Jewellery stolen

MrChips

My wife recently went on a business trip to Moscow, travelling on Aeroflot from Heathrow. On arrival her suitcase had gone missing (the only one on the whole flight to be mislaid) which was very inconvenient as she was hosting a conference the following day and was left with only her casual clothing she had travelled in. Initially the airline said they had no idea where the case had gone, but after some time they managed to track it down and she was reunited with it at her hotel a couple of days later. In the meantime she was told that customs officers in Russia would need to search it.

A day or so later it became apparent that a pair of gold earrings had gone missing from her make up bag within the suitcase. At first she clung to the hope she had somehow left them at home, but on her return she was able to confirm that she had indeed packed them and they were now gone.

She isn’t sure what to do next. Does she have a claim against the airline? The airport (destination or arrival)? Her travel insurers? The earrings were a gift many years ago so she has no receipt and isn't sure how much they originally cost.

Any advice gratefully received!

1MRR

My experience of a similar situation is not likely to cheer you.
If there is travel insurance or have paid by credit card, you should check the policy wording carefully for exclusions. Jewellery or valuables may be excluded from cover if they are packed in unaccompanied baggage, and I suspect the same view to be taken by the airline. The next option is to check your household policy. Now if you were covered, the issue is whether it is worth making a claim , given any applicable excess. It might be better to try to recover compensation from the airline for the inconvenience for the loss of luggage. Hope this helps

MrChips

My fear is that you are correct 1MRR. But I would have thought that the airline has a duty of care to its passengers. If it can let a bag go missing for 48 hours, and then when it turns up something is missing they have to bear some responsibility...

My wife's insurance is a policy through her work so we'll get a copy and check the T&Cs.

bouncydog1

Mine and a colleague's bags were rifled on an internal flight in South Africa. I wrote to the airline listing the items and the current value.

First attempt they tried and fob me off with baggage handlers were independent so I wrote back and advised that as a passenger I had no choice who handled my baggage and I viewed the arrangements as part of the airlines contract with the airport.

They paid up.