Danielle Covarrubias was upset when American Airlines had lost her suitcase. But when the airline then refused to refund her $25 baggage fee, she became mad as hell. Then she called a lawyer.
The result is a $5 million class action lawsuit, which according to industry experts is the first since American Airlines started to charge a fee for handling and transporting luggage in June 2008. The airline was the first major carrier to impose such fees.
"It just goes to show you how enraged people are by the lack of common-sense regulation in the airline industry," aviation expert and creator of airfarewatchdog.com George Hobia told ABC News. "It doesn't make any sense at all that somebody should charge for a service and then screw up and not give you your money back."
Covarrubias paid a $25 fee for her lone piece of luggage on an AA flight from Seattle to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in May but the bag has never arrived at its final destination. "This case … is about an entire industry that has lost touch with its customers," Casey Ingels, one of Covarrubias' lawyers, said in a statement.
Covarrubias, waited for the next flight to arrive but her bag, containing more than $800 worth of possessions wasn't on that flight either. She spent more than $300 on new clothing and toiletries and then waited another 24 hours for news from the airline. "In her last conversation with American Airlines… she was told nothing could be done," the lawsuit said. The airline refused her demand for a refund of the baggage fee.
An American Airlines spokesman said the carrier was reviewing the lawsuit and offered no immediate comment. "We already do allow customers to include a checked bag charge refund request in their baggage claim if they file one for other damages and the claim is accepted for full or partial payment," said the spokesman. It was unclear whether Covarrubias filed such a claim.
American Airlines charges a fee of $25 for the first checked bag, $35 for the second, $100 for the third, fourth and fifth pieces, and $200 for every bag thereafter. All major U.S. airlines except Southwest now charge for checked bags, and the revenue is massive - United Airlines alone raked in $400 million from bag fees last year.
Here in Canada, WestJet allows two checked bags at no additional charge on all flights. Air Canada allows two free checked bags for flights within Canada, one for flights between Canada and the U.S. The charge for a second checked bag is $30. For flights to Europe one bag can be checked free, a second costs $50. For all other destinations, two free checked bags are allowed.
While the majority of checked bags reach their destination without incident, a total of 2,193,711 bags were reported mishandled by airlines last year in the United States. Southwest Airlines led the pack with 357,525 reports. and American Airlines was second on the list with 299,257 reports.
