Alaska Airlines CEO admits his own airline lost his bag
Lost luggage is one of the top concerns of air travelers. And, apparently, not even airline CEOs are immune.
Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden said his own airline misplaced his luggage as he traveled last week to an industry summit in Washington, D.C. The Los Angeles Times writes Tilden admitted the gaffe on stage, saying his bag was delivered to him the day after he arrived.
"The media is here and I'm hoping that you don't write this down and print it," Tilden said with a smile, according to the Times.
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Of course, Alaska Airlines has long offered a baggage guarantee. The carrier pledges that not only will your bags arrive, but that they'll arrive quickly. Alaska Air's guarantee offers 2,500 miles to customers whose bags don't show up on the baggage carousel within 20 minutes of reaching the arrival gate. Alternatively, Alaska Air gives customers the option to receive a $25 travel voucher instead of the miles.
The Times says Tilden did not say whether he took advantage of his airline's baggage guarantee.
As for Alaska Airlines' track record for bag delivery, it rated better-than-average for the first half of 2015 according to complaint data tracked by the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The airline received 3.15 "mishandled baggage" complaints per 1,000 passengers for the first half of the year. That was better than the national average of 3.52 complaints per 1,000 passengers and ranked Alaska Air sixth out of the 13 carriers that report such data to the government.
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