Lost luggage what to do when bags go AWOL.(absent without leave)

To avoid parting from her luggage when she flies, Gerrie Summers, a Brooklyn-based writer, usually carries it onboard. But last February, when flying to Uruguay to start a two-week cruise, she had to check her bag. She didn't see it again until two days after she got home.

Stories like this are on the rise. Last year, passengers filed an average of 10,000 mishandled-luggage complaints per day against the larger U.S. airlines. That's the worst performance since 1990.

Some 98 percent of bags are reunited with their owners, usually within a day or two. But that's little solace if you're separated from the stuff you need. When bags are delayed, passengers are at the mercy of the airlines in getting reimbursed for anything they may have to buy. There are no federal or international guidelines.

Passengers whose luggage never gets back to them are, in a way, in luck. Clearcut rules require airlines to reimburse passengers for items in permanently lost baggage. The Department of Transportation allows up to $2,800 in reimbursements for luggage lost on domestic flights. For international flights, the limits vary. The most recent value was slightly more than $1,400. But airlines generally cover the depreciated value of the contents, not the replacement value.

Airlines blame everything from air-traffic controllers to bad weather for lost luggage. Figures from SITA, a Swiss company that tracks baggage flow, show that about 60 percent of missing bags are mishandled in transfers; many others aren't loaded in the first place.

As we head into the summer travel season, there are steps you can take to avoid the headache of wayward or, gulp, permanently lost baggage.

One obvious way to keep airlines from losing your luggage is to carry bags onboard. Check with the airline about carry-on size and weight restrictions, since they differ by airline and aircraft. If you're checking bags, try for nonstop flights or arrange for at least an hour to make a connection.