Home » US business news » American Airlines lost a passenger’s cases containing equipment worth more than $70,000

American Airlines lost a passenger’s cases containing equipment worth more than $70,000

By Nagasunder in US business news, posted August 2, 2022

American Airlines lost luggage containing audio-visual equipment worth more than $70,000 and was required for an exhibition.

Ashkan Aghassi, a frequent flier in the airline's top tier, was flying from Phoenix to Dallas.

After landing, he found two Pelican boxes with the equipment in had not arrived.

Aghassi told Insider that he submitted a claim as soon as he noticed his luggage was delayed because "the worth of the Pelican bags and their contents was well over $100,000," but he was only able to show invoices totaling $72,796.

Insider reviewed a copy of the report of missing luggage, flight bookings, and equipment receipts.

Two days after, he phoned the baggage department.

He was told they had been recovered in Dallas and would be "rushed to Long Beach airport" and delivered to his house.

Aghassi said that the promised delivery never arrived.

He said: "I called central baggage and reached an agent who advised the file had been closed for some reason and that the information given to me by the previous representative was incorrect – the luggage was not found."

The agent, whose name was shared with Insider, reopened the claim and said he'd follow up with Aghassi.

AA policy is to wait a minimum of 30 days from first contact before an investigation can take place.

At the end of June, Aghassi followed up saying he was getting frustrated about the lack of updates.

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On Tuesday July 5, he received an email saying that the luggage had been officially deemed lost.

The representative asked Aghassi to send him receipts of the equipment to finalize the claim and issue a payment.

After doing so, he has not heard anything more.

His business insurance doesn't cover the equipment because it was being transported as passenger luggage rather than with a freight operator.

Aghassi concluded: "I spend tens of thousands of dollars with [AA] and their partners annually.

"During the course of my 1.5+ million miles of air travel, my luggage has been delayed or lost several times, but I've never experienced anything like this."

Insider contacted American Airlines for comment but had not received a response.

Source: BusinessInsider

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