Alaska Airlines Chief Executive Bradley Tilden, speaking at an airline conference in Washington, D.C. last week, admitted that his carrier misplaced his bag during his flight to the summit. The bag was delivered to him the next day.
Addressing members of the meeting from the stage, Tilden also said it wasn't the first time this happened, according the LA Times. He said the airline misplaced his bag on a flight 25 years earlier.
“The media is here and I'm hoping that you don't write this down and print it,” Tilden said at the conference.
Under Alaska Airline's policy which began in 2010, customers are due a $25 flight credit or 2,500 frequent-flyer miles if bags aren't at baggage claim within 20 minutes of the plane’s arrival at the gate. Tilden did not say whether he got the $25 credit or the 2,500 miles.
Despite the fumble, the airline has a better-than-average rating for the first half of 2015 according to complaint data tracked by the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. This comes as lost bags in the industry are on the decline. In 2014, a year with 3.3 billion passengers, there were 7.3 mishandled bags per 1,000 fliers--down from a peak in 2007, according to airline IT vendor SITA.
And American and Delta are now offering real-time bag location updates to passengers via mobile devices. Alaska doesn't yet offer a similar service. Maybe it's something to consider.
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