Sharp rise in mishandled bags at Alaska Airlines

Thursday, 23 Oct, 2015 0

Alaska Airlines’ profits are at a record high but so are mishandled bag claims.

The carrier said it had its busiest summer ever, but there was a dramatic rise in the number of lost, damaged and delayed baggage.

The number of mishandled baggage claims was up by 44% in June, July and August compared to the third quarter of 2014.

"We had a rough quarter on mishandled bags and the operations folks own that," Alaska Airlines chief operating officer Ben Minicucci said during an earnings call.

"We’re not happy with how we performed. We actually have an initiative right now and going into 2016 to get our mishandled bags right in line."

The carrier later issued a statement saying performance has improved in recent weeks.

"We have a team of people doing a deep dive into our processes and already our initial efforts are paying off. Since August, our mishandled bag rate has gone from 4.65 to 2.57 per 1,000 passengers."

Alaska CEO Brad Tilden recently admitted the airline had lost his own bag during a flight to Washington, DC.

Alaska Airlines’ main hub at Seattle Tacoma also announced record traffic this summer and airport management admitted the baggage system is struggling to keep pace.

"Like most things at the airport right now, it is running at or beyond its capacity," said Port of Seattle spokesman Perry Cooper.

"The new baggage system, unfortunately, is not coming overnight," Perry added.

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