Air France rejected my baggage claim for the most ridiculous reason

Q: I need your help with a baggage nightmare that’s been going on for months. Last year, I flew from Bangalore to Chicago on Air France. One of my two checked bags went missing.

But here’s where it gets weird – the Air France representative at the airport asked me about a “third bag” that I never checked.

I have Flying Blue Silver status, which allows three bags, but I only checked two. My bag drop receipt clearly shows two bags. The missing bag contained three duffel bags — two smaller ones folded inside a larger Jaguar duffel from JCPenney. My Apple AirTag showed the bag never left Bangalore.

I filed a report immediately at O’Hare and followed up religiously. After three weeks, I got a claim number, and I submitted detailed receipts totaling $2,084 for the lost items. They were all legitimate purchases from Delsey Paris, JCPenney, and Nordstrom Rack with complete transaction details.

Then came the runaround. Air France rejected all my receipts with the most ridiculous reasons I’ve ever heard. A representative said they don’t accept receipts that are “blurred, transaction details, online receipts, handwritten, credit card receipts, or screenshots.” My receipts weren’t blurred — they were crystal clear PDFs and emails from the retailers. None were handwritten or credit card receipts. They were legitimate purchase confirmations with store names, item descriptions, prices, and order numbers.

Under the Montreal Convention, Air France owes me up to $2,080 for lost baggage, but they’re playing games with my legitimate claim. Can you help me get the full compensation I’m owed?

— Gerardine D’Sa, Willow Springs, Ill.

A: Air France should have honored your legitimate receipts and paid your claim promptly under the Montreal Convention. International airlines are liable for lost baggage up to approximately $2,080 per passenger, and your documented losses clearly fell within this limit.

The receipt rejection policy you encountered is troublesome. Modern commerce relies heavily on electronic receipts, and Air France’s blanket rejection of “online receipts” and “transaction details” essentially renders most contemporary purchase documentation invalid. This appears designed to frustrate legitimate claims rather than verify them.

You handled this correctly by documenting everything immediately and maintaining a detailed paper trail. You were actually a textbook example of how to file a claim. Few passengers can show original receipts, which foils their claim.

Another pro tip: Always photograph your bags with the tags before checking them and keep those bag drop receipts safe — they’re your proof of what you actually checked.

You can appeal baggage claim denials to Air France executives through our company contacts directory on my consumer advocacy site, elliott.org. These contacts often have more authority than front-line customer service representatives. (You reached out to two of the executives, but one sent you a form response and the other ignored you. Too bad! They could have avoided having a story written about them.)

When my advocacy team contacted Air France on your behalf, the airline initially claimed European privacy restrictions prevented them from discussing your case. However, after we pressed them and you filed a Department of Transportation complaint, they reconsidered their position.

Air France offered to pay you $1,793 for your baggage, excluding some items such as electronics. You accepted its offer.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.