Our Lufthansa Delayed Bag Experience

The bags we checked on our recent trip from Sylt to Dusseldorf were delayed. I thought it would be useful to recap my experience since it is a bigger risk right now.

Why we checked bags on this trip

I understand that many frequent travelers don't check their bags. Let me give you some background on the idea.

• We were traveling for six weeks, and realistically it’s just not that easy to pack enough stuff in a carry-on for a trip that long (especially with European airlines often being stricter about carry-on size)
• While Ford doesn’t enjoy checking bags, he does like having more than one “look” on a trip, and I like being married (most days), so “happy husband, happy life,” or something
• Ford has taught me the importance of always wearing sunscreen, and we go through a lot of it, especially in sunny destinations (of which there were plenty on this trip); it’s better and more economical to just bring your own, and that requires checking a bag
• If you’re flying an airline like Alaska or Delta (with a 20-minute bag guarantee), or are flying within Europe, generally checked bags come out quite fast, and you don’t end up waiting that long; at least that was the case before the summer travel chaos erupted
• I’ve kind of started to enjoy traveling light through the airport, not having my bag stopped at the checkpoint for liquids, etc.; so when Ford checks his bag, I’ll check my carry-on too, because it’s just easier

Lufthansa didn’t get our bag to Dusseldorf in time

The minimum connection time at the airport is 45 minutes, but we had an 80 minute connection on our flight. We were told that our bags didn't make it on the flight.

I will not book an 80 minute connection in Frankfurt for the rest of the summer. We traveled in the middle of June, when travel went from normal busy to insane busy.

We had connected at several hubs in Europe prior to the flight, and travel was calm and orderly. We talked to each other about how the real summer rush had begun.

Having delayed bags is a hopeless feeling

We were told in an email that our bags had been re booked on the flight later that afternoon. We were supposed to arrive at 3:05PM, but the other flight was supposed to get in at 5PM. That is not terrible.

Instead of waiting at the baggage office to file a claim, the email said to visit the carrier's website to provide an address for delivery. I chose the option to pick up the bags myself since I thought it was the safest and fastest option.

I went back to the airport shortly after the scheduled arrival time because I wanted to minimize the risk of anything happening again. After arriving at the airport, I received a message telling me that our bags had been re- booked on the flight that was due to land at 10:00PM.

I was a bit worried at this point. I wondered if our bags would be rebooked on the next flight, since there wasn't really a human touch to lost baggage. There was plenty of time for the bags to be re-booked on the flight.

The lost baggage office at the airport is a door that leads to baggage claim. If your bag arrives, they will allow you in. I was told that there was nothing they could do and there was no one to talk to.

I was expecting to receive at least one email after the landing.

• An email confirming that our bags had arrived
• An email stating that our bags had been “rebooked” on another flight yet again

We didn't receive anything. I headed back to the airport at 7 AM. I took the lack of notice as confirmation that our bags were on the flight that they said they were on.

Over the loudspeaker, I was told that I had bags that came the night before. She said I would have to wait until I got confirmation that they had arrived.

The agent allowed me in after I begged. There were many bags in the lost baggage office. It was easy for me to find our bags there.

After I left the airport, I received an email stating that our delayed baggage had arrived at the airport and that they were recording it.

I think it will only get worse as the summer progresses because you have to advocate for yourself when bags are delayed. I don't know how long the bags would have sat there before I got an email saying the bags had arrived.

I was persistent and didn't request baggage delivery to the hotel because that would have given me less power to solve the situation myself.

All's well that ends well. We got our bags about 18 hours after we arrived, after going back and forth to the airport twice.

European regulations are vague when it comes to bags

The EU has great consumer protections for air travel. People are protected if they are bumped, a flight is oversold, or bags are lost. Some consumer protections are clearer than others.

If your flight is delayed, EU261 spells out the exact dollar amount you have to pay. Regulations for lost baggage are not very clear. They only say that airlines should reimburse you for any expenses you incur as a result of the delayed bags. Credit card protection for delayed bags is another thing.

We didn't pursue either avenue.

• Initially we thought our bags would arrive three hours after our initial flight; most credit card protection for delayed bags kicks in after six hours
• It was after 6PM when we realized our bags wouldn’t arrive until later, and at that point most shops were closing anyway
• Even if we were due anything, who knows how many months it would have been before Lufthansa customer service actually responded and handled our case; I’m still waiting to hear from Eurowings Discover about EU261 from our flight several months ago

Our priority was to get our bags back in our possession as soon as possible, though I am curious what other people have experienced with this.

Bottom line

We had a delayed baggage situation for the first time in a long time. It could have been a lot worse if we didn't have our bags for 18 hours.

If you are traveling this summer, make sure you leave plenty of time to connect. I would recommend not checking bags at this time.

The delayed bag experience is so bad that I have learned a lot. You can't call someone who will find your bag and you can't get a real answer as to what's happening with your bag.

What was it like dealing with a lost bag this summer?