Alaska Air poor handling of Luggage stuck in Seattle

[Rancher Dave]

MODS, please leave this up at least for 24 hours or longer if you will...trying to help family stranded in Seattle and the info may help others flying thru there on the way to cruises!!!

 

DW just had a call from her sis. They arrived on Sunday afternoon to Seattle via Alaska Air...ongoing flight cancelled due to weather. So it was not the airlines fault. Their luggage along with that of tons of other folks is all piled high in a secure area and the airline is unwilling to try to sort it out so folks who, like in the case of SIL and her family are stuck in Seattle for 5 days total, they will fly again on Friday if they are lucky, have no luggage...had to go buy their own basics all over again.

 

Seems AK Air is not helping anyone at all...

 

Does anyone have a good contact at AK Air who can help sort thru getting luggage to folks at the airport so they have clean clothes, underwear etc..., without having to buy it all new? Please share this so everyone stuck there can get some help.

 

Thanks y'all!!!

[bruce-r]

good luck with that. There is probably more to that than Alaska being unwilling to help people get their luggage. I'll be the TSA goons have something to do with it along with the company that contracts the baggage handling at SEA since Alaska doesn't do that themselves.

 

Contact the airport officials?

 

(206) 433-5388

(800) 544-1965

 

From the SEATAC Contacts page: http://www.portseattle.org/about/contact/

[CVU]

We are in a big mess up here in the NW, so I bet they are swamped with luggage to deal with. Another storm is due again tonight and into tomorrow.

 

Many canceled flights and lots of delays, passengers in line for hours on end and sleeping on the airport floor to not lose their spot in the line. All on our evening news tonight, not nice for the Holidays.

[GlenandVal]

I hope every one finds their luggages and makes their way home soon and safely

what an adventure

[juliebug52]

MODS, please leave this up at least for 24 hours or longer if you will...trying to help family stranded in Seattle and the info may help others flying thru there on the way to cruises!!!

 

DW just had a call from her sis. They arrived on Sunday afternoon to Seattle via Alaska Air...ongoing flight cancelled due to weather. So it was not the airlines fault. Their luggage along with that of tons of other folks is all piled high in a secure area and the airline is unwilling to try to sort it out so folks who, like in the case of SIL and her family are stuck in Seattle for 5 days total, they will fly again on Friday if they are lucky, have no luggage...had to go buy their own basics all over again.

 

Seems AK Air is not helping anyone at all...

 

Does anyone have a good contact at AK Air who can help sort thru getting luggage to folks at the airport so they have clean clothes, underwear etc..., without having to buy it all new? Please share this so everyone stuck there can get some help.

 

Thanks y'all!!!

Good Luck with this one. We spent two nights in Philly the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was post cruise flight from Ft Lauderdale. We missed our Seattle connection because air traffic control delayed flights because of heavy traffic. First they said they would pull our luggage but they didn't and would not. They lied to us. Two nights. No luggage. No place to shop. We were flying first class but went home coach thru Chicago, then Phoenix, then Seattle. No reimbursement. It seems like they should be able to pull the luggage but they can't and won't.

[LadyZolt]

This can and does happen, especially when weather problems arise. What I recommend is that people bring necessities and a change of clothes in their carry on bags. I don't put anything in my checked bags that I'd need within the next 24 hours or so. Not that this helps those stranded right now, but anyone reading this, keep it in mind for the future. I was once delayed on a flight from Philly to Albuquerque in May due to weather in Texas! They managed to re-route me so I arrived only a couple hours off my originally scheduled arrival time, but my checked bags didn't make it to Albuquerque until the next day.

 

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

[Rancher Dave]

I ended up finding and giving them AK Air corporate office address, they went there and made a stink so the corpororate office called over...by then, the bags were on a flight to EWR...today they luggage flew back and they have all but one. Most of the Christmas Gifts are at the grandma's house on the Jersey shore area.

 

The relatives will be in Seattle thru Friday, fly to Philly, drive to the grandma's house for a overnight visit (was to be a week long visit) then fly home weather willing on Saturday. Sadly my BIL is going in part to say goodbye to his brother who is terminal with cancer, so the lost week really hurts them for that reason more than any.

 

Timing stunk yesterday when I could have popped FF miles for a thru flight for them...had I spotted it a couple hours earlier I woud have burned the miles to help them get there instead of waiting on the AK Air seats.

 

To all other stuck in transit, we pray for a speedy onward flight!!!

 

Merry Christmas!

[gatour]

Denver is in the same boat so to speak. The difficulty to "just get your" bags is that there are probably thousands of bags they would have to go through just to find yours. During normal times most of the baggage handling is automated, with bags just flowing through at a normal pace, but now they are piled up, so it will take time for them to start going through luggage and sorting it all out, etc

[TEXASMUNK]

#1 Name calling TSA "goons" does not help the OP.

 

#2 Hitting the boards for ideas is a great idea.

 

#3 Typical Of Rancher Dave! He seeks solutions versus being paralyzed by a crisis! He is a typical Texan!!!

 

#4 A small reminder on luggage. Carry meds, DO NOT carry the kitchen sink onboard....be considerate of others needing some overhead space, be ready with phone numbers and contacts when you have to connect during a trip or if your flight is a "direct" flight (note, direct flights are NOT non-stop flights)..direct could well be MIA-DFW-LAX, on the same plane....they makes stops between origination and final destination.

[ladyvet]

When our family of 4 went on a Med cruise, the airline lost ALL our luggage. We were without any luggage for 5 days. I learned from that experience. I bought a small, efficient carry-on where I pack essentials such as underwear, change of clothes, meds, make-up, bathing suit.

 

As another poster said, I don't want to lug a huge bag and be inconsiderate, but it can be done smartly. After you've cruised the Med without underwear, you wise up quickly!

 

Hope all the travelers get home safely.

Beth

[Darkwolfe]

After you've cruised the Med without underwear, you wise up quickly!

 

Now there's an experience nobody except Brittany Spears will want...

[CFIGuy]

An unrelated baggage tip to all cruisers. Do whatever you can to keep your bags under 50 lbs each. You will not have to pay the overweight fee if they are under 50 lbs. More importantly, if the plane is overweight, the first thing we kick off are the "heavy" bags. We typically don't say anything when taking them off, so unfortunately, when we get to the destination is when the people find out.

[Rancher Dave]

Now there's an experience nobody except Brittany Spears will want...

 

I think BS did it for the exposure. :eek:

 

 

On a happy note, the family got lucky and was moved from a flight tomorrow to one sometime today so they now get 2 nights with Grandma and terminal bro/uncle.

 

Probably the best Christmas present for them. I expect by tonight they will have all their luggage with them.

 

I am grateful for a drive to the next cruise and lots of room in the cabin so I can more easily pack whatever we want to take with us...

 

It makes a lot easier taking various cameras, some toys and games for DD.

[Donray]

An unrelated baggage tip to all cruisers. Do whatever you can to keep your bags under 50 lbs each. You will not have to pay the overweight fee if they are under 50 lbs. More importantly, if the plane is overweight, the first thing we kick off are the "heavy" bags. We typically don't say anything when taking them off, so unfortunately, when we get to the destination is when the people find out.

 

Be careful, some airline it i3 20KG or 45lb limit before you pay for over weight.

[scottbee]

DW just had a call from her sis. They arrived on Sunday afternoon to Seattle via Alaska Air...ongoing flight cancelled due to weather. So it was not the airlines fault. Their luggage along with that of tons of other folks is all piled high in a secure area and the airline is unwilling to try to sort it out so folks who, like in the case of SIL and her family are stuck in Seattle for 5 days total, they will fly again on Friday if they are lucky, have no luggage...had to go buy their own basics all over again.

 

No airline is responsible for weather; and this is probably a good time to point out that a carry-on is very handy for essentials in case the main luggage doesn't arrive, or situations like this.

 

What was your intended routing? Was it all AS metal, or was a it a code share on another airline? It is possible the bags were already passed to another carrier.

 

In my experience Alaska Air (which carries the code AS not AK) is one of the most helpful airlines in North America. I just went through Seattle when the entire airport was shut for 4+ hours, and there wasn't a single cranky person in the C or D concourse due to the exemplary work of the AS (and QX) staff in getting people re-routed.

 

Either way, there's an excellent, staffed, AS counter in both the C and D concourses (the D one is generally quieter) who should have been able to assist and work something out.

[scottbee]

Be careful, some airline it i3 20KG or 45lb limit before you pay for over weight.

 

AS is 1 bag free, 50lbs max.