us airlines must refund fee after lost Baggage

You've already paid $15, $20, even $35 to check your bag on a flight. Then the airline loses it. You don't even get your money back.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced new airline passenger protections that will require airlines to reimburse passengers for bag fees if their bags are lost, provide consumers involuntarily bumped from flights with greater compensation, expand the current ban on lengthy tarmac delays, and disclose hidden fees. The rulemaking finalized today builds on passenger protections issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2009, which prohibited U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours, with exceptions for safety, security and air traffic control related-reasons. The DOT rule also required U.S. airlines to provide basic services such as access to lavatories and water in the event of extended tarmac delays.
Lost Bags and Bag Fees. Airlines will now be required to refund any fee for carrying a bag if the bag is lost. Airlines will also be required to apply the same baggage allowances and fees for all segments of a trip, including segments with interline and code share partners. Airlines are already required to compensate passengers for reasonable expenses for loss, damage or delay in the carriage of passenger baggage.

Full Disclosure of Additional Fees. DOT require Airlines to prominently disclose all potential fees on their websites, including but not limited to fees for baggage, meals, canceling or changing reservations, or advanced or upgraded seating. In addition, airlines and ticket agents will be required to refer passengers both before and after purchase to up-to-date baggage fee information, and to include all government taxes and fees in every advertised price. Previously, government taxes and fees were not required to be included in the up-front fare quotation.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has implemented a series of rules aimed at protecting passengers. Last year, the government limited how long passengers can sit on planes during ground delays to three hours.

Under existing rules, if luggage is never found or is damaged, passengers can ask for a fee refund as part of their lost-property claim. But if a bag is simply delayed, a passenger is out of luck.

Two airlines provide a credit — although not a cash refund. Alaska Airlines offers a $20 credit for future travel or 2,000 frequent flier miles if luggage is not at the claim area 20 minutes after the plane parks at the gate. Delta gives a $25 credit for each bag if it doesn't arrive within 12 hours. Both airlines require a claim form.

Airlines prefer handing out vouchers instead of cash. The credits mean that a passenger will either bring them additional business or just never redeem the voucher, costing the airline nothing. Airlines often offer vouchers when they look for volunteers to give up seats on overbooked flights.

U.S. airlines lose bags at about half the rate they did in 2007, before the implementation of checked luggage fees. People are carrying on their bags, making the airlines' job easier. Still, last year, more than 2 million bags didn't arrive on the same flight as their owner.

"Passengers are paying $25 to have their bags carried but they aren't getting any better service. The airlines are just using it as a way to increase revenue," says Nick Gates, who oversees baggage products for SITA, an aviation technology provider.