How Starting a Timer When Plane Lands Could Save You Money on Next Flight

A video highlighting what many passengers don't think to do once their plane lands—which could potentially help earn them some form of compensation—has gone viral on TikTok. The clip was posted by @travelavecmoi10 and has garnered over 726,000 views since it was shared on December 18. A note overlaid on the clip says, "Never forget to start your timer the second your flight lands." A man in the video says, "It's crazy to me that more people don't talk about this. Never forget to start a stopwatch the second your plane lands" because some carriers, like Alaska Airlines, have a baggage policy that says they'll "gift" you air miles if your bags are not delivered within a certain period, which can save you money on your next flight. The speaker is shown reading from the Alaska Airlines website, which says: "If your bags are not at baggage claim within 20 minutes of your plane's arrival at the gate, we'll offer you a $25 discount code for use on a future Alaska Airlines flight, or 2,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan bonus miles." Ivaylo Danailov, CEO of SkyRefund, a service that helps passengers claim money owed to them by an airline after a flight disruption, told Newsweek: "Many airlines, including Alaska Airlines, are implementing baggage delivery guarantees to enhance customer satisfaction and operational accountability" and "pursuing compensation is often worthwhile, especially if the delay causes inconvenience or requires out-of-pocket expenses."

When Can I Claim Compensation for Delayed Baggage?

Law professor and consumer advocacy attorney Danny Karon, from the Cleveland-based law firm Karon LLC in Ohio, told Newsweek: "It's definitely worth following up and standing up for yourself if your bag is lost or delivered late, because this is compensation that airlines are legally required to provide. You may have incurred expenses to replace items, and dealt with a considerable hassle factor." For example, if your bag is arriving the next morning and you have to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste, or you have to get a taxi back to the airport to collect your bag, "you could reasonably ask for compensation for those extra travel expenses," Jack Prenter, CEO and personal finance expert at Dollarwise, told Newsweek. Karon points out that last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) enacted a "new set of regulations that airlines must abide by, which include compensation for flight delays, being involuntarily bumped from an overbooked flight, and also compensation for lost or delayed luggage." The DOT regulations "require airlines to compensate passengers when bags are lost or not delivered within 12 hours," the attorney says. Passengers are entitled to a refund for a checked baggage fee if their "bag is not delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight arriving at the gate, or within 15 or 30 hours of an international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight," according to the DOT website. The DOT says airlines are required to compensate passengers for "reasonable, verifiable, and actual incidental expenses that they may incur while their bags are delayed." For example, "if you go out and buy a pair of socks while waiting for your bag, you may be compensated for that," Karon said. "However, you may be required to provide verification of any valuables that were inside your bag."

How to Claim Compensation for Delayed Baggage

Karon advises, "if your bag doesn't come off the carousel, file a lost baggage claim with their airline as soon as possible," saying "that's when the clock really starts ticking." If the airline doesn't abide by the DOT rules around compensation for delayed baggage, Karon recommends sending a letter—a paper, snail mail letter, not an email or a live chat message—to the airline's customer service, the general counsel's office and CEO. The attorney says, "In the letter, explain the situation, share your receipts and travel itinerary, so the airline will understand what you paid out of pocket and the amount they need to reimburse you. "Then, explain the possibility of going to small claims court. That is a very expensive thing—if an airline has to send an attorney to court—and probably more than it will cost them to reimburse you," he notes. Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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