I was watching 20/20 last week and discovered a segment on what happens to lost airline luggage. As much as I claim to know about travel, it had never occurred to me to think about where exactly lost luggage goes. Had I spent any time with the concept, I probably would have guessed that it was donated and given to charity in some way, shape, or form.
Instead, I was startled to learn that all the lost luggage goes to Scottsboro, AL, not to be sorted and donated, but to be sold! Although the airlines claim only about 1% of luggage is "lost" forever, that's still a lot of luggage with over 2 million people flying each and every day -- approximately 36,500 bags a year. And all those bags are full of a lot of stuff.
And all that stuff goes off to Scottsboro's Unclaimed Luggage Center, where each and every day more than 7,000 items ranging from designer duds to jewelry are available for sale, pricing their merchandise anywhere from 20%-80% off the retail price. But considering the merchandise never rightfully belonged to them in the first place, the retail prices seems like a moot point. The whole scene is a feeding frenzy of people picking over new inventory flow in and out each day. Everything is also dry cleaned or inspected before it goes to the floor.
Is it just me? It seems highly unethical to sell off people's stuff through no fault of their own. Shouldn't those lost items be donated to a good cause? Or couldn't the airlines use the money selling off lost bags to lower their airfare? Or better yet, given to customers who never find their luggage? Why aren't the customers compensated for the airline's misguided profit? What exactly do the airlines do with all that money?
Allegedly the airlines have a research department to try to find lost luggage's owner before it's turned over to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. Yet 20/20 found several owners of lost luggage that the airlines claimed they couldn't find. How did the reporters find the owners? Simply by looking at names inside a Bible, a hat, and the phone number attached to a wheelchair in not 1, but 3 different places -- they found their ecstatic owners.
The official website of the Unclaimed Baggage Center even has an Unpack the Bag button so you can see some of the hidden treasures the center has uncovered. I was utterly depressed to see a 5.8 diamond carat ring had been found inside a sock and was being sold off. Of course, whoever packed a 5.8 diamond carat ring inside a sock, put it in a bag, and willingly handed it over to the airline to be checked is insane, but no one deserves to lose their treasures and sentimental keepsakes just because they want to travel.
The airlines sell off their lost luggage to the Center (seems like a conflict of interest that they can make money off of items that they accidentally lost), which is then handed over to appraisers to set prices, cleaned up, or even dry cleaned. It's become one of the largest tourist attractions in Alabama drawing over 800,000 visitors per year. There's even a museum and a Starbucks on the premises when you need a break from picking over other people's stuff.
How did it all start? An insurance salesman, H. Doyle Owens, borrowed $300 and a pickup truck in 1970 and bought a 100 bags or so left on Greyhound buses. He brought them back to Scottsboro and sold them off at a few card tables to the town of about 15,000. The Center now covers an entire city block and employs over 100 workers.
If you lose your bag, file a claim immediately. Make sure and attach a colorful tag or something to clearly identify your bag, especially if it's a typical black bag. Usually your bag will find its way to you within 24 hours. Keep calling the airlines and keep complaining, write letters, and complain some more. This will keep the airlines on it, and you're likely to get a travel voucher for your troubles, as well as monetary compensation for a permanently lost bag.
Typically the airlines will only pay about $9.07 per pound with a maximum of about $640 a bag. So what you put in your checked bag should cost less than what the airlines will compensate. Keep this in mind before buying a $1,000 suitcase and stuffing it with 5.8 diamond carat rings in your socks.
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1 comment:
I know!!! I could not believe it when I read the story in our local paper. As far as I'm concerned it's theft. Maybe that's a little harsh, but I definitely have a problem with the ethics (or lack of!!) involved.
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