NEVER check your luggage.

Jesus Christ.

8/26 My big backpacking pack with all my clothing in it was lost by Northwest Airlines on the way home from Vancouver. So was M's bag. We filed a report at the airport.

8/29 M's bag was returned.

8/29 through 9/6 M and I called daily to Northwest's baggage office at the Albany Airport, where we had been told to call, to follow up about my bag. The automatic "check status" phone line and website unhelpfully reported that my bag had arrived in Albany and I would be contacted to arrange delivery. We got an answering machine every time, left messages with no response.

9/7 I finally found an 800 number for national Northwest "luggage irregularities." I was told that the case for both bags was closed when M's bag was found, and a message would be sent back to Albany to reopen the case. I called Albany, miraculously finally spoke to a human, and played a couple rounds of "The national office told you WE would re-open it? But they're the ones who have to do that!" Eventually I was told the woman in Albany would call me back the next day.

9/8 nada

9/9 I called Albany back. Case had not been re-opened yet. They managed to do it, and told me to call back in a few days now that they were looking for the bag, to find out if they had any luck.

9/13 I called Albany back. No luck. I asked if they would send me a claim form, which one is supposed to do after the bag is missing 5 days. (It's not available online or anything, they have to give you one.) I was told I had to wait until the case had been *reopened* for 5 business days. I called the national 800 number back to ask if they knew anything about my bag that Albany didn't know. They didn't, but at least they emailed me a claim form.

9/14 and 9/15 I spent several hours filling out their claim form with exhaustive inventory of the bag and supporting documentation. 9/15 at lunchtime I faxed it all back as I was directed to do.

9/16 I called back to the 800 number at lunchtime to confirm that they had received my fax. THEY COULD NOT DO THAT BECAUSE THE PILE OF INCOMING CLAIMS IS TOO BIG for them to be arsed to look through. I was told to call back on Wednesday to find out if it came through yet. I decided to push and ask for a manager, wanting someone to take responsibility for making sure this gets followed up on. The manager had no such power. I asked that someone call *me* back when the claim is entered. She said she would put that request on my record in the computer, but she couldn't promise it would happen. That's the best she could do. I had some words to say about how this system is not working. But I couldn't bring myself to really rip her a new one, because she sounded so miserable. Poor woman is taking shit for this company all day long.

Oh, and I hear NWA declared bankruptcy this week.

Anyone want to place a bet on whether I get anything back from them?