RandyK

Came home to IAD last night along with much of the rest of the free world. Our flight from Detroit arrived on time and our bags literally were among the very first to roll off of belt 1 when we arrived in baggage claim. We grabbed our three bags and went home only to discover that one of our bags (a rolling duffle bag) had a very large tear on one end--a tear about the size of a business sized envelope! Fortunately we'd not lost a thing despite having a number of small items inside! I called the United 800 number and was instructed to return to IAD with the bag and the claim check. I did so today. The agent working the desk apologized and told me that they had no bags like this but asked me to follow her. We went next door to a room with a combination of new and old bags and she pulled a few new bags off the shelf until she found one that came close to holding as much as my duffle does. I filled out a one page form and walked out the door with a new 22" American Tourister bag. I am still in shock. Thanks to United!

HKP

Nice story but read between the lines: they keep a supply of bags, which means they expect this to happen with some frequency. Pack accordingly.

RandyK

Pack accordingly? What, pray tell, does that mean?

rkkwan

It's pretty much standard procedure. Same thing happened to my mom, and Continental gave her a replacement - which is nicer than her original - right away. Can't remember which airport, however.

clevelandbrown

That they had a supply of new and used bags would appear to indicate that they possibly stock their "store" with bags other flyers have "lost". I wonder if they tell their baggage handlers what sizes they are short of?