Going on holiday is one of the best times of the year. You can stick your out-of-office on, pack your bags and jet off to a wonderful destination for a few weeks of fun and relaxation.
There is one nightmare associated with holidays, though. That is, after a long and exhausting flight, you stand at that baggage carousel and watch it turn around and around with no sign of your precious luggage. What exactly do you do when your luggage goes missing? Especially if that luggage contains your prized bike.
What Happens When Luggage is Lost?
When you arrive at a destination and your luggage doesn’t, your first call will be to alert your airline. Hopefully your luggage has just missed a connecting flight and can be re-routed to your destination on one of the next flights available. Meaning you will – all things going well – be reunited with your luggage in 24-48 hours.
Unfortunately, not all luggage that goes missing is found. So what happens when your luggage is lost? Well in these scenarios, your airline is liable for your loss. The problem is, there are no solid rules for how much compensation you will receive and there is an upper limit of £1000. For those of us with expensive bikes, this compensation will nowhere near cover the money and time you’ve put into your bike. Plus, this amount is very rarely given out, so you may receive a far smaller compensation than the £1000 limit.
How to Help Prevent Lost Luggage
Helping prevent your luggage getting lost isn’t an exact science. At the end of the day, baggage can go missing regardless of how well you plan your trip. You can, however, implement a few tips and tricks to help keep your luggage safe.
For one, try using a unique case. You many laugh at people who have ostentatious colours or cases with their faces on them. However these cases stand out and are far less likely to be picked up by mistake from other passengers. For your bike, here is where your Shok Box comes in handy. With a unique shape and bright colours available, you won’t find others getting confused. Even better, these cases help prevent your bike from damage. So you won’t need to worry about extra flights as your luggage is re-routed.
Even better, your ShokBox comes with GPS tracking, so you’ll know exactly where your bike is at all times.
You should also add your name, address, mobile number and email to any case you are using. That way, if it is found, you should get contacted. You may also want to add your destination, flight number and hotel/accommodation on it, too.
Insure Your Luggage
If you do plan on taking your expensive bike on holiday, then get it insured. That way, if the worst happens, you can make a claim on the bike’s true value rather than what your airline decides to payout.
An insurance firm will pay out far quicker than the airline, too. These companies tend to delay these payments as long as possible, which can be very frustrating. True, you will need to be an excess on your insurance policy, but this is far better than losing a large proportion of your bike’s value.
