Questions and Answers

Hello Ben, and everyone reading that might help to clarify me on this topic!

I’m a frequent traveler, that travels only for pleasure, and I hold a sapphire status on AA, is not too much, but I like the perks it offers. I also enjoy a lot of wines, especially rose and white wines, and I usually buy a bottle or two at every destination I go of wine from the region to discover new tastes.

Today I was traveling from Nice Côte D’Azur to Madrid-Barajas on Iberia Express Economy Class. I bought at the DutyFree a couple of rose wine bottles, I placed the ticket in the dutyfree bag and headed the lounge. Then we went boarding, I boarded second after a wheelchair man, and when I headed to my place at the emergency exit one of the flight attendants told me that I needed to give them the duty free bag if it contains any liquids, and I will get it back when we arrive, as she saw it has them and I didn’t want to complain I gave it the her.

It was the first time I heard about that rule, I have always before carried my wine bottles with me in a bag or at the compartment over me without any question from anyone ever before.

At the end of the flight, when we headed the door and asked for DutyFree bags, the two flight attendants just said “Thanks for flying with us”, an as a lot of people was after us, I didn’t complaint at that moment, and thought of claiming them a couple of minutes later at the lost and found office. But which is my surprise when at the office a couple of hours later, they tell me that the plane has been searched an no bottle of wine or DutyFree bag has appeared!

I placed a claim there, but the lady at lost and found didn’t appear to thought they would, so I headed to the Client Attention Desk on the top floor and asked about that weird rule, which is my surprise when they don’t have any record os such rule! So I ended placing another claim for stolen baggage and at the police placing charges against the airline.

Based on my experience over the years is the first time I heard of such a rule, but I’m curious to know if anyone has gone over something similar with this or other carriers in order to avoid them on my future trips!

Thanks!

Getting the bag taken away is weird and is not a policy I’ve heard of, with the exception of CX HKG-US flights.

However, I dont get why you didnt just step aside to let people behind you off while talking to the crew to find out where your stuff is instead of heading to lost and found.

Hello David,

First of all thanks for the tip about the CX HKG-US flights, I will have that in mind for future trips!

However, I have to say that seen in retrospective hours later from home, it makes complete sense even due we were in remote, to have waited a bit, and asked the flight attendants from the front to ask over the PA system to the ones in the back about the bag.

I guess that in that moment with all the people behind, and been the first time I got a bag removed, I didn’t think about any other option but lost and found, which has been proved to be completely unuseful for this occasion.

Thanks for your thoughts! I’m open to learn everything from everyone today about this topic!

Yes, they hope somebody stupid will forget their bags so they can keep them. As easy as that.