‘The Airline Lost My Golf Clubs’ and Other Luggage Horror Stories

Airlines don’t always have great timing. The time you decide to fly in on the day of that destination wedding is the very day the airplane choses to arrive late. The flight in which you absolutely, positively must get some work done is the one time in which the plane’s Wi-Fi conks out.

And, of course, on one of the biggest golf tournaments of the year is the one time the airline loses your golf clubs.

Russ Henley, hours before his golf clubs took an unexpected detour. (Photo: AP)

Pro golfer Russell Henley got a taste of that bad timing this week. He flew into Augusta, Georgia on Sunday to prepare for the Masters, which begin this week. Unfortunately, his clubs didn’t fly in with him:

(Twitter/@russhenleygolf)

It’s a testament to what a polite guy Henley is that the desperation and frustration he must have felt was not at all present in his tweet (how many of us in his situation would have opened with “Dear @united…?”).

Fortunately, United was on the situation quickly. Six hours after he sent that first tweet, Henley had his golf clubs back:

(Twitter/@russhenleygolf)

An airline loses his clubs and Henley is the one who says, “sorry for the mixup?” Kinda makes you root for him to win the Masters!

Related: Woman Recovers Lost Luggage After 20 Years

Fortunately, this situation ended well. Unfortunately, many other notable air passengers know what it’s like to have an airline lose their valuable tools of their trade.

United Loses Golf Clubs, Part II

Rory Mcilroy also is a member of the “Airline Lost My Clubs Club.” (Photo: AP)

As the official airline of the PGA Tour, United may want to stop losing players’ golf clubs. In addition to the Henley incident, the airline had a mixup with an even bigger golf star: Rory Mcilroy. Last June, the airline lost his clubs as he flew in to Dublin ahead of the Irish Open:

(Twitter/@McIlroyRory)

But like the Henley incident, this one had a happy ending. Mcilroy got his clubs back the next day, inspiring him to tweet a very nice pun: “Re-@united with my clubs!”

(Twitter/@McIlroyRory)

Delta “Loses” Westminster Dogs

Is this any way to treat a prized show dog? (Photo: Thinkstock)

It’s not enough that they lost the Westminster Dog Show — some poor pooches also got lost themselves. Back in February, Delta ticked off some dog owners who claimed the airline lost five pooches as they were to fly home from New York after the big dog show. Delta explained the dogs weren’t lost: a lack of space on the plane’s cargo hold kept the pooches from traveling on the same flight as their owners. The dogs all made it home.

Lufthansa Loses Cello

Where’s my cello? (Photo: Thinkstock)

An airline mixup led to a stressful few days for San Antonio Symphony cellist Lachezar Kostov. According to The Strad, his cello got lost during a Lufthansa flight from Houston to Sofia, Bulgaria via Frankfurt last October. Kostov had to spend the next five days performing with borrowed instruments until the airline contacted him with the good news: his cello was found in Houston. The airline sent it on to Hamburg and cello and cellist were reunited.

United Loses Wrestler’s Championship Belt

Not the person you want to tick off. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ticking off golfers is one thing, but it’s probably not a good idea to inconvenience a pro wrestler. Last October, WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler sent out several tongue-in-cheek tweets implying United lost his Intercontinental Championship belt before a match in New York (wrestling fans know that championship belts are a very important prop as champions defend their title):

(Twitter/@HEELZiggler)

And he tweeted a WWE exec, suggesting the USA Network hold off on the “WWE Raw” telecast.

(Twitter/@HEELZiggler)

Lords of Pain reported that United accidentally sent the belt to Canada but got it back to New York in time for Ziggler’s match.

British Airways Loses Sarod

The case of the missing Sarod (Photo: AP)

Indian musician Amjad Ali Khan had reason to freak out last July. He said British Airways lost his Sarod — a string instrument he’d played for 45 years — as he flew the airline from London to Delhi. The airline blamed the baggage system at Heathrow for the problem. Fortunately, he got his priceless instrument back. The overjoyed musician posted on Facebook: “My soul is back!”

Airline loses baseball team’s gear

“Play ball! Wait — where is it?” (Photo: Thinkstock)

It’s hard to play ball if you don’t have your uniforms. Or equipment. The Tacoma Rainers, the Seattle Mariners’ Triple-A team, had to cancel a game against the El Paso Chihuahuas because their airline lost their luggage — which had the team’s equipment and uniforms — en route to El Paso, Texas. Borrowing gear was out of the question. “From your shoes to your glove to your bats, everything that you need to play with is each guy’s individual preference,” the Rainers manager said, according to the News Tribune. “The biggest thing is liability and getting someone hurt because he’s wearing something that isn’t his.” (While the airline responsible for the mixup wasn’t officially identified, NBC Sports noted that Alaska Airlines was the team’s official airline).

What do you do if an airline loses your luggage? (Photo: Thinkstock)

So it doesn’t matter if you’re a concert cellist, a PGA golfer, or an award-winning dog owner — airlines can and do lose your stuff. What do you do if you find yourself in this situation? The Department of Transportation says most lost bags are returned within a few days, often on the next flight. So the most important thing is not to leave the airport until you’ve reported the missing baggage to the airline staff. The DOT says you’re entitled to “reasonable reimbursement for expenses you incur while waiting for the delayed bag, such as the purchase of toiletries and a change of underwear.”

And if you find yourself with missing gear, a good move is to do what most of the people in this story did: tweet the airline. Most major airlines have social media staff dedicated to assisting customers via social media. It’s a good way to keep airlines honest — at least until they let us carry-on our golf clubs.

WATCH: Lost Luggage

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