On 31 August celebrating our honeymoon in Europe our luggage was checked in at the Iberia counter at Athens airport. Bound for Malaga, Spain we were ensured by Iberia staff that our luggage would be sent directly through to Malaga, despite having to change planes at Madrid Airport.

We arrived in Malaga, Spain having travelled the whole day and night from Greece to find that our luggage had not arrived. The baggage carrosel was a joke - they kept putting 10 bags out at a time and then stoping the conveyer belt and closing the shutters. it was a complete disaster leaving passengers stranded, tired and not knowing whether they were going to receive their luggage that evening (it was 11 pm at night). Our luggage did not arrive on the flight we were on so we immediately we went to the lost baggage claim area. The staff were very blase about the fact that our luggage had disappeared. After explaining to them that we had a wedding to go to in a day's time and that since this was the reason we had decided to come to Spain in the first place we were not in the slightest bit happy..

My husband and I had pre-wedding functions to attend, hence no make up or toiletries and were told that we had to buy some toiletries etc and would be re-imbursed by our travel insurance company later. This did not help our situation as we had come for our honeymoon after the wedding costs and travelling through Europe at our own cost you can imagine what little money we had left. the Iberia representative did not offer us anything but were told to phone the airline the following day to find out whether our luggage had been located.

I was appalled by the Iberia customer service. After my husband lodging the paperwork at the counter, I was not happy as I think they should have offered us something. It was a disgrace so I decided to speak to the Iberia General Manager myself (who was conveniently not there at the time). Nobody seemed to care and the whole experience of not having luggage for 37 hours was really stressful as I had all of my clothing for the wedding in my luggage as well as shoes, make up, toiletries etc and a wedding gift. It was as though they did not care and we had to call the airline at our expense. Which we are claiming compensation for.

Not only did it cause my husband and I distress (0n our honeymoon) but wasted my families quality holiday time in Marbella who were all in Marbella for my brother's wedding.

I have lodged a formal complaint with Iberia Airlines but of course have not yet received any response from the airline 2 months later. We have also still not received an apology from the airline. I felt the staff were unhelpful and didn't seem to care. The whole system was a joke which caused us much distress on our honeymoon. We will never fly this airline again.

I flew from Atlanta - Miami - Madrid - Gran Canaria on 5/26/08. Upon arrival at the Atlanta airport, the AA agent (I flew on AA from ATLMIA)informed that my bags (6 of them)would be checked all the way to my final destination in Las Palmas Gran Canaria on IB. When I arrived in LPA on 5/27/08, not one of my checked bags had made it in. As a result, I filed a lost baggage form with the IB agent. That night, I received a call from the local IB baggage office in LPA. The agent (I must say was extremely nice and helpful) informed me that IB had located 4-of-6 bags at the MIA airport. For some reason, AA did not transfer my bags to IB in the time required to make the conncections. He also added, that he would work with IB in MIA to locate the other 2 missing bags.

Again, that night, I received a second call telling me that the two additional bags were found. I was told that all the bags were enroute to MAD and they would arrive at LPA on IB834 on 5/28/08. On 5/28/08, I met IB834 MADLPA and in the process of getting my bags, I noticed that the largest piece I had checked seemed very flat. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the TSA approved lock was cut. Upon lifting the bag, I noticed that it seemed light. Once I opened the bag I noticed that about 80% of the content checked were missing.

Needless to say, I felt totally confused, humiliated and angry about the whole situation. The local LPA IB personnel seemed in disbilief and very apologetic. Because some the items taken were very personal (e.g. underwear, electric shaver and socks)IB gave me a care kit to make due and provided phone and fax numbers for their main customer care office in Madrid. Currently, I've sent a fax to IB main office in Madrid Spain detailing all the missing items with corresponding value. I've yet to receive any responses but I'm hopeful the proper compensation can be made asap.

By the way, the IB Reservations agents have told me there is nothing they can do to help me in tracking my complain from the US. Basically, I must continue dealing with their main offices in Madrid which mean that I would have to pay for long distance calls. Please, I would appreciate hearing from anyone that may have experienced similar situations.