LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ (AZFamily) — A Valley couple’s vacation got off to a rough start when the airline misplaced their luggage.
They had to replace hundreds of dollars in items for their trip.
When they didn’t get the reimbursement they were promised, they reached out to On Your Side for help.
After recently retiring, J. R. Pool and his wife Donna Pool say they’re eager to do some traveling.
So they bought tickets through Swiss Airlines and flew 18 hours from Phoenix to Athens, Greece, to jump on a nine-day cruise.
But although J.R and his wife arrived in Greece, their luggage didn’t.
“And we stand there for a half hour and everybody’s picking up their bags and we looked at each other and it says, there’s no more bags,” J.R. said.
The couple filled out the lost baggage forms with Swiss Airlines and went out to see the sights and sounds of Athens.
But after two days of sightseeing and with the cruise about to start, the Pools still didn’t have their luggage.
“When we talk to Swiss Airlines, they (say) just go out and get the essentials,” J.R. said. “You go to the pharmacy and get your shampoos and contact solutions and toothpaste and all that stuff, we’ll reimburse you 100%.”
According to J.R., Swiss Airlines agreed to reimburse them 100% for toiletries and 50% for their new clothes.
The couple ended up spending roughly $1,400, including $200 on new luggage that they were really not expecting to be reimbursed.
“We went to the tourist shops and got t-shirts and shorts,” J.R. said. “It’s not like we went out and bought jeans and suits or anything.”
They did get the bags back midway through the trip.
When the cruise ended, the Pools submitted their expenses and were promptly reimbursed, but only for about $220. And customer service was no help.
“You can’t talk to anybody,” J.R. said. “It’s absolutely impossible.”
So, the Pools reached out to On Your Side for help.
“Now, Swiss Airlines is a great airline,” he said. “I mean, when you fly with them, you’re treated really good. But that last lost baggage part? Horrible.”
On Your Side reached out to Swiss Airlines, and after looking into the issue for us, Swiss not only apologized, but they went above and beyond the 50% reimbursement policy and gave the couple a total of $1,645, more than double what they were expecting.
“Even the suitcases they’re reimbursing,” J.R. said.
An airline spokesman told us, in part, “We are relieved that the case has been resolved, and above all, we hope that Mr. and Mrs. Pool will accept our apologies for the initial irregularities. With more than 16 million passengers a year, there are, unfortunately, rare cases like this where not everything goes smoothly. In this instance, the fault was clearly on our side, and we are glad that Mr. and Mrs. Pool contacted you.”
The Pools say they’re impressed with Swiss Airlines’ quick response and are glad they contacted On Your Side.
“You don’t have a voice,” J.R. said. “You can post on Facebook, they don’t care. But On Your Side, they know there’s a larger voice and a larger audience.”
We thank Swiss Airlines for making this right and even going beyond their original promise to the Pools.
And get this: on their trip home, two of their four bags were lost again.
They showed up a few days later.
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