As the Battle for Seattle continues between Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines, Delta has taken a page out of Alaska's playbook with a new on-time baggage guarantee.
Delta is promising your checked bags will arrive at the baggage carousel in 20 minutes or less after any domestic flight in a promotion that began today and runs through March 31, 2015. If your bags don't make it by then, you are eligible to receive 2,500 bonus miles as part of the SkyMiles loyalty program. You must be a SkyMiles member and you must file the form on Delta's website no later than three days after your flight's arrival to be eligible for the bonus miles if your bags are delayed more than 20 minutes.
Time to baggage claim will be as measured by Delta's baggage tracking system, where available; lost, mishandled and damaged bags are excluded from the promotion, as are oversize, overweight baggage and special items.
It is believed that Delta initially started this as a short-term promotion to see how the system works and assess the need for any changes, with the hope being the airline can roll it out into a full-time promise.
Alaska Airlines has a similar guarantee and was the first major domestic airline to implement such a program full-time. If your baggage is not at baggage claim within 20 minutes of your Alaska Airlines arrival at the gate, the carrier will offer you a $25 Discount Code for use on a future Alaska Airlines flight, or 2,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Bonus Miles.
Alaska's notification policy is a bit stricter, however - passengers must report late luggage to a customer service agent within two hours of a flight's arrival to claim a voucher.
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