Airlines don't pay a standard inconvenience fee when a checked bag goes missing. The money you can actually recover is narrower: a refund of the checked-bag fee if the airline failed to provide the baggage service, reimbursement for reasonable essentials you had to buy while the bag was delayed, and the documented current value of the bag and its contents if it never arrives.

The logo on the ticket isn't the main switch. A wholly domestic U.S. itinerary is generally covered by U.S. rules and the airline's contract of carriage. An itinerary that crosses an international border is usually covered by the Montreal Convention. This is general consumer information, not legal advice.

If you do nothing else today, report the bag, get a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) or equivalent reference number, and start a written claim. On an international trip, a bag is normally treated as lost after 21 days. That period is not a reason to wait before you report the problem or claim necessary expenses.

Which rule controls the claim

Wholly domestic U.S. flights

For most checked baggage on a domestic U.S. itinerary, 14 CFR Part 254 stops an airline from limiting its liability below $4,700 per passenger. That number is a ceiling, not an automatic payout. You still have to show the loss, prove its value, and get past any exclusion in the baggage conditions.

Notice deadlines, valuation method, and excluded items are usually spelled out in the contract of carriage. File as soon as you can, even if the contract looks like it gives you extra time.

On U.S.-covered flights, the U.S. Department of Transportation's baggage guidance also covers bag-fee refunds and reimbursement of reasonable expenses.

International flights

The Montreal Convention generally applies when the trip crosses an international border, including many journeys to or from the United States. The current baggage liability limit is 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger. The dollar equivalent moves with the exchange rate and is often around $2,000; the airline will normally convert using the applicable SDR value.

That limit isn't a guaranteed check. If your provable loss is lower, the airline can pay less. The contract may also restrict certain property in checked bags. Where the airline offers a special declaration of value, paying any required extra charge can increase protection.

Report damage in writing within seven days after you receive the bag. A delayed-baggage claim has to go in writing within 21 days after the bag is returned or made available. After 21 days without arrival, the bag is generally treated as lost. Court action under the Convention is generally limited to two years.

A domestic U.S. hop doesn't become an international claim just because the same airline also flies overseas. A domestic segment can still be part of one international carriage if it's on a through itinerary. Check the ticket and contract when the route includes more than one country.

EU261 is not the lost-bag payment rule

EU Regulation 261/2004 deals with cancellations, denied boarding, and qualifying arrival delays. It doesn't create a standard cash payment for a missing suitcase. On most international European routes, baggage reimbursement is handled under the Montreal Convention. Your Europe's passenger-rights guidance treats lost, damaged, and delayed baggage separately from flight-delay compensation.

Report the bag before you leave the airport

Go to the operating airline's baggage desk as soon as the bag fails to appear and ask for a PIR or the equivalent missing-baggage report. Have the flight number, travel date, baggage tag number, and connection details ready. Describe the bag with enough detail to identify it: brand, color, size, and marks. "Black suitcase" is weak evidence. "24-inch Samsonite spinner with a blue strap and a torn side pocket" is the kind of description that actually helps tracing.

Leave a local address, hotel, email, and phone number, and update them if you change hotels. Photograph the baggage tag before you walk away, and get a copy or photo of the PIR. That reference number is often what unlocks the airline tracker. If the desk is already closed, report the bag on the airline's official website or app immediately and keep the confirmation.

A PIR starts tracing. It may not replace the airline's formal written compensation claim.

Build a file the airline can actually use

Keep one folder for the claim and save digital copies of boarding passes, the booking confirmation, the baggage tag, the PIR reference, photos of the bag and contents, an itemized contents list, purchase receipts, emergency-purchase receipts, emails, chat transcripts, call notes, tracker screenshots, and proof of any bag fee paid.

No receipt doesn't automatically kill an item. Credit-card statements, retailer order histories, warranty records, photographs, serial numbers, or comparable current prices can fill gaps if you explain how you calculated current value. Don't send an unsupported replacement price and hope it sticks. Keep originals until the claim and any appeal are finished; send copies.

Buy only what the delay actually requires

You can generally seek reimbursement for necessary, reasonable, documented purchases caused by the delay, such as basic clothing, underwear, and toiletries. Buy for the trip you're in, not a replacement wardrobe. Expensive brands, upgrades, electronics you didn't need, alcohol, and unrelated items are the usual points of pushback. If you can reasonably wait for the bag, wait.

On each receipt, note the date and place, why the item was necessary, whether the bag had already been delivered, and the amount and currency. Some airlines publish spending guidance or ask you to seek approval first. Follow written instructions when you can. The claim is still based on actual reasonable expenses, not an automatic daily allowance. If the airline cuts the amount, it should explain the reduction.

A bag-fee refund is separate from those emergency purchases. For flights covered by U.S. DOT rules, a checked-bag fee is refundable when the bag is lost. A significantly delayed bag can also qualify if it isn't delivered within the applicable period: generally 12 hours after gate arrival on a domestic flight, 15 hours on an international flight under 12 hours, or 30 hours on a longer international flight. Check the current DOT guidance for the route and reporting requirements.

File the written claim even if tracing is still open

Use the airline's official baggage-claim form, app, or written claims address. Don't wait for the tracker to give up.

State clearly whether you are claiming emergency expenses for delayed baggage, the bag fee, lost baggage and contents, damage to the suitcase or its contents, or more than one of those. Attach a short schedule:

A direct claim message is enough:

I am submitting a baggage claim for flight [number] on [date], PIR [reference], and baggage tag [number]. The bag was reported missing at [airport]. I request reimbursement for the attached documented expenses and the proven current value of the lost baggage, plus any applicable checked-bag fee refund. Please confirm receipt and explain any missing information or proposed reduction in writing.

Submit before the relevant international deadline if Montreal applies. Save the confirmation page, case number, and uploaded files. There is no universal rule that every airline must answer a baggage claim in 30 or 60 days, so treat any stated response time as policy, not a guaranteed legal deadline.

Turn a delayed-bag claim into a lost-bag claim

Keep tracking the bag, but don't let an open tracing file sit while your compensation rights expire.

If an international bag is still missing at 21 days, write again and say you are updating the delayed-baggage claim to a lost-baggage claim under the Montreal Convention. Attach the original PIR, the tag and itinerary, a complete contents inventory, evidence of each item's current value, receipts for reasonable delay expenses, and a request for the bag-fee refund where that applies.

If the airline declares the bag lost earlier, send the lost-baggage valuation then. Ask whether they want it in the existing case or under a new reference.

Don't accept a voucher or sign a full settlement release until you know whether it ends further documented claims. If the bag turns up after payment, follow the settlement instructions rather than keeping both the bag and a full duplicate payment without asking.

What can go into the amount, and what usually can't

The claim is for financial loss, not a standard inconvenience payment. Airlines look at the bag's current value and condition, the age of clothing and electronics, whether the item was actually in the checked bag, whether you have credible proof of ownership and value, whether a delay purchase was necessary, and the applicable liability limit.

List the original purchase price and your best estimate of current value. A five-year-old laptop or coat isn't valued like a new one. The airline may apply depreciation, but it should show how it reached the figure.

Read the exclusions before you pack valuables in checked baggage. Cash, jewelry, heirlooms, important documents, fragile goods, and some electronics are often excluded or limited, especially if they weren't declared. Sentimental value is hard to recover because it doesn't have a readily provable market price. If you bought a special declaration of value or excess valuation, attach that confirmation.

When more than one airline is involved

On a connection, report the problem to the airline handling baggage at the final arrival airport and notify the other operating carriers in writing. Include every flight number and baggage tag.

Don't stop at the marketing brand on the ticket. A codeshare has a marketing carrier and an operating carrier, and the operating carrier often controls the airport report and tracing file. On an international itinerary, the Convention can allow a claim involving the carrier on the segment where the loss occurred and, in some circumstances, the first or last carrier.

Separate tickets are different. If you had to collect and recheck the bag, the first airline may not be responsible for the later ticket. Keep both booking records so responsibility can be assessed accurately.

The airline's name doesn't set the legal limit by itself. Many Ryanair and easyJet routes are international, so the Montreal Convention and each carrier's baggage conditions may control; report at the airport, use the official online claim, and watch the seven-day damage and 21-day delayed-baggage deadlines when they apply. A wholly domestic Delta route generally falls under U.S. baggage rules, including the federal liability floor; an international Delta route generally involves the Montreal Convention. Use Delta's baggage case system, and still keep your own written claim and evidence.

On any codeshare, identify who actually operated each segment. Send notice to the arrival carrier and copy other relevant carriers if responsibility is unclear. Use the official website or app rather than an unsolicited claims service. Portal addresses and document requirements can change.

If the airline denies or underpays

Ask for a written explanation before you appeal. You want the rule or contract term relied on, the specific item or expense rejected, the valuation or depreciation calculation, any missing document, and whether the decision is a final denial.

Then send a concise appeal with the missing evidence and a revised itemized amount. Dates, receipts, the PIR, and the applicable rule do more work than emotional language.

For a U.S. airline or a flight covered by U.S. consumer rules, you can file through the DOT complaint form. That can prompt an airline response and support enforcement. DOT isn't a private claims court and doesn't guarantee an individual payment.

Travel insurance, homeowners insurance, or renters insurance may be another route. Check the policy's baggage limits, deductible, valuation method, and notice deadline. Tell the insurer what the airline has paid or denied. You can't recover the same loss twice, and an insurer may then seek repayment from the airline.

A credit-card billing dispute isn't a substitute for a baggage claim. It may be relevant to a separately charged bag fee that should have been refunded. Disputing the entire airfare just because a bag was lost generally isn't the right remedy.

Common questions

Does EU261 pay compensation for a lost suitcase?

Usually not. Flight-delay or cancellation compensation under EU261 is separate. Lost, damaged, and delayed baggage on most international European routes is generally handled under the Montreal Convention and the airline's baggage conditions.

Does the 21-day deadline apply to every U.S. domestic flight?

No. That period comes from the Montreal Convention and doesn't automatically govern a wholly domestic U.S. itinerary. The airline's contract and applicable U.S. rules control that route. Report and file immediately anyway.

What if I left the airport without a PIR?

Contact the airline promptly through its official baggage channel and ask for written confirmation that the problem was reported. A missing PIR makes the claim harder; it doesn't necessarily eliminate every remedy. Provide the baggage tag, itinerary, delivery details, and photographs.

Will the airline pay the full cost of replacing everything?

Not necessarily. Documented current value, reasonable expenses, exclusions, and the per-passenger liability limit all constrain the amount. A claim is not an automatic new-for-old replacement benefit.

Can I claim from both the airline and travel insurance?

You can notify both, subject to their deadlines and policy terms. Disclose all payments and settlements, and don't accept duplicate reimbursement for the same items.

Get the PIR number (or written confirmation of the report) and submit the written claim. Those two records matter more than an informal conversation at the baggage desk. If you haven't done that yet, use the airline's official baggage channel today and save the confirmation.