WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Many of us have been there —an airline loses your baggage. However, for a Willoughby couple, that very scenario turned into a major struggle to get information and their money back.
“We were greatly looking forward to (our trip). It was for my birthday,” said Bryan Sanshuck, 60, from Willoughby. He and his wife, Elizabeth Heraghty, were headed on a vacation on June 7th, flying Frontier Airlines from Cleveland to Miami.
PROBLEMS AT THE AIRPORT
Sanshuck said when they got to Cleveland Hopkins, the baggage conveyor belt wasn’t working. “So my first question was hey, are we going to get our bags? (Frontier said) absolutely,” Sanshuck told us.
After landing in Miami, their bags were not there. Sanshuck and Heraghty were going on a cruise to St. Thomas. “(Frontier told us) go buy what you need and send us the receipts and we’ll open a claim and we’ll reimburse you within three days,” said Sanshuck.
He told us they bought the essentials, went on the cruise, and about a day before they returned to Cleveland, Frontier found the bags. The company sent them to the couple’s home. However, there was bad news. “Someone shuffled through the bags,” said Sanshuck. “We were missing items. All my cologne was taken. A bunch of things were taken.”
FRONTIER'S RECENT TRACK RECORD
The office of Aviation Consumer Protection reported last year at this time, Frontier ranked 7th out of 10 airlines for mishandled baggage. Its most recent data from this year shows Frontier is 4th out of 10.
Keith Nootbaarr owns Cleveland Cruise and Travel out of Highland Heights.
He said, in general, trip insurance will help when bags are lost. He also suggested using an electronic tracking tag. “Put it in a pocket or something. Don’t just throw it into the suitcase,” said Nootbaar. “Put it in a pocket where it won’t fall out if you have to open the suitcase for some reason before you check it.”
PASSENGERS FINALLY GET RESPONSE
Sanshuck said that the three-day reimbursement promise from Frontier turned into weeks with no response from the company. He was at his wits' end and contacted News 5 Investigators. He wasn’t getting any information, but when we contacted Frontier, we finally got a response to his questions.
The company’s statement said in part, “I’ve been assured that the team will expedite the process to full review their claims and reimburse for all eligible items….” (see full statement below.)
Sanshuck was glad things were starting to move in the right direction.
“Thank you and thank your team for watching out for the consumer,” he said of News 5. “We appreciate it. Believe me.”
Frontier Response:
“Thank you for your patience while our team worked to identify what happened here. It seems that after the claim was submitted, it did not reach our Central Baggage Office, which reviews the claims. I’ve been assured that the team will expedite the process to fully review their claim and reimburse for all eligible items, according to our policy.
We sincerely apologize to our customers for this delay and the frustration it has caused. We appreciate you bringing it to our attention.”
