Glad to hear how your difficulties were resolved.

Congratulations on the recovery of your lost luggage. I am glad you will be able to give your future daughter in law her gift.
Interesting that the airlines, after repeatedly telling you that your luggage was on the next flight, and then never taking your calls again, finally return your baggage after posting your complaint on the Fodor's board! Hmmmmmm

Glad you got it back, wish DD could say the same thing!

UKlady, just wanted to say that you have my total sympathy for what you went through because the exact same thing happened to me last year with Alitalia but it was on my trip to Italy that the luggage was lost (took one week to get it back and only because we went to the airport and searched for it ourselves, no reimb. was forthcoming for expenses incurred). Yes folks believe it or not Alitalia has one number that they give out for lost luggage and noone answered it for days. You really cannot understand the total disregard for the customer that this company displays unless you have experienced the situation yourself. I am so glad that you had a happy outcome!
JenV

I am currently going through luggage hell myself with alitalia. Though I may not like the shrill first post, believe me, alitalia brings out such fury! They are impossible to reach, and when you do reach them, of no help. The Venice lost luggage office which is currently handling my claim actually HANGS UP on you if they get tired of answering questions. And I mean the 2nd or 3rd question, not 10 or more. If you can carry on, carry on!

My family just returned from a 10 day trip to Rome, Positano and they (alitalia/air france) LOST our luggage on the way there and back. We arrived in Boston this past wkend without anything. So, I can certainly side with uklady! We are calling two times daily to find out where it is and so far no answers. We will always have the memories which are irreplacable, but we pray for our luggage!

Alitalia is in terrible financial shape which, I assume, explains the poor service. They lost our luggage on the way to Sicily but it was recovered. Our friends' luggage was lost as well but they received no response when they called Alitalia in Palermo. She finally called her daughter in SF who called Alitalia only to learn the luggage was sitting in the airport in Palermo but no one bothered to notify them. On our way home from Malta, we were booked on a 6 PM flight back to Rome on Alitalia. That very morning, a Maltese saint had been canonized so Alitalia decided to change our 6 PM flight to a morning one to accommodate all the Maltese eager to go to Rome. The only problem is that they never notified us or our travel agent. We have been told this is absolutely typical of them so beware!

We commiserate with you. Travel has changed. You can beat the system. Buy travel insurance as required to cover all risks. Travel light...only a carry-on. Buy essentials at destination, discard them before returning. Mark your bags. Use textile paint. Print-up address labels, affix them to the bags. Dangling label holders may be torn off. Affix or include address labels inside all bags and containers. Post souvenirs home. Use your printed address labels. Carry a roll of clear tape. Who remembers the name tapes mother sewed on our camp clothes? Air traffic is increasing and few travelers do any of the above.

My boyfriend and I fly Alitalia also. Our luggage did not appear when we landed in Naples. My suitcase was retrieved by our travel guide at the Naples lost and found 2 days later; however, my boyfriend was left luggage-less for our entire 9 day trip. Numerous phone calls by the hotel staff and travel agent in Italy had no effect. Tracing the bag on the Alitalia website was useless, the message claimed that the ticket retrival number was invalid.
On our return home via the Naples airport, we stopped in at the luggage claim area. After a prolonged wait to have an agent assist us, we were led into the luggage holding area in the basement of the Naples airport. Lo and behold, we found the "missing" suitcase in the first row in the luggage room. Needless to say, much aggrevation, money and time spent shopping for replacement clothing could have been avoided IF Alitalia had a customer service department that was able to function beyond the capacity of a circus sideshow. If we had not stopped in at the lost luggage counter in Naples, I am confident that the suitcase would have never been returned.
I would rather fling our suitcases into the crater of Vesuvius rather than fly Alitalia in the future. At least I would know that my suitcase was burning in the crater of a volcano, not sitting in the inner sanctum of Alitalia HELL.

When one phones to one of these lost luggage numbers, you only reach some poor employee, who can maybe trace where your luggage is, maybe not, who is only doing his work with the means at his/her disposal, whatever they are. One thing is sure; this poor person isn't responsible for the loss of your luggage and has been trained to calm people's nerves and instructed to give some answers which doesn't satisfy at all.

One of the things big companies don't like is bad publicity. Wouldn'it be possible to forward this entire thread to Alitalia Customer Service at HQ in Rome? Maybe on behalf of Fodors, maybe just on private initiative?

uklady's rant doesn't 'help' a lot when it is only read by us... but it is always better when complaints reach the right people... just with the hope for some general improvement in custumor service in the future, domani, forse domani......

Bookmarking for the phone # listed above. We're flying Alitalia in September to Rome for our "dream vacation". Since this includes a 13 day cruise, it is impossible to take only carry-on due to the clothing guidelines on the ship. I guess now I know why my tickets on Alitalia were hundreds less than other airlines. Wish me luck!

Maybe the Alitalia customer service people were all trained by British Airways people. That would explain it.

Someone mentioned that an Alitalia phone rep hung up on them, then it happened to me. I must have gotten the same person. I've tried 3 different times. One person was professional. I didn't like her answer, but at least she was polite.

Alitalia also lost our luggage and has not responded to my letter requesting compensation. They will not answer their phones or their emails. We ended up spending about $200 (without luggage for 3 days in Greece) and my brand new bag was broken when it arrived. This is truly the most ridiculous thing I have ever experienced. The least they could do is answer the phone and tell us that we're not going to get antying for our trouble...instead of just acting like nothing happened.

We didn't care that our luggage didn't come originally since we were on our honeymoon and made the best of it - but, coming back and receiving this kind of treatment is absolutely uncalled for.

I would recommend that people spend a little more money and fly on a reputable airline that understands the concept of "customer service" or at least picking up the phone!

If there is anyone who has EVER received compensation for misplaced baggage? Would you let me know by posting here? I'm trying to determine whether it's worth it for me to continue badgering them.

I work in the finance office of a major airline (neither American nor European), and we send perhaps 5 compensation checks a week for lost or damaged baggage. (This is the local Paris office, not the head office.) The amount of the check is of course based on the weight registered and has nothing to do with the value of the contents or the price of the bag.

I agree. My husband was in Italy on 7/28 to 8/12. He never got his suitcase upon arrival to Rome on the 28th. It mysteriously appeard on the date he was to return to USA. So for 13 days no clothes, sneakes, undies, socks etc. Not to mention the time spent on the phone trying to locate the suitcase. I will never fly Alialia again. We also met 2 other people in Sorrento at our hotel that lost their bags too. I waited in line 2 hours just to fill out a form to try and find the suitcase. 2 hours will tell you how many others were in line waiting. Could not get into churches because he only had shorts. Could not find clothes for him in Rome because he is large and tall. Recosider another airline. I thought we would neer have this experience and we did so don't think it won't happen to you. It takes 90 days to get a response from Alitalia if you want any compensation and the time it takes to make copies of all the documentation will drive you insane. NEVER AGAIN. CIAO CIAO ALitalia

Can you believe it--after over a year, DD FINALLY got a check for $683.30. Of course this doesn't begin to cover her loses, but after they claimed she didn't even exist in their system, surprised to see a check!

Great bit of travel writing, coming from a place of deep passion:

"I would rather fling our suitcases into the crater of Vesuvius than fly Alitalia in the future. At least I would know that my suitcase was burning in the crater of a volcano, not sitting in the inner sanctum of Alitalia HELL."

Ha.

Hi,
I wrote a posting somewhat earlier here. As I'm taking the plane from Geneva to Catania via Milan, (with Alitalia) I have to say I feel a bit tense for my luggage. I don't want to see us hopping over Sicily with only one luggage for the 4 of us. Of cours, we will take two small suitcases as cabin luggage with some clothes for the 4 of us.

I also found this website:
http://www.aea.be/aeawebsite/webrsc/index_SerQlty.htm
When clicking on Q2, you'll see the list of delayed luggage in items/1000 passengers of the european airlines.

Italy is 19th. Luxair, KLM and TAP are behind AZ. And BA is way behind. Also interesting is that AirFrance and Lufthansa are not that far away from Italy's position. Anyone knows of a similar website for american airlines?

Visit this website for some fabulous tips on travelling light with just handluggage - www.onebag.com

I'd highly recommend posting things home. Sure it's expensive - but better than the risks/hassle/burden of travelling with so much luggage you need to check it in.

To console those concerned about above comments re Al Italia, I have flown with them often and have found their airport staff extremely helpful when things went not quite according to plan. They have never lost my luggage! (Touch Wood)