Community Corner

Planning A Flight This Holiday Season?

Tips on finding the best fare, locating hidden baggage fees, and ways to reduce the chance your luggage will be lost.

During the holiday season most of us are focusing on planning dinners and finding the best deals for Christmas gifts.

But it's also one of the busiest times for air travel. Booking a flight online produces a myriad of choices and trying to compare the costs of flights isn't always easy as some airlines hide their luggage and other fees so you have to be careful in ferreting out the best fare.

"Usually when consumers purchase a ticket online, additional fees aren't always disclosed upfront," said Jessica Ayala, spokesperson for TravelNerd, a website that provides tips, advice and recommendations for trip planning. "It's really up to the consumer to do their research," she said.

Find out what's happening in Peachtree Cornerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It takes time to peruse the online sites that offer ticket purchases, but do your homework, it takes time and patience to wade through the details. A word of advice, if one airline is offering a much better price than the other airlines, they probably haven't included the luggage fees which can average between $25-$40 per bag depending on the carrier.

TravelNerd also did a study to find out which of the airlines are more likely to lose your luggage.

Find out what's happening in Peachtree Cornerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Travelers might want to avoid regional airlines," said Ayala. "We found carriers like ExpressJet, Mesa and SkyWest have a much higher chance of losing bags in December and January.

According to the report American Eagle had the highest loss rate in November, December and January of 2011. AirTran had the lowest number of reports for mishandled luggage during the holiday season. 

Tips on minimizing lost baggage experience:

  • If traveling with a partner or group, passengers can divide valuables into multiple bags. Should a bag go missing, the loss won’t be quite so devastating.
  • All luggage should be properly marked with label tags (both inside and outside) listing the owner’s contact information. At the very least, passengers should supply their name, mobile phone number and email address. Using a very distinct suitcase may also help identify the bag.
  • Another way to minimize the probability of lost luggage is to book direct flights (layovers lead to complications). And of course, it is a non-issue for travelers who can avoid checking bags altogether.
  • Before packing their bags, passengers should know how much they can expect to be reimbursed for lost luggage. Airlines will provide up to $3,300 for mishandled bags. To insure checked luggage worth more than $3,300, passengers must declare in advance the value of their checked items. Doing so will generally incur a $17-$50 “Excess Valuation Fee.” This insures luggage up to $5,000.

There are many items for which airlines are NOT responsible. NerdWallet reviewed a few major carrier’s Contract of Carriage (domestics) and highlighted some interesting items that airlines typically do NOT reimburse passengers for – even if the the bag is lost in transit!

  • Electronics of any kind
  • Photographic/Cinematographic equipment
  • Glass
  • Musical instruments and equipment
  • Sporting goods
  • Sporting trophies – such as animal horns and antlers
  • Toys
  • Blueprints and other fragile papers
  • Art
  • Polygraphs
  • Contact lenses/glasses

The best common sense tips:Don’t check bags, and don’t place valuables in checked luggage.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Peachtree Corners