replacements for all my lost items. For someone who works night and day to keep up with school and a full-time job, this is a major setback. When I purchase an $8.00 paperback book at Amazon.com, I can log on to the Internet at any point in the process and find out when the package shipped, what cities it has passed through en route to my doorstop, and when I can expect delivery. I entrusted Southwest's employees with personal items that have far greater value (and will be much more difficult to replace) than an $8 book. Why can't I expect a comparable level of service from SWA? In the future, I will happily pay more to purchase tickets from your competitors in hopes that they take customer service a little more seriously than SWA and that they have a process in place to initiate prompt corrective action when problems do occur. I am also warning friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances (not to mention anyone else who will listen) about SWA's sloppy baggage handling procedures, outdated technology, and overall lack of commitment to customer service.

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even i lost my luggage yesterday .., i lost every thing i bought in the trip tp california ,this happened at midway airport .., i think unautorized personnel might have stolen them from the airport

waiting to see how they are going to take care of it.

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Two weeks ago I flew from PHX to DEN and SWA lost my bat bag. It was very similar to other bat bags my teammates checked, but mine had a digital camera, ring and sunglasses in it. SWA told me that is wasn't "lost" because it had these valuables in it. They still haven't found my bag and now I have to call a non-800 number to find out if they have found it!

I think we need to hold both SWA AND the TSA accountable for these losses. TSA is the one that handles the bags for all the airlines and checks to see what is in EVERY bag. I'd be curious to know how many bags are "lost" that have similar valuables in them.

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I have just returned from what should have been a very easy and simply flight..from Spokane to Seattle. I left Tuesday morning and arrived in Seattle with no luggage. Told they would deliver it to me at the resort I was staying when it arrived. It never arrived. I spent three days in the same clothes. Now I am told I am send them the paper work in five days and they will send a form...I had well over 1500 dollars in clothes and make up.

The customer service is a joke....all they do is say sorry.

Then to find out they have no email you can write to...it is their way of leaving no paper trail.

I have to leave again on Monday..will have nothing and am on southwest...I am going to carry a sign..letting people know about southwests policy. I filed a complaint with Dept. of Transportation and plan to contact an attorney. No airline should be allowed to treat people like this...oh and customer service is closed weekends...not that they do a thing.

How can they get away with this?

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Something is suspicious with PHX! We flew Sat. July 5, 08 from PHX to OAK and lost our stroller that we checked at the gate! It never arrived, it was checked at the gate...I left it right there at the door before boarding the plan. Now I have to carry my daughter until I can afford another stroller. SWA employees should be screened and I don't trust SWA anymore, it's disgusting how they just "lose" baggage.

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I am going through the same thing as we speak! I flew from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Chicago Midway for a vacation and they had lost my only piece of luggage. I am stranded here in Chicago with nothing. I have been in contact with all the necessary personnel and nobody seems to care whats so ever! Every one I have been talking to has giving me a different story. The lack of communication is so ridiculous! I have learned in these past few days not to ever fly southwest due to the fact that they have horrible customer service!

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Same thing has happened to us tonight. But not only me (family of 3 that packed all in one bag) but 11 other people lost their bags tonight. I would gladly pay 200 more for a ticket, than to loose thousands of dollars worth of items.

Gladly.

Do not SWA, plain and simple.