Suitcases - Questions........

[Metal Head]

Hi,

Last night I returned from England only to find this morning that my trusted "Airport" suitcase, is now only be used in future for holidays by car. Consequently, I am going to have to buy a new largish (80 cm X 50 cm) one.

I had a quick look around Myer, Strandbags and Victoria Station this afternoon and there was only 3 that I liked. a 4 wheel superlite Antler with a 10 year warranty ($180) - a Zero Gravity II by Monsac (5 year warranty - Myers ownbrand - $200) - Samosonite Duralite Large Softside ($220).

Does anyone have one of these - if so are/were you happy with it? Or do you have one that you are happy to recommend - purchased in recent times.

My only reservation with the Antler one is that it is a four wheeler (with 360 degrees rotation) which could break off!!

Are these warranties worth the paper they are written on?

If your suitcase is still under warranty and you find it damaged after retrieving it from the carousal (at the airport) what is the procedure to get it fixed if you are insured?

Thanking those in advance of their reply.

Cheers
MH

[BobL]

One of my suitcases was wrecked by an airport carousel (it appears to have been trapped under a conveyor belt/roller) and QANTAS replaced it completely. You have to lodge a complaint as soon as you pick it up - then when you get back home they make you take it to a place to have it assessed (this takes 2-3 days) and then then make a decision. There is so much farting around my guess is that no many people bother.

If you have travel insurance you lodge a claim with your insurance company.

If it is a warranty issue I would find the company on the web and take it from there.

[Bushmiller]

MH

If your luggage is lost damaged or delayed you have the right to claim against either the airline or the insurance company.

Probably your first action is to report the problem to the airlines representatives at the airport. They used to endorse this on the passenger ticket, but I am not sure if it is still done the same way. If you have insurance, claim from them first. If you do not have baggage insurance the airline has a responsibility to reimburse you, but only up to a certain limit, which is legislated. it will also be based upon the weight of your luggage. It may take a while

Regards
Paul

[q9]

4 Wheelers (spinners) are the way to go. Easy to sit them on all 4 wheels and move them through the lines towards check in etc. Samsonite and Antler are decent brands and I don't think you'll have much problem with them.

[Poppa]

My family has a bunch of the old hard-sided Samsonites that we picked up at garage sales or the Sallies. A few years ago we started picking them up for $5-$10 each and stopped when we reckoned we had enough of them. Every now and again we forget one of the combinations, or one of them doesn't lock anymore, or one of them breaks - and because we only paid $5-$10 for them we really don't care. They are tough and reasonably light for their size, and the airlines find them hard to break because they don't have bits that stick out. They're also pretty obvious on a carousel, because they are old - and we've been told that luggage thieves are more likely to pick nice new luggage than old stuff (not that there is anything in our luggage worth stealing!)...