Qantas Baggage - broken suitcase

[SnowYeti]

After a heap of fun in business class, I didn't mention that somewhere between JFK/LAX/SYD my suitcase got severly damaged! I have a hard shell suitcase and the handle was broken right off, and there are 2 cuts or cracks in the plastic. It wasn't like this when I dropped it off at JFK

Just took it into T1 in Sydney, they took details, and even asked what class I flew ... obviously this makes a different I assume ?

They said they will be in touch with me soon ...

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with Qantas fixing/replacing their suitcase?

:shock:

 

[v8Statesman]

After a heap of fun in business class, I didn't mention that somewhere between JFK/LAX/SYD my suitcase got severly damaged! I have a hard shell suitcase and the handle was broken right off, and there are 2 cuts or cracks in the plastic. It wasn't like this when I dropped it off at JFK

Just took it into T1 in Sydney, they took details, and even asked what class I flew ... obviously this makes a different I assume ?

They said they will be in touch with me soon ...

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with Qantas fixing/replacing their suitcase?

:shock:

Not what you want to hear, so I hope you get a different outcome. But I was told that a suitcase it designed to keep the belongings safe and together, so by design, it takes the rough treatment and not the things inside. (Think of it like a protective cover for a mobile phone)

 

[kpc]

After a heap of fun in business class, I didn't mention that somewhere between JFK/LAX/SYD my suitcase got severly damaged! I have a hard shell suitcase and the handle was broken right off, and there are 2 cuts or cracks in the plastic. It wasn't like this when I dropped it off at JFK

Just took it into T1 in Sydney, they took details, and even asked what class I flew ... obviously this makes a different I assume ?

They said they will be in touch with me soon ...

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with Qantas fixing/replacing their suitcase?

:shock:

They are pretty good. I reported a broken handle on arrival in Syd T3 recently...took it to baggage services immediately; they asked a few Qs, generated a form, and asked whether I could bring the suitcase back to them when it was empty. I laughed and said that the cost of airport parking would probably exceed the cost of repair...he laughingly agreed, and told me to take the form (& suitcase) he had generated to: Sydney Luggage Centre

....after dropping it here, I collected it repaired a week later without any drama!

 

[SnowYeti]

Not what you want to hear, so I hope you get a different outcome. But I was told that a suitcase it designed to keep the belongings safe and together, so by design, it takes the rough treatment and not the things inside. (Think of it like a protective cover for a mobile phone)

There was a big sign saying that, and I expected them to point me to the sign and tell me off I go, but they did take the suitcase and filled in a report.

I think it said to keep your belongings together and they claim no liability whatsoever !

 

[SnowYeti]

They are pretty good. I reported a broken handle on arrival in Syd T3 recently...took it to baggage services immediately; they asked a few Qs, generated a form, and asked whether I could bring the suitcase back to them when it was empty. I laughed and said that the cost of airport parking would probably exceed the cost of repair...he laughingly agreed, and told me to take the form (& suitcase) he had generated to: Sydney Luggage Centre

....after dropping it here, I collected it repaired a week later without any drama!

Yeah it cost me $7 in parking and $2.50 in tolls. I also avoided 3 other tolls, so ... I'm sure it'll cost me dearly in fuel and time !! Let's see what happens ... I don't know how they will repair a crack but interested to see...

 

[kpc]

Yeah it cost me $7 in parking and $2.50 in tolls. I also avoided 3 other tolls, so ... I'm sure it'll cost me dearly in fuel and time !! Let's see what happens ... I don't know how they will repair a crack but interested to see...

If they can't repair the crack, they should give you a replacement suitcase. If not, it's time to claim off your travel insurance. Keep all the documentation from QF so you can show the insurance company that you did try the airline first.

 

[sunfan]

We had a suitcase broken recently, took it the sydney luggage centre at Mascot. The guy look one look at it, said that it was not repairable, got a new suitcase straight away.

 

[SnowYeti]

We had a suitcase broken recently, took it the sydney luggage centre at Mascot. The guy look one look at it, said that it was not repairable, got a new suitcase straight away.

Did they replace it with similar value? I paid alot for mine and hope (if they do decide to replace it) don't give me a cheapy immitation one from china town! Antler is not cheap, and not *that much cheaper when on sale at Myer either!

 

[MDC]

I had a suitcase slashed open somewhere between check in at LAX and baggage claim at BNE.

Qantas were great. They took a statement, filled in some forms and replaced the suitcase with TWO new Samsonite cases. They even sent me a cheque to cover the cost of the items that were taken from the bag. This was 8 years ago though. Who knows what they are like now days.

I also recently put some suitcases in for repair at a luggage repair place in Brisbane. Just normal wear and tear (wheel replacements). They were surprised that I was a paying customer because most of their work comes from the airlines.

My understanding is that the airline will not fix or replace when it's wear and tear but will if major damage happened while in their care. I guess it all has to be case by case for them (no pun intended). You can't really expect them to front up for handle damage on a Chinatown special but they probably will for a Rimowa.

 

[tuapekastar]

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with Qantas fixing/replacing their suitcase?

:shock:

Several years ago a friend's case was badly damaged between ZQN and LAX (flying QF in Y). She fronted the appropriate counter at LAX and was immediately shown a (small) range of brand new replacements to choose from. Unsure what paper work was involved but basically it was replaced right away without question (which is to be expected I guess if you're in the middle of a trip).

 

[JohnK]

Has anyone had good/bad experiences with Qantas fixing/replacing their suitcase?

Sorry for the long response.

A few years ago Qantas replaced a Golf travel bag with a new one and also repaired the wheels on a suitcase that was damaged on the same trip. I was actually watching the baggage handlers earlier, from inside the MEL terminal, throw luggage onto the conveyor belt on the 737 and I noticed my Golf travel bag at the top of the stack dumped down.

I have been having some bad luck since parting ways with my favourite cheap generic luggage (it served me well for 6 years so can't complain). I still buy cheap generic luggage and have now gone through 3 suitcases in the last 2 years.

One suitcase only lasted 2 trips and I got a refund from a travel insurance claim, the second one lasted around 3 months and I just threw it away and the third one only lasted a few trips when I noticed the underside of the suitcase had come apart from the spine. This was at BNE airport after a QF flight and I picked it up from baggage services as I was having a drink in the lounge. They lady at baggage services filled in a report and I was told to take it to a luggage centre in Vulture St, West End where they would repair it.

The day I picked to go to West End the heavens opened up and I was soaked by the time I got there. Anyway I hand over the QF report and my luggage and the lady says no problem. She goes away and comes back with another suitcase and measures it up against mine. Not quite the right size. I don't know what I am thinking. What is she doing if she is going to repair it? Anyway she comes back with another suitcase and it is very close to the same size as mine. She says here you are a replacement for your suitcase. I wasn't sure it it was new or not as I was just expecting a repair. She even asked me if I wanted to take my damaged suitcase back and use it for storage. I declined.

Anyway the luggage I was given is brand new and is the Airport range of luggage (can't find too much information about it on the internet) and it was priced at $190 in the luggage store but I figure one can find it for around $80. Looks pretty sturdy and is not a bad replacement for a ~$30 suitcase. I have had it for close to 4 months now.

Interesting how the lady at the luggage store mentioned that the luggage they sell does not come with any warranty as once the airlines take a hold of your luggage anything can happen to it....

 

[MDC]

Antler is not cheap, and not *that much cheaper when on sale at Myer either!

Must have been quite a drop to break the handle off one of the Antler hard cases. Is it the golf ball textured light grey hard shell with the handle that springs back to the case?

Mine cracked a while back so I just glued up the crack and taped the back with fiberglass tape. FYI don't run for the taxi at OMG o'clock and drop it down the stairs! You actually might come out ahead here - get new luggage from Qantas, keep the Antler, pay for the repair to the handle ($50 tops), glue up the crack and bingo.

Good luck but keep in mind that there's something very satifying seeing a good quality suitcase with battle scars on the belt along side of endless cheapies and newbies

 

[SnowYeti]

Must have been quite a drop to break the handle off one of the Antler hard cases. Is it the golf ball textured light grey hard shell with the handle that springs back to the case?

Mine cracked a while back so I just glued up the crack and taped the back with fiberglass tape. FYI don't run for the taxi at OMG o'clock and drop it down the stairs! You actually might come out ahead here - get new luggage from Qantas, keep the Antler, pay for the repair to the handle ($50 tops), glue up the crack and bingo.

Good luck but keep in mind that there's something very satifying seeing a good quality suitcase with battle scars on the belt along side of endless cheapies and newbies

Yup golf ball texture and grey! I can't see it on the Antler website anymore. The suitcase has been to Japan, Thailand, Bali, NZ, New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Shanghai, and probably another 10 places ... so it's served me well! only gripe is it doesn't expand when you buy lots of things, and that is kind of good in a way as it limits how much you buy and take

 

[NM]

Several years ago a friend's case was badly damaged between ZQN and LAX (flying QF in Y). She fronted the appropriate counter at LAX and was immediately shown a (small) range of brand new replacements to choose from. Unsure what paper work was involved but basically it was replaced right away without question (which is to be expected I guess if you're in the middle of a trip).

I had a similar experience with AA at DFW about 6 years ago. Immediate replacement with a brand new bag of my choice from the stock. There was no similar replacement, so I just chose the one that best suited my needs at the time. Still have it and its been used lots by all the family since.

 

[SnowYeti]

So it's been almost a week and I haven't heard from anyone at QF.

I just called the 1300 number on my report, gave them my ref, they put me on hold, and came back

QF "I have read through notes and how can I help?"
SY "I'd like to know what is happening with repair or replacement".
QF "So what you do now is take your suitcase to the repairer and they will assess it".
SY "but they took my suitcase a week ago when I lodged the damage report"
QF "Did they give you a replacement?"
SY "No, that is why I'm calling"
QF "Please hold, calling SYD BS"
QF "They will be at least another week to repair it"

Hmm well I hope it comes back satisfactory, I don't know how you repair a hard shell suitcase with cuts....

The person I spoke to at QF was very friendly, not like the QF dragons at SYD BS that didn't feel like being at work the day I dropped off my bag!

 

[Grooba]

Does your bag have a lifetime warranty? My Victorionox bag has one and I have taken it 3 times back for a warranty repair and they have not asked any questions.

2 times was due to a handle not working correctly and they replaced it FOC. The other time was when a wheel was badly damamged - they replaces both wheels and gave me a second set so I could do it myself next time.

 

[SnowYeti]

Does your bag have a lifetime warranty? My Victorionox bag has one and I have taken it 3 times back for a warranty repair and they have not asked any questions.

2 times was due to a handle not working correctly and they replaced it FOC. The other time was when a wheel was badly damamged - they replaces both wheels and gave me a second set so I could do it myself next time.

Can't remember actually, I think it would have more than 10 year warranty on it, but I suspect cuts are not considered wear and tear .... ?

 

[MDC]

Hmm well I hope it comes back satisfactory, I don't know how you repair a hard shell suitcase with cuts....

Good question. I would assume they would replace the shell if it's a major crack or possibly use some epoxy to fill if the cuts aren't all the way through.

The only advice I have is to push for it to be repaired properly or replaced if you aren't happy with what comes back.

 

[SnowYeti]

Good question. I would assume they would replace the shell if it's a major crack or possibly use some epoxy to fill if the cuts aren't all the way through.

The only advice I have is to push for it to be repaired properly or replaced if you aren't happy with what comes back.

They said if I am not happy with the repair, call them (QF) and they will see what they can do. Maybe this happens alot and only the people who take it up further see a replacement, to keep down costs ....

 

[SnowYeti]

It really is hit and miss. I got a vmail this morning telling me that my bag was ready and they wanted to organise delivery, they were super polite...obviously knew what they were doing and had good cust service skills

Rang back and got someone who took 13 minutes to tell me that it was OK after putting me on hold for like 5 times.... all I wanted to say I was home all day and they could send it any time !

Will be interesting to see how they repaired it. Have in the back of mind that I was told by QF I can raise an issue if repair is unsatisfactory :!: