Claim Flight
Baggage Claim Compensation: claim lost or delayed luggage and get 1.414 € + expenses.
Baggage delayed or lost on your flight? Claim compensations under the Montreal Convention
It applies always for baggage compensations even if the airline is european.
Over 130 nations, including the USA, are signed up to the 2003 Montreal Convention. This specifies air passenger rights for several types of flight disruption, including baggage delays.
The convention addresses “damages” resulting from flight disruptions. An example is financial damages. If, as a consequence of your lost baggage, you had to pay for additional expenses such as clothes, you should be reimbursed for this.
Baggage compensation table according to the Montreal Convention
| Baggage claim | Limit of liability | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| Lost or damaged | 1.414€ = 1.253 SDR (Special Drawing Rights) | clothes, cost of the baggage, taxis |
Lost baggage compensation you can claim
In summary, when our baggage is lost we can claim a compensation according to the number of days the luggage is lost, plus expenses and damages.
- € 67 compensation per day the baggage remains lost: The Montreal Convention gives the airline a maximum limit of 21 days to deliver the lost baggage. After that deadline, the convention estimates that the baggage has been lost even if it is later found. As the maximum compensation to be paid to a passenger is € 1.414 for a lost luggage, you can estimate (although it is not completely objective) the compensation: € 1.414/ 21 days = € 67 per day.
- Compensation for the expenses caused by the lost baggage: you can add all the expenses that you would not have incurred: purchase of cleaning supplies, clothes, trips to the airport to look for the lost baggage… Keep tickets and receipts.
- Compensation for the damages: In addition, as these compensations are subjective, you can and must justify a loss and the damages caused by the inconvenience: not having clothes for an important meeting, not having the suitcase during the holidays, loss of medicines…
Example of compensation if you want to claim lost or delayed Baggage
- Let’s say you fly with a friend from Barcelona to Istanbul and your baggage gets delayed 30 days and during that time, you have to expend money to buy clothes and a suit and you lose a trip. You can claim for € 1.414 + expenses as you can´t claim for more than 21 days + cost of the trip damage.
- Imagine your baggage is lost in a business flight from Paris to Cali for 7 days. During that time you have to expend money clothes and a suit and you miss a congress. You can claim for € 469 (7 days * € 67) + clothing expenses such as the suit + missed congress.
Fill in the PIR to claim for the luggage: Property Irregularity report
Before you leave the airport fill in the PIR: Some airlines have the forms, as well, but it is better if you do it at the moment.
Can I claim lost baggage even if my the luggage was found already?
You can. The fact that the airline has found the lost baggage does not mean we don’t have the right to claim anymore. What is important is that damages have been caused by having baggage lost for a certain time and law considers compensations for this, whether the suitcase is found or not. The fact the piece of luggage is not found only worsens the damages, which means the claim will be higher since you have not only not received the baggage on time but, additionally, it has been lost forever.
My baggage contained valuable objects and it got lost or damaged during the flight
Declaration of high value
If your baggage got lost, it is very normal you wish to claim for its content. In fact, airlines usually ask for an ‘inventory’ of what’s inside your suitcase. However, you must know that, unless you have done a ‘Declaration of High Value’ that certifies the content, there is no sufficient proof that shows that what you declare was actually inside the suitcase. This means it is not certified in a legal sense. This is only your statement and there is no sufficient proof to support this.
Therefore, making an inventory of the content of the suitcase will not be a sufficient proof in front of a potential claim (although there will be indications of its truthfulness, in case this claim goes to court, which a judge will take into account) and we will not be able to ask for a monetary amount that is equivalent to the value of the content.
Declarations of High Value oscillate according to the airline and have an extra cost that is usually around 10% of the cost that is charged before the invoice.
As a consequence, unless a Declaration of High Value has been issued, we will demand compensation for each day lost, expenses caused by not having the required baggage and other damages. The inventory made will only support the claim but, in a legal sense, the content of the suitcase will not be certified. In this scenario, the decision of whether accepting the inventory made or not will lie upon the judge.
Special baggage claims
Special baggage like an instrument, a surfboard, some golf clubs, a bicycle, or sports clothing, will have the same limit of liability unless a special declaration has been issued, although with some differences.
Is compensation higher for having special baggage?
Yes, and no.
There are two issues to be taken into account regarding special baggage during a claim:
- Damages: The fact of it being special baggage will not raise the limit of liability, but it must be considered that, normally, that special baggage means greater damage than if only clothes had been lost. A golfer who is going to a tournament faces a bigger issue if they do not have their own clubs. Clothes can be bought easily, but not a tool for working.
In this sense, the damages will be bigger and it is likely maximum compensation is granted. - Associated expenses: It is possible the associated expenses are higher. For example, if the special baggage is a surfboard, it is likely the passenger has to buy a new one and the expenses, as we have determined before, will be added to the maximum compensation of €1400.
Can I claim my lost baggage directly to the airline?
Your chances are very small, since very often airlines try justify their flight delays with extraordinary circumstances that didn’t really happen. For this reason, it’s highly recommendable to direct your claim through a specialized third party.
Deadline to claim for a baggage
If you want to claim for lost baggage you must do so within 2 years from the date of arrival of your flight
Can I claim for the content inside the baggage?
You will probably not be able to claim for the content because your word cannot be proved. As a result, you can always get a compensation of up to € 1.414 + other expenses.
However, we will always keep it in mind.
Which airlines do we claim the most?
Check at the bottom of the page the airlines we claim the most.
