How to Sue the Airline
Have you had a bad experience travelling and want to know how to sue the airlines?
Air travelers who have been wronged may find that there’s nothing more intimidating than seeking legal action against an airline or how to sue an airline. From the smaller inconveniences of flight delays and lost luggage to the overwhelming tragedies of personal injury and loss of life, a traveler or family must pit themselves against a seemingly faceless conglomerate. By knowing how to initiate the legal process, many consumers have found a resolution when suing an airline.
A traveler may choose to sue an airline in small claims court when they have been wronged in such a manner that additional expense is incurred and the airline refuses reimbursement. Most states limit monetary awards in small claims court to between $3,000 and $7,500. A traveler may not sue in small claims court when an airline loses property or damages goods.
Factors to consider when filing: Prior to pursuing action in small claims court for suing an airline, one must determine the following:
- Is the amount of the claim smaller than the state or local law monetary limit?
- Does the airline do business in the court in which you are filing?
- Does the airline have a contract of carriage which must be followed?
- Has the airline been given the opportunity to follow any of its obligations?
- Can the dispute be settled out of court?
- Is it a hardship for you to appear in court?
How to file a claim: Once you have decided to sue an airline carrier in small claims court, you should contact the clerk’s office for court procedures including filing fees, jurisdictional issues and ceiling on amount of money that can be awarded. It is also important to find out whether or not there is a time limit on filing the particular claim.
When filing out any small claims paperwork, it is critical to be honest and accurate. Remember to find out the legal address and official or corporate name of the airline. Then, make sure the airline has an office or has flights that leave from the area. This will give the courts jurisdiction or legal power over the airline to call them into court. It is important to be aware that the court will not be responsible for actually collecting any money for you. It is entirely your responsibility. Collecting the money owed is the most difficult part of the process so one has to learn to be patient.
With regard to flight delays: Sound legal ground also exists to sue an airline, when a plane “pushes back from the blocks” or leaves the gate on time but sits on the runway for an hour or more because of known flight delays. Airlines, in an attempt to repair their image in the midst of rampant flight delays, often resort to this tactic so they can show an on-time departure. If passengers can prove that this was the case, then they can sue. However, this is “usually a tough one to prove.” With rampant delays, it will be easier for passengers who sit on the runway for extended periods of time to prove that the airline was more concerned with protecting its image.
For mishandled baggage: The main obstacle passengers encounter when seeking legal reparation or suing an airline for mishandled baggage claims is the large number of airline restrictions. The consumer must realize that the airlines have tariffs [or rules] that prohibit compensation for nearly everything when filing a claim. The tariffs differ for each airline but typically include items such as laptop computers, jewelry and electrical appliances. Tariffs are listed in the fine print on the back of each airline ticket and, as a result, many travelers are unaware of these exclusions. Travelers who have baggage claims arising out of international flights face an additional obstacle.
Luggage liability limits differ on international air travel due to the Warsaw Convention. Drafted in 1929, this treaty sets the limit at $9.77 per pound of baggage.
For domestic travel, airlines recently raised the luggage liability limit from $1,250 to $2,500 with their implementations of the Customers First plans. While it is very difficult to recover this amount, there are certain circumstances where tariffs would not apply. For example, e-tickets are an exception because consumers do not receive a paper ticket with the restrictions listed. If the airline loses your luggage without giving you the written restrictions, you could sue on the legal foundation of negligence.
This best selling book will teach you how to sue an airline, get legally compensated and show that you will not tolerate airline abuse. This 50 page comprehensive step by step book that will guide you in properly filing an airline complaint and receiving the compensation you deserve because of being mistreated by the rude, irresponsible, ignorant and careless behavior of airline staff.
Watch the video related to Travel Airline
Click on HQ to watch this video in High Quality. This is the continuation of my travel vid from Los Angeles to Honolulu, which continues onward to Agana, Guam and ends in Manila, Philippines. The trip is actually booked as Los Angeles to Manila, with Continental Airlines having stops in Hawaii and Guam. Again, the video is originally intended for my cousin Phil’s entertainment and is eventually included in my travel vids at You Tube. Everyone now gets to watch this 4 minute clip! Don’t mind my bad hair. This video features: -Clips from Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport terminal -Inside Continental Micronesia’s Boeing 737 cabin -Taking off from Agana, Guam -Approaching Manila from the air -Landing in NAIA
Help answer the question about Travel Airline
What is the best airline to travel if you are in the military?What airline gives the best discount for military personnel?
What are some suggestions to saving on travel if you are military? (I know about "space available" travel already)
Flying from Portland, Or to San Diego.
Thanks
About Author
Sunil S
Sunil is a frequent traveler who at one point travelled over 95% of the year for four straight years as a corporate consultant. He has racked multi-million miles of air travel and has reached elite status with several airlines, hotel chains and car rental companies. His book “Sue the Airlines” focuses on the many frustrations experienced by air travelers’ resulting from airline ignorance and mal-treatment. The book guides someone who has suffered from airline abuse to collecting the compensation they deserve for all troubles and inconveniences caused by airline companies.
http://www.sue-the-airline.com/
nice ones,
somewhere i read,
noone comes to par. comp. & complain that ur parachute is not working properly!
Unfortunately a law suit would go nowhere and honestly no lawyer would persue it. You would pay more for the case than what you actually lost. There really is no legal recourse. Airlines have 7 days to return your luggage before you are entitled to any compensation. And generally what you are entitled to by most airlines is $25/day for 7 days for personal hygiene products. Since you claim the second piece delivered was not your piece, you should have already filled out a detailed claim listing the contents and their value. Sentimental value is not the same as retail value unfortunately. Be as honest and precise as possible and they will be able to determine your amount of compensation. The airport at the local level will not be able to take care of this, you have to be in constant communication with their Baggage Service Center. If they say your baggage was delivered and you claim you never signed for it, then you need to have them call the local baggage claim office from which it was delivered and get a copy of the signature. All files are to be kept on hand for a minimum of 30 days. As a former airline employee of another airline I did have to work in the trenches in baggage claim many times. Everyone hates that job. But, sometimes agents will close files out of force of habit once they are taken by the delivery company. The delivery company should also have a copy of the signature for who signed for the piece.
Unfortunately checking luggage is at your own risk. The only thing airlines have to guarentee is getting you to your destination. If there are things of value in your luggage, airlines do not guarentee they will not be damaged, stolen or lost in transit. Read the airlines contract of carriage to see what it says about baggage as each one may be different. You should be entitled to some sort of compensation to be determined by the airline if your have not recieved your baggage as of yet. Keep copies of your file that you received when you made the claim on arrival. Document every call that is placed, names of people you spoke to and what was said. They document your record on the other end with every call and details of the conversation.
One way to keep your luggage from getting lost in transit is to always put current ID tags on the outside as well as on the inside. You should have a copy of your itinerary as well as contact names, phone numbers and addresses of where you will be. That way if any of the outer tags are seperated, when the agents go inside the bag to find anything to identify who it belongs to, then they will have some leads. If you failed to do any of this, there really isnt much an airline can do to identify your bag. There are millions of black roller bags out there that end up in a warehouse because people didnt put proper identification on them or in them. If you failed to do this, its pretty much a lost cause.
Lesson should be, never check items that have value. If they are too large to carry on, ship them. But as I said, checked luggage is not guarenteed. Loss as well as damage happen and there is no full proof system established.
Im sorry you experienced this, it is frustrating. Trust me, Ive been on the other end and getting yelled at for things I could not control sucks. Just remember that while "the airline" failed you, the people you are dealing with are doing what they can to find your baggage. Sometimes it may take months to turn up, but every once in a while you can get lucky.
Good luck and I hope they make it right for you.
I would file a complaint either in person if travel is not completed or via the airlines website. More than likely they will have options to do so such as telephone e-mail or regular mail. Make sure you have the details sorted out prior to contacting the airline and read the contract of carriage that is posted on the website. Various delays baggage issues misconects etc are not covered so its important to know what is and is not. Good Luck
flying back to Manila
where were you going?
I don't believe that "sue-happiness" shouldn't have anything to do with this. I think these airline jerks ought to finally be held accountable for failing to deliver contracted services and causing damages. Corporations get away with too much human abuse as it is. I'm glad someone is standing up to them.
They should have never messed with a lawyer. The average joe may never stand a chance but at least the lawyers have the time and resources to stand up to corporations!
Edit: Wow, people don't seem to know the facts. They stranded him and his entire family at the airport causing them to miss half of their vacation, forcing them to book another flight and lose a fortune in hotel costs, airfare, food costs, having to buy new clothing and supplies because they hijacked their luggage, and had the nerve to be abusive towards the family the whole time. He's not really going to get a million, it'll be much less, but he's making them take notice that they need to stop abusing people.
Do you have any evidence to show that this conversation ever took place?
If not.. you're out of luck. The rules are that if you do not use your tickets first leg.. the ticket will be forfeited.
Any conversation contrary to that.. unless it's documented and you have a confirmation code.. will not be valid in a court.
Consult a lawyer.. but I doubt you have a case that you can win.
LOL! “FEELS LIKE THE GRAVITY!”
)
They aren't rational or sane, they are the democrat party and if it's good for America it's bad for them.
Next time a photo clerk sees a terrorist training video he'll just keep his mouth shut cause he doesn't want to get sued.
Thzres iszz azm nazural clzsh bezween lszamic anz Weztern/Euzopean vazues, soz lez sthzm sruz sthzmselves. Itzt iszr snozz sthzir sfazut. Ize suzportz hozeland foz thz Kozovans, buz itz isz thz lezdership, wizt itz bizarre inzerpretationz ofz thz Q'uzan, thzt sisz sthz siszue. Wezm smuzte saczommodatee sthzm.
Since there is natural clash amongst Muslims with the West and Europe, best to allow homelands and self-rule. I support a homeland for the Kosovans. It is a matter of leadership, with wrong interpretations of traditional values of the Q'uran. Must allow them to be free.
mactan airbase is a former U.S military base as far as i know. heehee
ang lawak ng MACTAN Int’l kuya mitch!!!!
Since their liability is limited and spelled out by law (and it's not a lot), you are not entitled to more than those limits. So what you would be suing for is the difference between what they paid and the limits set by law. Are you willing to pay lawyer fees to get that amount, do you even think you can find one that will take the case? If you sue, you have to pay your own lawyers fees, even if you win.
The first thing you need to do is write a letter to whoever is in charge of that department telling them you don't' agree and want them to tell you what appeals process they have (and they must have one). You should try to work through that process at least a bit. If that doesn't work for you, then you can sue them in small claims court. Small claims limits are probably higher than the difference you are out and don't charge much in court fees. Small claims courts allow regular people to sue without a lawyer and often with better results (most small claims courts don't even allow lawyers).
I think the "John Doe" portion of this lawsuit will have to be dropped. Reporting Muslims are praying in the airport when Muslims are praying in the airport, is not an infringement of anyone's right. The scary part of this is that CAIR is willing to do it in the first place. What kind of agenda does that show?
mukhang malawak kasi wala ganong eroplano
Hahaha!