BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — It’s always nice to get off the plane and pick up your checked bags later in baggage claim, but that’s often not the case.
In April, Kathy Cohn planned to celebrate her 70th birthday on a tropical cruise with daughter Gina. Her mother and her daughter were planning to fly from Buffalo to Fort on American Airlines. I arrived in Lauderdale, Florida, but my flight was canceled due to bad weather. They were rerouted to West Palm Beach and stopped in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Somewhere in here we lost our luggage,” said Cohn. “We immediately went to the claims department and filed a complaint.”
Cohn said the cruise line changed its itinerary, but American Airlines kept them updated. Still, Cohn and her daughter did not receive the package until two days after returning to their home in Batavia.
“We basically went on the cruise with our clothes on, so it was seven days, and eight days actually before we got home,” Cohn explained.
From January to September 2022, 17 major U.S. airlines mishandled 2.1 million bags, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Air Travel Consumer Report.
“My daughter and I are both plus size women and there was nothing on the ship that would fit us,” Ms Cohn said.
Ms Kohn said she couldn’t fully enjoy the beautiful beach without the right swimwear and was forced to wash her clothes in the sink in her room.
Cohn and her daughter had kept essential medicines in the lost package. Cohn was able to get some medicine at the cruise ship’s medical center, but he said it would cost him about $150 per day visit.
After the women returned home, Cohn contacted American Airlines.
“If we call or email them, they either don’t respond or their response has nothing to do with the question we sent,” Cohn said.
Korn contacted seven problem solvers, and seven problem solvers, Michael Schwartz, emailed American Airlines media representatives. Within seven hours, Ms. Schwartz received a reply from her representative stating that Ms. Cohn and her daughter would be compensated.
A few days later, Ms Cohn told Ms Schwartz that American Airlines covered her and her daughter’s visits to the medical center, medicines purchased on board the cruise ship, taxi fares from West Palm Beach to the cruise ship in Miami, and baggage fees.
They also got two free tickets from American Airlines.
Cohn writes:
For now, the Cohns have confirmed that they have extra clothes in their carry-on bags.
If you have a consumer issue that needs to be resolved, please email Michael at 7ProblemSolvers@WKBW.com.
