Air Travelers, Summer is Upon us. What Should You Safely Pack in Your Checked or Carry-on Luggage For Your Long Awaited Vacation? An Excerpt From Chapter 2 of My Book The Empty Carousel Will Guide You!
Howdy fellow air travelers and vacationers who no doubt will be heading out to warm destinations especially after the brutal winter and severe weather many of you have experienced this past Winter and Spring. First I would like to take a moment to think of all the people who have suffered losses during these terrible spring storms recently in the U.S. not to mention the devastating events which have recently happened over seas. You and they are all in my thoughts and prayers as I sit and face another uncertain hurricane season here in what is now sunny hot, fire stricken with more losses of property happening as I write this. WOW what is going on in the world? I guess some idiots thought it would be funny and caused these fires in Florida that have already claimed more than 100 homes and forced so many into an uncertain future with losses that cannot be replaced.
As mentioned above in this blog’s title, what do the airlines and TSA cover in your checked or carry-on luggage in the event your luggage suffers, loss, damage, or pilferage when you travel this summer? Well the easiest way to answer this question for you is to list all or most of the items as listed in the airline’s Contract of Carriage which states what they do not cover which is certainly more than what they do cover. The problem is by the time you travel, you have not seen this information and most have no idea of the mistakes they are making when packing their luggage.
As the airlines state: The following is a list of what airlines will not cover in checked luggage with or without the knowledge of the airline. Carry-on luggage is considered in the possession of the owner so airlines will not cover any of these listed contents in your carry-on luggage either. Even if they force you to check your carry-on bag due to lack of overhead storage space in the aircraft cabin, your carry-on bag is now subject to the same rules as if you checked your bag at the counter.
- irreplaceable items
- One-of-a-kind items
- Money
- Negotiable papers
- Jewelry
- Securities
- Precious Metals
- Business documents
- Software and electronically stored data
- Books
- Manuscripts
- Publications
- Medications
- Silverware
- Keys
- Artifacts and antiques
- Paintings and other works of art
- Samples
- Photographic and electronic equipment (which includes PDA’s computers, camcorders, and digital cameras)
- Animals
- Fragile articles
- And other similar valuable items and commercial effects.
As a summary of the items listed above, the only items generally covered to any extent in your luggage is clothing, toiletries, cosmetics, linens such as towels, sheets, pillow covers. If you have a doubt and are thinking about packing something, I would suggest carrying it on or checking with me or your airline before you do check the item.
Expect another very busy summer travel season which will no less suffer more of the same problems from the past summer i.e. delays, weather, cancellations, crowded flights, and more. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. You can always email me for free advice through my website at any time and I will do my best to help you http://TheEmptyCarousel.com This is just a small part of the information my book will provide you to help you make sense of this system of unknown obstacles for you and your luggage.
Also remember that the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) adopted from the airlines pretty much the same rules covering what they will pay you for lost, stolen, or damaged items in your luggage as well.
One thing to keep in perspective is my recent blog regarding TSA theft and the report that they released recently stating that over 42,000 travelers in the last 3 years reported items missing from their luggage at a cost exceeding 30 million dollars. TSA calls this a small number of travelers opposed to the number of bags they process each year. Let me ask you this, since most of the items claimed as missing forever are not covered by the TSA or airlines, who do you think had to replace the missing items valued at over 30 million dollars????? Your right if you guested the air traveler who suffered the loss. With Fuel and food costs skyrocketing out of control, how much more unnecessary financial woes are you willing to accept in your life?
If the TSA had to repay the 30 million dollars plus cost of the alleged missing items out of their pockets, I highly doubt they would be calling this report insignificant or small!!
One of your losses is too many for me.
I hope you find this helpful and please pass this along to your friends, families, co-workers and anyone who you think would benefit from this post.
Happy travels to you and yours and may your luggage always arrive with you and intact.
Best Regards,
Scott
Author The Empty Carousel a Consumer’s Guide to Checked and Carry-on Luggage
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