Thanks.

The trip was from Panama City to Quito, Ecuador.

The forms I was given to fill out (different at each stage - firstly at the airport, then when the bag was returned damaged, then when it was returned in its sad state the final time) asked me to nominate the requested compensation amount, etc, itemising everything (eg. I had to stay an extra night at the hotel waiting for them to return my belongings).

I don't see what the point was if they never intended to do anything... I think at this point the lack of response irks more than the money. The luggage cannot be repaired - they caused further damage through the shoddy attempt at a repair (literally, just cutting the handle in half then screwing it back in wrong... had to drag it around south america that way until I could find a good replacement - it was a samsonite).

Hi,

"I don't see what the point was if they never intended to do anything... "

==> I don't know that it's their intention not to do anything .. We'd have to be "inside" Copa to know that... The processes for lost/delayed/damaged bags DOES require some leg work and back-office processing.. but I do think you have every right to expect a reply-- one way or the other.

"I think at this point the lack of response irks more than the money. "

==> I agree.. I think even if it's a 'no' you deserve to be informed of that.

What I *suspect* will be the end result is that they'll first determine what the actual damage is--- next they'll filter that documented damage thru whatever is listed in their CoC's as excluded items... Whatever remains will then be deemed a valid claim..

Many carriers will also factor in a depreciation schedule/rate to you bag, in part to recognize that notion that it does have a defined life span and as it ages, the value of it drops. A parallel is your car-- it's value drops in line with it's depreciated value, so any claims take this depreciation factor into account.

Not all carriers do this, but many do.. So IF this applies, they'll reduce your settlement by some factor to account for this.

At this point, what I would do, (as noted in #1) is make sure you know what is and is not the rules that pertain to your case.. Be sure you read for any exclusions and the like.. Next gather your supporting documentation (repair receipts, comparable new suitcase prices, etc)

Next, I'd reach out, in print, to Copa's Central Baggage Office (CBO)-- most airlines have one, and most call it just that.

I'd ask them for a status update on your claim (this does assume you've filed the proper paperwork for a claim and done so timely)..

Commonly if the claim is still in the process, investigation or settlement stagest, it will be handled by the CBO staff.. If the matter is closed and just waiting for settlement funds disbursement, that's usually done by their accounts payable department or accounting.

Do remember that most CBO's and other back-office functions aren't 24/7 operations.. So you may have to factor in weekends and holidays when you consider the timeline for awaiting a reply.

Be persistent and keep everything in writing-- be that email or print. These kinds of cases are all about documentation and what does their CoC say. So be sure you know what's applicable in your case and that you have all the necessary documentation to support your claim.

Travel Safe

Do you have travel insurance you can claim on? this may be easier. I presume you had insurance.

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This post was determined to be inappropriate by the TripAdvisor community and has been removed.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

Our staff may also remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Thanks for being a part of the TripAdvisor travel community!

Or how about instead of paying money to the place Mike is promoting in his every post, Just create an email account for the trip or that you only use to identify your bags or otherwise to keep anonymous... for free. It takes less than two minutes to do that on Yahoo.com or Google or many other places.