Italy - My prized Rick Steves possession - Missing

Oh, no! Oh, I'm so sorry. What a terrible way to start a trip.

I am confused, maybe others are too.

Where/what luggage was "lost" in Frankfurt? Was it lost by the airline? If so, were you not traveling with the cross body bag in your possession onboard any planes or trains, or are you indicating it was packed in checked luggage that got delayed getting to you, and this cross body bag was stolen from the luggage?

Some clarification on my previous post. (I initially wrote several paragraphs, but realized I likely exceeded the character limit on this forum), and I likely left out too much detail in the truncation process. We were changing planes at Frankfurt airport (which also involved a change in carriers). Arriving to Frankfurt via Lufthansa, transferring to Ail Dolomiti to Florence. It was a late-night flight (1st strike working against me), the Lufthansa flight was late in arriving (2nd strike against me), hence reducing transfer time. And, it was on the eve, before a publicly announced personnel strike at all German airports (to start in mere hours) (3rd strike - hence baggage handling motivation may have been low that evening). So, the stars were definitely not aligned for me. The luggage failed to make the transfer between Lufthansa to my Air Dolomiti flight (for what I can assume was due to some combination of the above three 'strikes'). The Cross Body Bag, along with a brand-new Civita Neck Wallet, were both packed into my checked luggage. Additional items missing were electric shaver, cosmetics, various clothing items. We were booked for 3 nights in Florence, and on the morning of our departure from the hotel, the luggage arrived. For the two days prior to that, we were driven to add some Italian clothing to our wardrobe, mostly out of necessity. As it turns out, we were traveling to Frankfurt from Greece, where we were still in black dress clothes, having just attended a memorial service for a recently departed family member. So, not exactly dressed for a 3-day Florence city tour. I had planned to write about, despite this slow start, all the great experiences we had during this Italy trip, but, alas, I have likely reached my character limit again.

Ugh. Not fun at all. You are right about lessons learned, but it’s hard. We would all just as soon not have to lose any of our stuff stolen from our suitcase. And just because I COULD part with an item doesn’t mean I WANT to….

have heard of just flat out lost luggage, but I have never heard of rummaged and pillaged luggage before being returned to it's owner, particularly at a major Lufthansa hub ... hmmm.

Same here, a disturbing development.

Also, while the OP's assumption is that it happened the way the she describes, you never know when such a theft occurred since it could have happened at the first airport where she checked the bags (I still am not following the OP timeline - did she fly to/through Frankfurt from the US enroute to Italy? Because the theft could have happened in the US). Regardless, her tale of woe is a reminder to all of the perils of losing difficult to replace items being placed in checked luggage, and the need to carry onboard with you anything you really can't afford to lose like medicines, electronic stuff, etc.

I hope she filed a complaint with Lufthansa, doubt that she was the only "inconvenienced" passenger who transited Frankfurt that evening...

There was a recent delayed-luggage incident here in the US that led to a viral Twitter thread (or some other viral social media explosion). The owner of the luggage had deployed an AirTag and could see her luggage moving from place to place in her city; she referred to it as "going shopping". This went on for multiple days, while the airline kept telling her the bag was at a distribution point. She says she went to the location where her bag was located (per the AirTag); it was an apartment building. She says she saw suitcases with airline tags there. (That bit was unclear in what I read--were they empty bags? Were they beside an outdoor waste bin?) After the Twitter (or whatever) bit blew up, the airline ultimately got her bag to her. The follow-up from the airline was that they--like other airlines (maybe all) use contractors to deliver delayed luggage, and the contractor had not met their expectations in this case.

So I wonder whether it isn't more likely that the theft from ltpater's suitcase occurred while the bag was in the possession of the delivery company. My guess is that those employees are not paid as well as airline employees and might therefore be more likely to take the risk of rifling through luggage before they deliver it.

So I wonder whether it isn't more likely that the theft from ltpater's suitcase occurred while the bag was in the possession of the delivery company.

Excellent point, and what I was trying to get at in my most recent post: one is only assuming where and when the "crime" took place, but once you hand over that bag to the airline check-in counter at the start of your flights, you have no idea who is opening your bags, rifling the contents, and maybe even stealing something from the bag, if not the entire bag itself.

There was a recent article on the disappearance of Major League Baseball jerseys that were being sold for $$$ on the internet, and the investigation pointed at suspicion of the Denver Rockies clubhouse staff. First thought was someone inside the clubhouse was pilfering the jerseys, but they couldn't prove it, security cameras showed nothing suspicious. Long story short, the thief worked for the transport firm that carried the equipment from the Rockies facility to the airport for transport to the next game. He was a "trusted" employee who had limited but just enough time alone with the duffel bags, out of sight of security cameras, to steal jerseys just before loading them onto the plane...he would stuff them under his shirt, only taking a few at a time...it took the FBI months to crack the case...and the story shows that there is a long chain of possession by different people and entities when you check your bags for a flight, particularly when the bags get "lost" or delayed in transit.

I have heard of just flat out lost luggage, but I have never heard of rummaged and pillaged luggage before being returned to it's owner, particularly at a major Lufthansa hub ... hmmm.

I have had something taken from my checked luggage. I had a flight from London to Cairo via Rome. When I arrived in Cairo, my luggage did not appear. I filled out the missing baggage form and went to my hotel. The next day, my luggage was delivered to my hotel. My hairdryer was missing. Whether it was taken by baggage handlers or the person who delivered it from the airport to the hotel or hotel staff is unknown.

Sorry that you experienced this.

Hello all. Just to clarify a few points: Flight origin was Thessaloniki, Greece. The luggage was most certainly 'complete' at that departure airport. I am fairly certain, nothing nefarious occurred at the departure point given my experiences there on previous trips, as well as the timing. Whether the theft occurred at Frankfurt airport, or via a courier in Italy, the speculation is it may have been the Italian side (either the Italian airport or courier). This is pure speculation, but based on anecdotal accounts from other frequent travelers, who have had items come up missing, there seems to be a trend, within Italy.

The European Union, as well as Lufthansa, does have pretty clear processes in how to resolve these situations. The EU allows for compensation of reasonable replacement items, for the days that the luggage is delayed. In our case, our luggage was delayed 3 days, so, within reason, we could purchase personal items and clothing for an equivalent period of time. Now, once the luggage showed up, and items were discovered missing, then an additional claim for missing items could be made. I believe there is a 'soft' number (set by either the EU or Lufthansa(?) of around 1500 Euros, that does not require any extraordinary level of justification, for lost/stolen items. Beyond that, additional documentation is required. I filled out all the appropriate claim forms, in a timely manner, now, we'll wait and see how well the reimbursement process works.....it's been a few weeks...........

Of course, this does not compensate for time spent deferring your travel plans, and hours lost having to (emergency) shop for replacement clothes.

I did read the article on the woman who tracked her missing bag via Airtag. I am not an Apple user, but it did make me think twice about some sort of tracking device in the future. Not necessarily for anticipating theft, but just for the reassurance that your luggage is on its way. I travel internationally, quite frequently, and I have had luggage delays in the past. This is the first time that items were found missing, once I recovered the luggage.