When she accepted the offer from United Airlines to deliver her luggage, she thought she made the right decision.
Most of the flights on Southwest Airlines were canceled in the last week of the year. Szybala got a notification from the United app that her bag wasn't on her flight from Chicago. The airline could bring the bag directly to her home.
She'd put an Apple AirTag in her luggage to keep track of it. Szybala didn't have an idea what would happen next.
Szybala said that the real chaos began at that location.
Szybala says that when the bag left the airport it seemed like it would be delivered a few miles away. AirTags send signals that can be detected by Apple's Find My network, which is intended to be used to track personal items. The device's ability to track people without their permission has been criticized by privacy experts.
The bag didn't arrive on the 29th. She watched it the next day and it seemed to settle in for the night at the apartment complex.
She began to worry at that point.
The bag's location was given to her by the Find My network. A thread on the saga started on the social networking site. The first post in that thread had been viewed over 15 million times.
Szybala's experience is a cautionary tale about trusting airlines and their third-party services to return delayed or lost luggage, and why travelers need to hold major corporations accountable for their practices.
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Szybala was at the apartment complex when she saw the emptied suitcases. There is a panic in the room. Szybala felt "gaslit" after texting a United customer service representative.
Szybala begged the rep for clarity about why her AirTag said the bag was at an apartment complex, not a secure distribution center. The rep said "Calm down you bag is at the delivery service."
She said that she needed to take action when she thought that someone might have been stealing bags.
Szybala tried to find her bag when she returned to the complex. The bag traveled to a Mcdonald's.
An important update: my luggage AirTag has left Mcdonalds and returned to the apartment complex where it is being held hostage. Szybala commented on the topic.
Szybala received messages from people with similar horror stories and information about luggage handling. Several people pointed her to Wheres My Suitcase, which is based in Houston. There are bad reviews on its website.
The website wheresmysuitcase.com never updated the location of Szybala's belongings after she was told she could track her bag there. She didn't have a way to get to the service.
Szybala was told that if luggage can't be delivered, it should be brought back to the distribution center. It is not known what the suitcase in question was doing.
Szybala received a text from the courier service. The person who delivered the bag to the wrong person had to get it back. Szybala got her bag back three days after it went missing.
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She said that it doesn't seem above board to her.
The carrier said in an email that they were working with their baggage delivery vendor to understand the situation.
After the story was published, United Airlines sent an update saying that the customer had received her luggage. The baggage delivery vendor did not meet our standards and we are investigating what happened to cause this failure.
Travelers should use a tracking device in their luggage, according to Szybala. Szybala said she wouldn't have her bag without it.
The holiday travel nightmare seems to have persuaded other fliers to do the same. Apple AirTags have become a best-selling item on Amazon, according to Scott Budman.
Travelers who want to pick up delayed or lost bags from the airport should take a photo of their belongings, as recommended by Szybala. She thinks that United is responsible for what happens to travelers' luggage and how fliers are treated.
"Obviously this is not going to change everything United does, but certainly getting all of this attention is kind of the only thing that might prompt them to evaluate some of these practices."
UPDATE: Jan. 2, 2023, 3:55 p.m. PST This story was updated with a new statement from United Airlines.
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