The worst airlines for losing luggage
I bet you or someone you know has a luggage horror story. Here’s mine: On one trip to Paris, everyone got their luggage when we landed … except for Barry. I called British Airways at least a dozen times, asking when he’d get his bag. They couldn’t find it.
Three days later, on the front page of The Daily Mail was a story and photo about a major luggage snafu at Heathrow Airport, where we’d had a layover. Barry’s suitcase was in the first row of the photo, alongside hundreds of other misplaced bags. I emailed the photo to British Airways and said, “I found it!”
U.S. airlines mishandled 2.8 million bags in 2023 alone. These are the worst airlines when it comes to lost luggage — plus my tips for how to keep your stuff safe on a flight.
Spirit’s not even in the top 3
Bag and tag? Meet name and shame. Here’s a list of airlines ranked by bags mishandled per 100, or BMPH. FYI: All five airlines lose at least one bag per every 200 bags handled.
5. JetBlue (0.52 BMPH) — It’s been on my no-fly list since it moved my flight to an earlier time without warning.
4. Spirit Airlines (0.53 BMPH) — Anyone else think they’d be higher up on this list?
3. Alaska (0.57 BMPH) — No excuse for a smaller airline, IMO.
2. United Airlines (0.73 BMPH) — Who remembers the viral “United Breaks Guitars” video? So good.
And at No. 1: American Airlines (0.76 BMPH) — American sits at the top … of a massive pile of lost luggage. It misplaced 800,198 bags in 2023, or nearly one in every 100 bags it handled. Talk about emotional baggage.
Keep your stuff safe
Flights are expensive, and you can’t always pick your airline. But if you’re traveling this summer, you can be smart about protecting your stuff.
Smart step to take before you travel
We love novel solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. One of the most incredible pieces of tech in this regard has got to be Apple AirTags. Tap or click here for clever ways to use AirTags.
What about incorporating AirTags when you travel? They might save you from having to deal with lost luggage ever again.
You can buy unclaimed USPS and Amazon packages - Here's how
Across the U.S., there are thousands of pieces of airline baggage that go unclaimed each year. Tap or click here for the one thing you should never put in checked luggage. Whether it was mishandled by the airline or a passenger forgot to pick it up, they can be found in almost every major city.