Jonathan Tullett

In case you haven’t guessed from the subject, Continental Airlines still have not found our luggage.

I have been on the phone with them twice a day since Monday, asking for an update, and the answer, while worded differently each time, comes down to: ‘We have no idea where your bags are.’

They’ve “authorized the first compensation payment” which totals $50 and will be paid upon completion of a claim form. Apparently this process takes 90 days or so.

Further investigation of their website shows that as I’m traveling under the Warsaw Convention, ‘Continental’s liability is approximately $9.07 per pound up to $640.00 maximum per bag for checked baggage’. The bag weighed 20kg, so Continental would pay out ~ $399.

Checking my travel insurance, I can claim for my lost luggage and they’ll pay out up to £3000; however they want to see receipts for any items claimed. Who keeps receipts for everything?

Today, Emma wrote a list of some things which were in that bag. They include: iPod Touch, iPod speakers, her favourite jewelery, perfume, makeup as well as most of Zachary’s wardrobe. We have receipts for a few things, but literally, only a few. As you can see, the value of the contents of the bag far exceeds the $399 Continental would pay out anyway.

In more positive news, our office manager has spoken to her sister. Her sister is a frequent flier and is classed as a ‘gold member’ or something. Anyway, she’s able to get access to a better class of customer service – namely, someone with a clue. This person-with-a-clue thinks the bag wasn’t scanned properly at Houston, and thinks it may well be there. Now, I definitely saw it being scanned, but whether it registered is another matter.

I’m expecting a call regarding this in about 10 minutes. Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

A few things which have pissed me off so far on this trip:

1) Immigration taking HOURS resulting in us missing our connecting flight from to Austin
2) The person who booked us into the next available flight whose understanding of the words ‘seats together’ are obviously very different to mine. Putting a 2.5 year old on his own is just fucking retarded.
3) Continental Airlines for losing one of our bags.

To explain 3 in more detail:
When you come to Austin, you fly via Houston or Dallas Fort-Worth. When landing at either of those, you go through immigration and then collect your bags. You then chec

k them in again at another desk. They then put them on (hopefully) your flight.

So, we got to Houston, picked our bags, hopped onto the next available flight (3.5 hours later than our original) and arrived in Austin. When trying to collect our bags, one was missing. I filed a lost bag report, and was told that it should be on one of the following flights that evening. “It’ll be sent straight to your hotel, sir.”. Was it? Of course it wasn’t.

So, this morning I call them again. I’m told it should be on the first flight out (0815), and I should have it at the hotel shortly after it arrives. I question the ‘should’ aspect part of their sentence: it seems they have no way of knowing exactly where the bags are at any given time.

I arrive back at the hotel, Emma says nothing’s arrived. I call the front desk; nothing. I call Cuntinental (see what I did there!) and they still don’t know where his clothes are. If they’re not here by 8pm, we’re entitled to $50.

$50?

FIFTY FUCKING BUCKS?

I mentioned (in passing, as you do), that every single item of my Son’s clothing is in that case and that we have to go shopping for replacement clothes now. $50 he says.

Checking the compensation form, they offer:
- after 24 hours, $50
- after 3 days, $50
- after 4 days, $25
- after 5 days, $25

These amounts are for ‘essential items’. ‘essential items’ are the following:
soap, shampoo, conditioner, shavers, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, deodorant and undergarments.

Perhaps I’m being retarded, but I’d have considered over-garments essential clothing!

Those are the three things which have pissed me off. Other than that, it’s been good. The weather is lovely, Emma and Zachary had good fun at the Austin Children’s Museum. They’re just sleeping at the moment, but when they wake, we’ll be going for dinner. Yum.