Right bag, wrong person

WHEN checked luggage doesn't show up as promised, passengers usually duke it out with the airlines. But Fullerton resident Robert Nixon recently found himself battling over bag custody with a new adversary — a fellow flier who was holding his luggage captive.

Nixon wrote to Travel Q&A about the incident, which took place on a recent flight from Boston to Los Angeles:

"An American Airlines ticket agent mistakenly switched my bag tag at check-in with that of a passenger traveling to Chicago. Although the airline assured me that my luggage would arrive the next day, it didn't. A customer service person admitted a Chicago woman had my bag and was holding it until hers was returned.

"The actions of Ms. Power Play did not result in this woman getting her luggage any sooner. Mine arrived after three days. What, if any, recourse do I have?"

Travel Q&A researched the problem for Nixon and found that switched tags are treated like mishandled baggage. If a flier's luggage is lost, stolen, damaged or items are found to be missing, the airline is liable for up to $2,800 under Department of Transportation rules.

But a passenger holding another flier's bag hostage? That's a new one on us — and on American as well.

"It's one of the weirdest cases I've ever heard," said spokesman Tim Smith.

Although It took three days and a slew of baggage handlers in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles to straighten out the mess, American did return Nixon's bag, and it doesn't owe him anything.

Because Nixon was already at his final destination — LAX — when he reported the problem, American didn't compensate him for the inconvenience either.

Still, the luggage problem raises questions: Why did American let a passenger walk out with the wrong suitcase?

Simple, Smith said: She held the matching tag. "No one would have stopped her," he said. American's contract of carriage states that it's not responsible for making sure claim-check holders actually own the luggage they're rolling out the door.

According to the airline's records, the Chicago passenger never intended to deceive. She simply held on to Nixon's bag until hers was delivered.

Nothing was missing from Nixon's errant bag. If so, "American would have absolute liability," said travel attorney Jeff Miller of Columbia, Md.

American calls such bag-tag switches "rare." But as bankrupt and financially ailing carriers cut back payrolls, the number of baggage mishaps, routine and unusual, are on the rise.

In October, airlines mishandled one in every 200 bags, or about 0.5% of all checked luggage, according to the DOT's latest Air Travel Consumer Report. That's 21% more than in the previous year. (American ranked slightly below the industry average.) "The airlines say it's rare, but when you apply that percentage against the total number of bags, it's huge," says LAX spokesman Paul Haney. The airport handles about 150,000 pieces of luggage a day and, at the DOT rate, that's 750 bags.

Our reader's bag bugaboo also raises the question: Why wasn't anyone checking tags in the baggage claim area?

To save money, most airlines and airports have done away with such checks. American's Smith, however, contends that so few passengers leave with the wrong bags, it "doesn't make economic sense" to monitor claim areas.

Nor does the DOT require them to do so. "It's basically an honor system now," says spokesman Bill Mosley.

Airports assume no liability either. "It's not our responsibility," says Mark LaVorgna of New York's Port Authority, which oversees operations at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports.

"We don't take over that function unless an airline asks us to," says LAX's Haney, adding that the airport will step up surveillance to crack luggage theft rings. "We have a whole detail specializing in stings."

How can you minimize luggage problems?

•  Double-check tags. At check-in, don't let your bag out of sight until the tag is on; then check the numbers on your claim check against the bag's tag.

•  Don't pack anything you can't afford to lose. Passengers have few rights regarding luggage. DOT rules allow passengers to file claims up to $2,800 on lost, stolen or damaged luggage, more if they take out "excess valuation" insurance.

Don't take chances with that heirloom watch or other family valuables. Carry it on or, better yet, leave it at home.

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Send e-mail to travel@latimes.com or write to Travel Q&A, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012. Include name, city and phone number.