WARNING!!! SOUTHWEST AIRLINES IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE WORST AIRLINE ON PLANET EARTH! I was booked on SWA #455 from LAX to ABQ (non-stop, mind you) leaving LAX at 8:10 PM on Sunday 7/22/07, arriving at 10:40 PM on Sunday 7/22/07. I checked two bags at 4:15 PM after standing in line approximately one hour. Then, I stood in the TSA line for another 20 minutes to have my checked bags inspected and passed off to Southwest’s baggage handlers.

When I arrived at ABQ and went to the appointed carousel to pick up my luggage, I was delighted to see my large bag already in the holding area outside of SWA’s baggage office. I picked it up without anyone confirming whether it was my bag or not. No SWA personnel were there. I later determined that SWA forwarded the larger bag on an earlier flight. It appears the Dakota bag (referred to below) may have also been forwarded on an earlier flight.

Then, I noted the second bag (a very expensive Dakota duffel bag) was not in the holding area. I naturally expected it to be coming out with Flight 455 baggage.

It did not arrive. I can only conclude that a Southwest employee stole the bag for the DVD’s in it. And, after five days of “searching,” Southwest now says they have suspended searching.

The Dakota bag cost me $325. Its contents included many personal documents with information that, in the wrong hands, could be used to steal the identities of a number of persons. The Dakota bag also contained an 80 DVD zipper case, nearly full of high end late movies – something anyone would steal if not watched. I estimate the cost of the DVD’s to be not less that $900.

Yes, I must admit, I was an idiot for packing such items in a bag that had to be checked due to its size! But, give me a break – a non-stop from LAX to ABQ -- how could such a bag possibly get lost?

I am now advised by Southwest that they have “suspended the search for my bag.” Note – SWA does not scan in baggage, and therefore has no way to track baggage. They simply lie to the public about this.

Having made claim for the lost luggage, I am offered $30 for my trouble.

I offer these words of warning:

Never fly SOUTHWEST AIRLINES.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES hires thieves and drug addicts as baggage handlers.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES trains its agents to lie rather than aid in the resolution of customer complaints.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES is the filthiest airline in the world.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES has absolutely no commitment to customer satisfaction.

SOUTHWEST has the very wrong idea customers want a cute song by 18 year old flight attendant rather than competent service. SWA’s flight attendants could not recognize a fire if their own hair were ablaze!

I simply wanted to be safely transported from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, without having the airline employees steal my baggage and its contents which were worth in excess of five times the cost of the ticket.

By the way, be sure to shower after flying –to get rid of the Texas ticks that plague the plane.

We traveled from Chicago to Baltimore at 3:00 p.m. flight 202 on Friday, December 22nd to spend time with family over the holidays. We were the last people off of the plane, and stopped to use the restroom, and by the time we reached the baggage claim it was unclear from the signage which carosel our baggage would be on. We asked the baggage personnel and they were unhelpful. We finally recognized some people from the flight and migrated towards an unmarked baggage claim. Our flight finally came up and we waited about 45 minutes for all of the bags to come around. We realized that none of our bags showed up, and about 20 other people from the same flight had a similar situation. Next, we all went to the Southwest baggage office and waited another 30 minutes only to be told that our situation wasn't unique, all baggage from Chicago was delayed since 10 a.m. the same day, and to fill out a claim form to get our baggage. (At this point, I wondered, if you knew that major baggage issues were a factor, why wasn't that information communicated to the baggage receiving personnel in Chicago? If we were told, "We are having a baggage problem, and if you can carry your luggage on, do so" , then we could've been armed with the necessary information to make a decision.)

We filed the claim, and waited. We called at about 11:00 p.m. to find out what was going on only to be forwarded to an unmanned voice message system with no options to speak with a real person. We finally got thru to a person around mid-night who informed us that one bag was in, but they were still waiting for the other one to arrive. When asked the ETA of the second bag, they had no answer. We asked them to bring the bag that they had, since it had gifts in it, and we were exchanging gifts with family in a couple of hours. They refused. They said they would give us $75 to come and pick up the bag. At 12:30 a.m. that did not sound very appealing. So we waited. We were told that we would receive a call with an update by 1:00 or 1:30 a.m. at the latest. We never received a call.

At 7:30 a.m. we phoned again. Once again, we were routed to the unmanned phone system. (Very frustrating, it's as if they are saying, "we screwed up, we lost your bags, but we're much to busy and important to actually take your phone call." It's like a bad one sided relationship that we are paying to be a part of.) We continued calling and finally got thru to someone who let us know that both bags were in and would be delivered sometime between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. We envisioned yet another day of waiting and asked if their were any other options. We were told no. We were offered $50 to come a get the bags. (Apparently, our discomfort and inconvenience was going down in value in the eyes of the BWI Southwest Baggage Office.) Next, we were told by J'Vette -a baggage clerk- that our situation was not unique, our needs were not important, and that we would have to wait our turn in the line up of people who were waiting for bags. (Just what we needed after a night of not sleeping-waiting for a call from SWA baggage). We opted to pick up the bags, not wanting to trust our holiday plans to the Southwest Logistics Dept and clerks like J'Vette.

Thanks a lot SWA for helping our holiday get off to a great start. We are disappointed and feel as though Southwest Airlines baggage teams should collaborate more effectively and communicate with their customers. Mistakes happen, but Southwest should do a better job of handling customer concerns. Additionally, SWA should invest in customer service training for baggage people. The airline crews are so friendly and outgoing... that image diminishes when you deal with the baggage office. The two are incongruent.

This e-mail is being sent to tell people to check their luggage carefully after flying with Southwest Airlines. I took a flight with them last week. My luggage did not have an inspection notice in it, it was not damaged or opened in any way, and it was a direct flight to my destination. When I reached my destination I discovered that two pieces of my under clothing were missing. I was sure I'd packed them, but decided to wait to call them until I got home to make sure I'd not left them at my home. I had not...

I called Southwest and was told that I need to call their long distance claims dept.number. I was then told by their claims dept. that the claim would be denied by them because:

1.) More than 4 hours had passed since I received my luggage,
and
2.) there was no visible damage to my luggage.

So, my assumption is that because their employees know this policy, they are taking small items that won't be missed immediately. Now I'm wondering about those earrings that have been "lost" on a prior trip.

So, my advice is to either not fly Southwest Airlines or to make a complete inventory of what you packed so that you can check to make sure nothing is missing. Include it with a big note inside your luggage to discourage anyone that might be thinking of pilfering through your belongings.
--
Lori in Arizona