JFK Airport Lost and Found

Woe is me; I lost my rings in the ladies room in the AA terminal, the one opposite that nice new wine bar. Neither of any intrinsic value but both of great sentimental value. One ring is silver, in the shape of a flaming sacred heart with a coralinset (although it really resembles a red pepper) and the other is in white gold with a turquoise stone. If anybody knows anyting please ping....

HI

I LOST MY WALLET/TRAVEL POCKET WITH MY CALIFORNIA DRIVERS LICENSE,AS WELL AS MY HUSBANDS. IT ALSO HAD OUR INSURANCE CARDS, AAA CARD, MY SONS INSURANCE CARDS, GIFT CARDS, AND CASH. WE TOOK FRIGHT 117 FROM JFK TO LAX ON NOVEMBER 9TH ON AMERICAN AIRLINES. STOPPED AT NEW YORK SPORTS BAR JUST ACROSS FOM OUR TERMINAL TO GRAB A BITE BEFORE OUR FLIGHT. MIGHT HAVE LOST IT THERE OR ON FLIGHT (NOT SURE). IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO PLEASE CONTACT ME AT 805-637-9233 REWARD IF FOUND!!

I left a pair of silhouette reading glasses on an American Airlines flight into JFK on Friday, Nov. 2nd. These glasses have sentimental value to me. tks

Here comes a really long email. I hope you will read it, as I need your help! My luggage is missing, and no one seems interested in finding it. So far, four different airlines are involved in the matter, and I have forwarded the following message to all of them, in the hope that at least one person will be willing to take some responsibility and get me my luggage back, rather that worrying only about blaming the other airlines.

It concerns four bags, tag numbers:

TA539263
TA539264
TA539265
TA539266

File ref either JFKLA10715 or TYLBJU (take your pick).

Here is a detailed summary of the case as it has progressed so far:

On the 14th of November 2007, I had a scheduled flight from La Paz, Bolivia, to JFK New York (via Miami) on American Airlines. This flight was cancelled, and American Airlines offered us the choice between waiting four days for an available flight, or pay our own way to Lima, Peru on a TACA flight ($300 each!), and then catching a LAN CHILE flight from there to New York. We chose the latter, and waited for 13 hours in Lima for the connecting flight to JFK.

On the 15th, we arrived in NY more than 12 hours delayed. We went to pick up our luggage (4 pieces), but none of it was there. We then contacted the baggage services, and spoke to representatives from both TACA and LAN CHILE. The two of them were blaming the other airline for the loss of our bags, and had no interest in explaining to us what was going to happen, or in finding our bags - at least thats how it came across to us. Especially the chap named Ramiro from LAN CHILE was unhelpful and uninterested. In the end he conceded to letting us file the claim with LAN CHILE, rather than TACA, as they were the last carrier to have flown us. We provided him with a forwarding adress in Mumbai, India, as we would only be spending a few days in NYC. Also gave descriptions of the bags etc. Even gave him a number for my parents in England, the hotel in NYC and my email adress, just to be sure he could reach us. We spent the rest of the day in New York, trying to enjoy our short break there - and obviously we had to buy some toiletries and clothes - expenses we had not expected to incur.

On the 16th, we spent the most of the day in NYC again, and then in the late afternoon we went out to JFK, in order to have time to talk to the baggage services again, before boarding our 21.15 flight to Kuwait on board Kuwait Airways. We were informed by the baggage counter in terminal 4 that our bags had been left in Lima, as they had not been transferred between TACA and LAN CHILE at the time of our transfer here, but that they had been found and were now in the hands of American Airlines. At the domestic baggage service counter in terminal 8 (domestic, because the bags had apparantly come in through Miami), a representative of American Airlines informed us that the bags had indeed been flown on American Airlines, and that they were on hand in JFK - to our great relief, although we were surprised as we had heard nothing from Ramiro from LAN CHILE, despite his promises to call immediately when he found anything out. Unfortunately, the bags were in fact NOT in the luggage storage room (either one, there was two) - we searched and searched, but they were simply not there. Now we were told that the system could maybe perhaps just be showing a forwarding order, and that the bags were probably, possibly still in Miami. We were promised that the matter would be dealt with by American Airlines now, as we no longer trusted LAN CHILE, and we provided the representative of American Airlines with forwarding adress, tag numbers, and contact numbers and email. As we were in a hurry, she promised to email us a claim reference, (which she never did). In the end we had to run and dash to catch our Kuwait Airways flight.

So, on the 17th, we landed in Kuwait, waited for around 5 hours, and then flew on to Mumbai, India.

On the 18th, early in the morning, we made it to Mumbai. We went to the adress of our friend, whose adress we had provided on the claim form to LAN CHILE as well as American Airlines. As we had not received the promised email from the rep of American Airlines, we decided to call and check on the progress of our bags. We called the baggage service of American Airlines, who at first informed us that they did not have the bags at all, next that they only had one bag in the system and it had already been delivered (case number for this one bag is TYLBJU in the AA system), nextly that we had to file a claim with our final carrier, Kuwait Airways, despite the fact that the bags were missing before we ever engaged them. Finally, a supervisor came on, named Gabrielle, and she found all four bags in the system, and said that they were on their way to India (ironically, on Kuwait Airways), and that we would certainly have them within 24 hours. We tried to contact LAN CHILE, with whom we had filed the claim, in order to confirm this, but they were unavailable all day. We left several messages on the answering machine for Ramiro or someone else to call us, but no one has.

On the 19th, we waited hopefully for our bags, which we had been led to believe would arrive in Mumbai at 4am on Kuwait Airways. When nothing had been delivered around noon, we decided to call around again. We called Kuwait Airways in Kuwait - they told us that the file reference number they could find relating to our luggage tag numbers was JFKLA10715, but that the case had been closed as the bags had been delivered on the 18th. They informed us that the case was not closed by them, and that the case had nothing what so ever to do with them. Frustrated by now, we tried calling everyone else. American Airlines could only tell us that they no longer had the bags, but had no record of whom they had forwarded the bags to. We went out to the airport in Mumbai, and here we spoke to a helpful baggage rep. He could also see that the case had been closed and status was set as delivered on the 18th of November for all 4 bags. He could not see where they were delivered, nor who had closed the case. As we had been informed that Kuwait Airways may be the carrier into Mumbai, we asked him to check in their system. Here he could se a record of one bag (black type 25) in my name, which was supposed to be on flight nr KU 102 on the 18th. (my checking on the Kuwait Airways website shows that this is a flight from JFK to Kuwait). There is no record of the bag after this, nor any sign of the other three bags.

So what do I do now? I feel I have exhausted all options, can never get a hold of the right person or pin anyone down willing to take responsibility for the case. All the airlines involved are sending me on to the others.
Who has my bags? It cannot be the case that the baggage tracking system is organised in a way that it is not possible to see who is currently holding the bags or where they are - not much of a tracking system if that is the case.
How and when can I receive my bags? By now I am happy to pick them up myself in the airport, if only they can make it to India one way or another.
Who is responsible? Each airline is blaming someone else, and no one seems to be responsible for anything, but someone must be in charge of finding and returning my bags.

I am aware that these things can take a bit of time, and I understand that it has not technically been that long since my bags were lost. However, the facts of the case are making me worried - no one can find the bags, the case is now closed, and that is the reason for this urgent email. I simply sincerely hope that someone can sort this out and find these bags - they contain more that just clothing - they are full of dive equipment, and as I am a professional diver, I am now left without the tools for earning my livelihood.

Frustratedly

Alan DaCosta
C/O Arthur Lewis
5-6 Kala Bharati
2nd Floor
Opposite Santa Cruz Station EAST
400-055 Mumbai
India

0091 222 612 5685

I left a pair of grey slacks and white blouse in a small brown paper Starbucks bag in the ladies room of the Delta arrivals women's bathroom at Terminal 3. Please call 917 514 1943 if you found. Will pay to get back. Thank you!