Husband is in Nepal, luggage is in Seattle

[sun starved Gayle]

My husband is on a bucket list trip to Nepal. He has arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal and his luggage did not.

He was suppose to fly out of PDX to SEA on Alaska Air yesterday on a 6:45 AM flight arriving at 7:40 AM. His next flight on Singapore Air was scheduled to leave SEA at 10:45. We thought a 3 hour layover in Seattle would give him and his luggage plenty of time. Unfortunately his flight to Seattle did not take off till 8:32, an hour and 45 minutes late. There was still about an hour and 15 minutes between flights. He made his next flight on Singapore Air, Seattle to Singapore (15 hours and 45 minutes total flight time !) and his luggage did not.

He is meeting our youngest in Kathmandu to go trekking with a guide and sherpa, and has been planning this for almost a year. All his hiking gear, and some of my daughter's gear are in one of those bags. Another bag is full of stuff for a school for disabled children that my daughter has been volunteering at. They have a flight on early Sunday to a remote part of Nepal to start the trek. They are saying 2 to 3 days for the luggage to arrive.

I have been on phone for hours trying to figure this out. He has very poor cell connection. it is about 2;00 AM in Nepal. I am holding on the phone, 29 minutes now, to a the travel insurance people.

So frustrating.

 

[Passepartout]

Gosh! This SUX! What is travel insurance saying? What about the airline? Can they buy enough clothes/stuff to get by for a couple days? Will the luggage eventually be able to catch up- or can time commitments be changed? Wow! So many questions. But this is exactly why we take out travel insurance. And also why we NEVER fly into a departure city (cruise, tour, safari, trek) on the day of departure. There's just too much that can go wrong.

We can't do anything to help, just commisserate with you and your family. Fingers, toes and eyes all crossed for you. Praying that it works out.

Jim

 

[Luanne]

What a mess. If your luggage is delayed you (meaning your husband) can purchase replacements and be reimbursed. This is through the airline, not travel insurance. I had this happen last year, my luggage didn't make it to Quebec City. I eventually got it back, but I had bought about three days worth of clothes, toiletries, etc. I was reimbursed for all of it. It sounds like much of what your husband had packed might not be able to be replaced easily, if at all.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

…All his hiking gear, and some of my daughters are in one of those bags. .

I know it is incredibly frustrating, and I wish them all the best.

You did give me a smile in my afternoon, though. If some of your daughters are in one of the bags, what about your other daughters? Where are they?

 

[klpca]

I had a similar issue when my daughter went on a NOLS trip (National Outdoor Leadership School) to Patagonia. Her connecting flight was going through Dallas in January - flights got all messed up due to ice. Her three hour connection in Santiago was reduced to an hour and the flight crew (friends of my SIL) hustled her off the plane and through the airport to get to her next flight (the only one of the day) to get to her ultimate destination, Balmaceda. She then had just enough time to catch a bus (the only one of the day) to her ultimate destination in Patagonia, Coyahaique. (Here's a link to the course in case you want to see the location https://www.nols.edu/en/coursefinder/courses/spring-semester-in-patagonia-JSP/ . Anyway, you can imagine that her bag didn't make it to her final destination, lolol. She survived the first few days by borrowing from others and three days later, just like they said, LAN Airlines brought her bag to the NOLS location in the middle of nowhere.

In the mean time I was trying desperately to discuss this with the LAN personnel at LAX - and even then there was a huge language barrier. The biggest issue was that I gave them her name as first name, last name - Susan James - but everything in their system had her listed at James Susan (to be fair, our last name can also be a first name, like James). Once that issue was clarified, it sped up the process.

I'm not sure how Nepal works, but others have probably had this issue as well. Perhaps try finding some message boards for travelers to Nepal. Let me know if you need any more help. One of my daughter's friends (they met in Patagonia) is a professional mountain guide and she goes to Nepal annually. She may have some other helpful information. She had satellite access from Everest base camp this year, so communication has gotten easier than it used to be.

 

[klpca]

More thoughts - how many flights does Singapore Air fly from Seattle? If it's daily it's one thing, if it's say three times a week, that's another. Also, how many daily flights from Singapore to Nepal? This has a lot of moving parts for sure. Bummer.

I can't see this working out easily to get the bags before he leaves on the other flight. I think that he should concentrate on trying to pull together all of the gear that he can find in Nepal. Or can he postpone that flight? Definitely keep us posted. Fingers crossed for you.

 

[chellej]

Years ago DH had to go to TIMBUKTU for work...supposed to be there for 60 days. Well as you can guess, his luggage did not arrive. He ended up getting dysentery at 30 days in. He got his luggage back on the way out of the country minus everything of any value.

We did find out that the loss was covered by our homeowner's insurance and everything was replaced.

 

[sun starved Gayle]

He had a day and a half buffer day built into schedule at the beginning of trip as well as several at the end.

Travel insurance will reimburse up to $500.00 for luggage delay at $100.00 per day.

Singapore Airlines only has flights 3 times a week from Seattle to Singapore and then on to Nepal. There is a flight leaving tomorrow that I am hoping his luggage can get on. It will only delay his plans by one day.

Waiting for a call back from Singapore Air about compensation.

Thanks for offer of help Katherine. Appreciate it. He does have an agent in Kathmandu, as well as a guide.

Also waiting to hear back from my husband. It is 4:05 AM in Kathmandu and he is asleep. He was traveling for 32 hours.

Sorry for typo error, was typing with one hand.

 

[Luanne]

He had a day and a half buffer day built into schedule at the beginning of trip as well as several at the end.

Travel insurance will reimburse up to $500.00 for luggage delay at $100.00 per day.

Singapore Airlines only has flights 3 times a week from Seattle to Singapore and then on to Nepal. There is a flight leaving tomorrow that I am hoping his luggage can get on. It will only delay his plans by one day.

Waiting for a call back from Singapore Air about compensation.

When my luggage was delayed we were flying United. I filed a report at the Quebec City airport. As I said my suitcase was finally delivered to me three days later. When we got home I filed a claim with United Airlines for the items I had purchased to tide me over. They paid the entire claim, which was over $1000 as I recall. When I was reading about compensation there was information about what would be considered "reasonable". For example, if fancy dress clothing was needed, you could buy that and be reimbursed. Good luck with all of this.

 

[sun starved Gayle]

I just received a call from Singapore Airlines, his luggage has been located and going out today on the same flight he was on Thursday. It will arrive in Kathmandu 48 hours later than he did. The customer rep said Alaska dropped the ball and did not get the luggage to them on time to make the flight. Alaska was almost an hour and 45 minutes late taking off, shortening his 3 hour layover into an hour an 15 minutes. Singapore also says he is not eligible for any delayed luggage compensation. I am still going to pursue this. I will post again when he finally receives his luggage.

 

[Passepartout]

If Alaska 'fesses up to not getting the luggage to Singapore on time, it's THEM that should be liable for the luggage delay. OTOH, the travel insurance may also have a benefit you can claim. The important thing either way is that the whole trip isn't ruined, just delayed.

Jim

 

[PrairieGirl]

So glad this is going to work out - whew!

A note to anyone considering going on a trek - make sure than anything you CAN'T live without is in your carry on. We did the Inca Trail a few years back and almost everyone in our group either wore their hiking boots on the plane (what a pain!) or packed them in the their carry-on (me). Yes, it was heavy, but better than the alternative.

Of course the only person who didn't do that had their luggage lost/delayed. Somehow, some way, someone found her a pair that fit so she was OK, but the chances of finding hiking boots that fit properly for a serious trek are very slim. She was very lucky. In an ironic twist, she was the only one with a long layover in Toronto (where they were lost).

I do the same thing when I go on a sunny holiday - my swim suit is in my carry-on. I can't imagine trying to find another one that fits!

 

[Passepartout]

I do the same thing when I go on a sunny holiday - my swim suit is in my carry-on. I can't imagine trying to find another one that fits!

On one of my early cruises, there were two women ('of size') in a cabin a few away from ours who had flown in to the departure city on departure day. Their bags didn't make it and all they had were swimsuits and what they wore onto the ship. That REALLY taught me to arrive at least a day early AND to pack some of each-other's clothes into carry ons just in case. The two women above left the cruise at the first port of call.

 

[Luanne]

I should know enough to carry extra clothes in my back pack, but I don't. It seems already so full that I'm not sure they'd fit. After having the bad delay last year dh had a "brilliant" suggestion. He said since he usually checks two bags, a suitcase and a duffel, we could both put extra clothes in the duffel. That way if either suitcase got lost or delayed we'd still have some clothes. Okay bright guy, but what about if ALL of the luggage is lost or delayed?

 

[klpca]

On one of my early cruises, there were two women ('of size') in a cabin a few away from ours who had flown in to the departure city on departure day. Their bags didn't make it and all they had were swimsuits and what they wore onto the ship. That REALLY taught me to arrive at least a day early AND to pack some of each-other's clothes into carry ons just in case. The two women above left the cruise at the first port of call.

Weird that they didn't just try to find some clothes in port. My friend - a super picky, fussy person and 5'10" tall! - never received her suitcase for the entire duration of a Caribbean cruise. (I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that customer service call, lolol) and she just bought a few things at the first port to get through the week.