How Tech is Helping Airlines Fudge Lost Baggage Numbers

Ever since 1987, airlines have been required to file monthly reports with the Department of Transportation (DOT), enumerating the number of “mishandled baggage reports” that were filed by travelers at their airline baggage service offices (BSO).

By most accounts, these numbers have been on the decline.

In May, TravelPulse reported that in 2016 there were 5.73 mishandled bags per 1,000 reported. The number represented a 12.25 percent drop from 2015 when 6.53 mishandled bags per 1,000 were reported. Or put more simply, there were two million fewer mishandled bags in the U.S. last year than the year before.

Now, however, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (h/t MarketWatch), those reported numbers might not be wholly accurate. A sneaky piece of technology could be helping domestic carriers fudge their mishandled baggage accounting.

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Back in August, American Airlines rolled out a service called Customer Baggage Notification (h/t Thrillist), an admittedly convenient service that notifies customers when their bags have been delayed or inadvertently sent to the wrong airport. United and Delta are also said to be rolling out a similar offering in the near future.

Here’s how it works. When you land, you get a text message notifying you that your bag has been delayed. Among the options, depending on your specific situation, is the ability to fill out a delivery location for your luggage right from the app, so you can avoid the long lines at the BSO.

Easy peasy.

Except, no visit to the BSO means no filed report, which means the Department of Transportation technically does not have to hear about your mishandled bags. Because the regulation only requires airlines submit the filed reports they handle.

According to MarketWatch, American and United are “complying with the regulation, even though they won’t be reporting all their mishandled bags.” Delta, on the other hand, has said it will automatically have the app generate a report with the BSO, so all mishandled bags will be reported to the DOT.

READ MORE: When Will the DOT Start Doing Its Job?

Delta could be a little gun-shy when it comes to baggage reports, as the airline was fined $200,000 by the DOT earlier this year for misrepresenting its mishandled baggage numbers. In that situation, when Delta swapped a damaged bag with a replacement bag, airline reps did not file the claim in their system, which meant they were subsequently not reported to the DOT.

According to the Wall Street Journal, it could be 2019 before the law catches up with this piece of technology, thereby requiring airlines to report all mishandled bags and not just the ones which exist "on paper."

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