Maybe the TSA is damaging less of our luggage

Then again, maybe not.

Before I get into the substance of this post, let me acknowledge a few of my biases. Although the Transportation Security Administration has never damaged my checked baggage — because I don’t check my baggage, probably — they did kinda ruin my last New Years Day.

And Kari just had an unpleasant run-in with a TSA agent in Honolulu yesterday. Seems one of the kids hadn’t finished their water on the flight from Atlanta. Instead of allowing her to dump the half-ounce of water or drink it, she was forced to throw the entire aluminium bottle ($3.50 at Wal Mart) away.

She was at the end of her rope after 10 hours on a plane. I’m taking, nail-spittin’, fire-breathin’ furious. I thought she was going to get herself arrested. She didn’t, thank goodness,

Anyway, we all have our TSA story to tell. I get a question about a TSA-related luggage claim about once a month. TSA receives an average of 45 claims a day, which is roughly .0018 percent of all bags screened.

But asked for the exact number of claims, denials and payouts, TSA only could point me to this section on its site where it dumped raw numbers into an xls file.

Not helpful.

My TSA contact then sent me the payout numbers for lost and damaged luggage (see graph, above) and promised to research the other figures and “let me know the timeframe” for the request. That was more than two weeks ago, and something tells me the agency has more important things to worry about.

Still, as I review these claim numbers, I wonder: If the number of claims has remained relatively constant — and that’s a big assumption — then why have payouts plummeted? Is TSA damaging less of our checked luggage? Or is it just not paying damages, as a matter of policy?

The numbers we have raise more questions than they answer.

If TSA doesn’t respond, I will probably file a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I’m just afraid that if I do, the agency will dump all of the raw numbers into a useless spreadsheet again.

If there’s anyone out there with an accounting background who can take a look at the FOIA documents on the TSA site (look at “claims data” part 1 through 3), and can crunch them, please let me know.

I’d like to report more on this story.

  • Nancy

    Probably less people checking bags. Instead they are packing their carry on bags to the brim and stuffing them into the overhead in the front of the plane, even when they are sitting in the back…usually over my seat….

  • Monica

    I agree with Nancy. The numbers are going to be skewed because more people are trying (and usually succeeding) in bringing their full-sized luggage and duffel bags onto the plane. It drives me crazy. I still check my bags and only walk onto the plane with a backpack that fits under the seat.

  • KF

    I think it’s a combination of three things – people carrying more luggage on and checking less (and I’m with the posters above – there needs to be more sizing enforcement), TSA denying responsibility for damaged luggage, and if they do accept the claim, dragging it out for months if not years.

  • Morton Brown

    I don’t understand the problem Kari had involving an aluminum water bottle. I am assuming that the Elliott family connected at HNL from Delta’s nonstop out of ATL to a local (ie, Hawaiian Airlines) flight from HNL to the Big Island, and that in so doing, they were obliged to leave the secure area in the main terminal to go to the inter-island terminal, and thus submit to a second security check. That being said, there was NO reason for the TSA to insist that the bottle be thrown out; emptying the remaining water should have been sufficient. I think that an apology from TSA is indicated here.

  • Ames

    I have heard some very bizarre stories about water bottles especially the nicest aluminum ones. The excuses seem to be they are not transparent so the agent is not sure it is empty. The ones that are double layer seem to get the most scrutiny, there could be something unseen between the inner and outer cups. Not the obvious kiddie cups with sparkly water – classified as a snow globe – but just regular “Thermos” type bottles. Of course when one sees the same bottle with a distinctive logo later being carried on the sterile side of the airport, it does make one wonder what the real reason was.

    It has not happened to me yet, but I plan to keep the lid if I ever have to give up a bottle. My reason is that lids are easy to lose, so an extra is a good thing, but it makes the confiscated one useless to anyone else in case there was a different motive for its confiscation.

  • Dan

    Chris,

    I looked at the claims data you linked to, and I hate to say this, but a reasonably competent person should be able to calculate what it is you want without resorting to a FOIA request or calling for people with accounting backgrounds to help you.

    Things you should know:

    Column D shows incident date
    Column J shows claim status
    Column L shows the amount that the TSA finally paid

    This is stuff you really ought to be able to compute for yourself.

  • Ernest

    How do you determine that TSA damaged your luggage as opposed to the airlines?

    I have had well packed breakables in my luggage put back without repadding them and they were broken. TSA has denied any liability each time. I would guess it is TSA since it was unpacked from inside the locked suitcase yet TSA seems to stand on the old party line of ‘there is no evidence that it was damaged by our agents’. Now I have armored electric razors, armored binoculars, stainless steel mirrors.

    The times that the actual bag is damaged and contents missing(which happens quite often with American Eagle), the airlines have eventually reimbursed me a portion of my loss.

    I wonder if the TSA numbers only include actual claims made against TSA or all the incidents including the airlines damaging luggage?

    Do these numbers include the times inquiries were made about TSA damage or only the times someone actually bucked the TSA party line and filled out a claim?

    Numbers can be made to support anything.

  • Mike

    I would have to follow Ernest’s line of thinking. Is the detail that was provided talking about luggage claims directed at TSA for reimbursement or claims to the airlines that have or haven’t been processed? I will be interested to see if maybe the info is simply mislabled as TSA damaged luggage claims instead of being airline damaged baggage claim.