What are my rights as a flequent flyer when luggage was delayed?

[oladapk]

Hi All,

I flew Virgin Australia recently and my luggage didn't make the plane with me. There was no prior information by Virgin and they didn't even have the courtesy of informing us when we landed.

My undue wait for the luggage made me miss my train and i had to take a taxi thereby spending $210 for taxi fare(train is just $25)

I have made a complaint to the airline and only got apologies via social media and i am not happy abou this.

What else can i do? is there an aviation industry ombudsman?

Thanks.

 

[TheInsider]

Should've just left and waited for your luggage to get delivered. I assume it was your choice to wait for the luggage.

 

[moa999]

Think without additional information it is hard for anyone to advise.

At a minimum I would advise an approach via a written letter, sent via reg'd post, clearly setting out your claim.


I would also note that much like connecting flights to different airlines, one would think it is reasonable to leave a decent amount of time between flight-train connections in case an incoming flight is late/ delayed.

 

[anat0l]

I flew Virgin Australia recently and my luggage didn't make the plane with me. There was no prior information by Virgin and they didn't even have the courtesy of informing us when we landed.

There are no statutory rights available to you per se. Virgin will endeavour to get your luggage to you (if you haven't received it already), or reimburse you a standard amount (according to the relevant Convention) if your luggage was lost by them. If you were not at home, it probably would've been reasonable for you to purchase any bare necessities (toothbrush, spare clothes of reasonable expense etc.) in the time you were without your luggage, and then have Virgin reimburse the costs of these upon presentation of receipts. But apart from that, Virgin's only remaining obligation would be to ensure that you get your luggage.

My undue wait for the luggage made me miss my train and i had to take a taxi thereby spending $210 for taxi fare(train is just $25)

I'm guessing you must be either referring to arriving at Brisbane to go to Gold Coast, or arriving in Sydney to go to Newcastle.

This is probably not claimable; Virgin may reimburse you but this would not be a legal obligation, only discretion / a goodwill gesture.

For what it is worth, almost no one would be able to successfully make such a claim against any party irrespective of the reason that would've caused them to miss that train.

What else can i do? is there an aviation industry ombudsman?

As far as I know there is no aviation ombudsman.

Seems like a well written, non-emotional letter would be the best move if you still continue to be unhappy. Alternatively, is our resident Virgin Australia AFF representative still on board?


As also mentioned, if you could provide us with some additional context as to what happened - e.g. why did your luggage not make the plane (did you check-in late)? What exactly did Virgin Australia baggage services tell you with respect to your baggage enquiry (did they find it in the system immediately or did they claim it may be lost and they have to track it down)?

 

[anat0l]

I would also note that much like connecting flights to different airlines, one would think it is reasonable to leave a decent amount of time between flight-train connections in case an incoming flight is late/ delayed.

Sometimes you arrive after the last train departs (could be due to delay of incoming flight). Although in saying that, in times like those, it's just life giving you the short straw this time......