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Lost or Damaged Baggage:
This is a constant source of complaints for airlines. To practice some
preventative measures for this situation, never pack anything that's either valuable or perishable
in your luggage. In all likelihood, the airline will reimburse you for your lost luggage,
but you will have an extremely hard time recovering expensive jewelry or precious heirloom costs.
On domestic flights, an airline can limit it's compensation of lost or damaged
luggage to $2,500 per customer. You can get around this issue by declaring a higher
value at the time of check-in, anywhere up to the airline's maximum. You'll be charged a
percentage fee of the declared value.
On international flights, the damages are calculated based on the weight of the
baggage, regardless of the real value. The Warsaw Convention states that the value for
lost or damaged baggage is $400 per passenger for unchecked baggage, and $9.07 per pound, or $20
per kilogram for checked in baggage. If you bag wasn't weighed, the airline will
generally assume a weight of 70 pounds, which will amount to a reimbursement of $634.90.
The airline may sometimes avoid responsibility for lost or damaged baggages by
blaming it on piloting or navigation of the aircraft. Maybe small claims would provide
you with some form of compensation!
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