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These are the U.S. airlines most likely to lose or damage your luggage

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 9:18PM EST
Lost Luggage
Image: Samsonite

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One of the more frustrating aspects of air travel is when an airline loses or damages your luggage. Even in instances when an airline misplaces your luggage and successfully tracks it down to another city, retrieving it can often be an exercise in frustration. All the more so if your luggage contains items that you need immediately or if you’re only on a short vacation and don’t have the luxury of waiting a few days for your luggage to finally reach you.

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In an effort to help you plan your next trip a bit better, TheActiveTimes recently directed us to an interesting list detailing which U.S. airlines are most likely to mishandle your luggage, which is to say lose or damage it. The data was initially reported in the May 2016 issue of the Air Travel Consumer Report which was put together by the Aviation Consumer Protection Division.

So without further ado, below are the airlines that are most likely to cause you some luggage-related frustration. As evidenced via the chart below, ExpressJet Airlines, American Airlines, Skywest Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest are the top 5 offenders.

For those curious, the methodology used in tabulating the data reads as follows:

This section gives the rate of mishandled-baggage reports per 1,000 passengers by carrier and for the industry. The rate is based on the total number of reports each carrier received from passengers concerning lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered baggage… These baggage statistics are filed with DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Office of Airline Information) on a monthly basis by U.S. airlines that have at least one percent of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues, plus any other airline that voluntarily submits the data.

And while we’re on the topic of luggage, if you’ve ever been curious as to what happens to your luggage once you check it in, the video below is a must-watch.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.