Where is my suitcase?

I thought I would take a few moments to let those of you who have been following our Chilean Adventures know that my suitcase HAS STILL NOT ARRIVED. I was very excited a couple of days ago, because I has a call to tell me it was being delivered to my house. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be mine, and furthermore was stuffed full of unmentionables - see below. I have now written to Air France, and decided to copy you all in .

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a Senior University Lecturer in the UK who has been working hard on collaborative work with international colleagues for the last 18 months, in order to be invited to present at our World Federation Congress. This happens once every four years and this occasion was to be held in Santiago, Chile.

Much work had gone into the presentation, securing the funding attend, and indeed in considering the image I wished to present to my professional peers across the world. To this end I packed my bags very carefully with clothes and work related items in readiness for my trip.

Air France delivered me safe and sound in Santiago, but unfortunately my luggage was nowhere to be seen. Whilst I was made aware of the immediate needs fund, as I was only in Santiago for 4 full days, and these were booked for the conference, I had no opportunity to shop. My professional image was not therefore, quite what I had been aiming for (jeans and t-shirt, rather than a smartly tailored suit). If it wasn’t for the generosity of colleagues I would have had no access to clean clothes, electronic devices or other such necessities of conference life.

I still do not have my baggage, and it is now 4 weeks since AF lost it. I have been given a case containing men’s underwear, but unfortunately this isn’t acceptable. Whilst I acknowledge that baggage can and does go missing, my complaint is aimed at the way in which your customer service department have managed the process since then, particularly;

1. The loss of my time and money in making almost daily calls to AF

2. The lack of continuity in information and direction (see timeline, attached)

3. The sheer number of mistakes made by your customer service team

4. The limitations of the immediate needs fund

5. The loss of my claim for immediate needs compensation

6. My total lack of faith that my claim for total loss compensation will be managed in professional and timely manner.

I am writing to you in the hope that you will ensure my claim is now handled appropriately, and that you can illustrate that your procedures are actually fit for purpose. I have been documenting my professional trip via the University of Salford blog at www.frederickroad.blogspot.com and on Facebook, which I also use for professional purposes. My loss of suitcase has been much discussed, with a colleague composing a little ditty that I thought I would share with you:

You've lost my case, Air France, Air France


and now I've got nothing to wear


All I've got is a man's dirty pants


and clothes that I'm having to share


bum bum.

It would be nice to have a happy ending to this situation would like to think that there could be a speedy and successful resolution to my concerns as I would rather not invest more time and energy in seeking legal advice. I am currently submitting a claim for total loss compensation. Please could you ensure this is managed appropriately?

Yours faithfully,

If this letter doesn't work, I might have to resort to creating something like this video. To tell you the truth, I quite like the idea of it. Who wants to join in?