Best & Worst Airlines for Lost Luggage 2009

Worried about your luggage being mishandled or going MIA during plane travel? Choosing the right carrier can cut the risks.

Though it happened a few years back, Kathy Dragon remembers her worst baggage-handling nightmare like it was yesterday. The owner of a cultural walking tour company, Dragon’s Path, Dragon had flown from Miami to Paris to meet a group that she’d arranged to lead on an eight-day trek through Provence.

Her luggage, however, didn’t make the rendezvous. Consequently, Dragon had to mobilize her tour without maps, a first-aid kit, or any clothes but the ones she’d shown up in. Over the next week, in between increasingly frustrated calls to her airline and its affiliated delivery company, she led her group on all-day walks wearing a pair of borrowed men’s hiking boots that were several sizes too big.

“Of course,” Dragon remembers, “my bags finally showed up on the last day—just in time to bring them on the flight home.”

For those of us who fly frequently, Dragon’s story may be all too familiar. Luggage that gets lost, delayed, damaged, or even pillaged has started to seem like just another side effect of today’s airline industry ills. But it doesn’t have to be—because in fact, some carriers rate much better than others when it comes to baggage handling.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s October 2009 Air Travel Consumer Report (which tracked baggage complaints for domestic airlines between August 2008 and August 2009), the overall number of travelers reporting mishandled luggage dropped significantly this year. Of the roughly 51 million air travelers who flew during the reporting period, close to 208,000 filed baggage complaints (relating to lost, damaged, or delayed baggage, charges for excess baggage, carry-on problems, and difficulties with airline claims procedures) with their carriers—a big number, but way down from last year’s total of almost 270,000.

Part of the improvement may have to do with airlines stepping up their game. Of the 19 domestic carriers ranked in the DOT’s report, several have recently undertaken new initiatives—like new computerized tags and tracking systems—to help protect baggage from getting misplaced, and for reuniting it more quickly with its owners when it does.

“Other airlines have simply been taking their customer-care responsibilities more seriously in an effort to stave off bankruptcy,” says Steve Snyder, spokesperson for Frontier Airlines (ranked # 3 on our “Best” list). “We all knew we had to run an extremely efficient airline in order to retain loyal passengers.”

More likely, though, the drop in baggage complaints is directly related to the current economy, in which fewer travelers are flying (total passenger numbers are down more than 2.5 million from 2008). Of those who do, many more are choosing to carry on their luggage, thus avoiding the fees that carriers now require for checking bags.

Regardless of these overall trends, though, the differences among airlines when it comes to baggage handling can be dramatic. So choose a carrier with our lists in mind—unless you don’t mind walking miles in someone else’s shoes.

Read on for the list of the 10 best—and 10 worst—airlines for baggage handling.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.37

Showing a significant improvement in complaint volume (down from 6.02 in 2008), ExpressJet, which operates as Continental Express, also jumped in rank (from its seventh-worst standing last year).

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.12

Another contender for Most Improved Baggage-Handling Performance this year, United both cut its customer complaints by almost a third (from 6.48 in 2008) and crossed over from the “Worst” list (# 6) to the “Best.”

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 3.57

The number of Southwest baggage complaints this year—almost 33,000—at first seems outrageously high. But considering that the carrier transported more than nine million passengers (far more than any other domestic airline), the number is pretty impressive.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 3.13

The only carrier on the “Best” list to lose ground in both passenger complaints and rank (it was second-best last year), Northwest has nevertheless managed to stay ahead of many of its competitors.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.93

Discount fan favorite JetBlue surely pleased devotees by lowering its already-low 2008 volume of baggage complaints (4.36 per thousand passengers) by another third this year.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.90

Holding on to its fifth-best rank from last year, US Air managed to trim its number of mishandled-baggage reports from 4.09 per thousand passengers.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.89

After lingering at # 7 on the “Best” list for the past two years, Continental saw a big leap in rank in 2009. The reason: the airline has progressively chipped away at its baggage complaint number (which was 5.83 per thousand in 2007).

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.24

By shaving more than a third off its already impressive 2008 baggage complaint number (3.79 per thousand passengers), this low-cost carrier has held its place near the top of the rankings.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.11

Small but mighty, Hawaiian’s passenger load is a fraction of other domestic carriers’ (in 2009 it transported just 758,452 travelers). Still, it takes baggage-handling responsibilities seriously—as proved by its # 1 rank in 2007 and 2008.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 1.74

The only 2009 airline to rack up fewer than two baggage complaints per thousand passengers, AirTran is—at least where safely-arriving luggage is concerned—as sure a bet as there is.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.40

One of the only domestic carriers to receive more baggage complaints this year than last, Alaska also fell quite a bit from its standing in 2008 (when it was ranked seventh-best).

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.45

The second-largest domestic carrier in the rankings, American transported more than six million passengers in 2009. Unfortunately, some 27,000 of them complained of lost or damaged luggage.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.53

Though it still garnered a high volume of baggage complaints, Mesa actually showed dramatic improvement over its 2008 numbers (7.72 reports per thousand passengers).

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 5.02

Though Delta’s baggage-handling performance improved slightly in 2009, it hasn’t kept up with some of its competitors: the airline fell sharply from its ranking of 10th-worst last year.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 5.25

SkyWest’s number of baggage complaints dropped this year over last—but its ranking has held steady at fifth-worst for two years in a row.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 6.25

This year, Pinnacle, which operates Delta Connection for Delta Airlines, suffered both in number of complaints and in rankings. Not only were its passenger gripes up significantly (from 5.63 per thousand passengers in 2008); it jumped up the “Worst” list from eighth to fourth.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 7.63

Even an improvement in baggage complaint numbers (down from 8.65 in 2008) and rank (up from second-worst) didn’t do much to change Atlantic Southeast’s disappointing overall performance.

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 7.81

Though this regional affiliate of American Airlines has hovered around the bottom of the “Worst” list for years, it’s cut its baggage complaint volume almost in half since 2007 (when it was a whopping 13.96 per 1,000 passengers).

Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 8.20

With the lowest passenger load of any ranked carrier (just 569,552 travelers in 2009), Comair nevertheless managed to inspire the highest percentage of baggage complaints. The bright side? From here, the only way for this airline to go is up.