Photo: RootsShoots/Shutterstock
What to Do if an Airline Loses Your Bag
After a long flight, all you want is to get where you're going, take a shower, and relax. Then comes everyone's nightmare: the carousel grinds to a stop, the last suitcase rolls past, and it isn't yours.
Fewer than one percent of US flyers ever deal with a lost bag, and most "lost" bags are really just delayed, stuck on a later flight after a missed connection. There's a small consolation, though. If you report your bag missing and it isn't delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight, the airline owes you a refund of your bag fee.
Here's how to track it down, what to buy while you wait, and what else the airline owes you.
N E W S
See Inside Alaska Airlines' New Luxury Class With Lie-Flat Seats
Photo: Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines, long known as an affordable domestic carrier, is making its biggest-ever push into premium travel, with lie-flat "Aurora" suites, a new premium economy cabin, three airport lounges, and Seattle chef partnerships rolling out by 2028.
D E A L S
Last-Minute Travel Deals We'd Actually Book
No affiliate links. Just solid finds.
Alaska Airlines: One-way fares from $47, including $62 hops from Honolulu to Maui. Book by Oct. 8 at 11:59 PM PT.
Viking River Cruises: Up to $5,000 off per couple on select 2027 European river cruises, plus free airfare on select departures.
IHG Hotels & Resorts: Last-minute rates at resorts from the Maldives and Mauritius to Vietnam and Thailand.
Azores Getaways: Nine nights across three Azores islands, with round-trip flights from the US and a rental car waiting on each one, from $1,149 (down from $1,639).
Seabourn: Up to $2,000 in shipboard credit, plus reduced deposits, during its Explore Beyond event.
C R E A T O R S
Inside Six Months as Virgin's Head of Yes, Plus How to Apply for the $100K Partnership
Photos: Chris Tomkins
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH VIRGIN
Virgin is looking for its second Head of Yes, a six-month content-creator partnership packed with travel and experiences across its brands. The person selected receives a partnership fee of $100,000 (or £75,000 in the UK). No follower count required.
Virgin's first-ever Head of Yes, Chris Tomkins, breaks down what the gig actually involves, what Richard Branson is really like in person, and exactly how to apply before the October 20 deadline.
W E L L N E S S
How to Have the Ultimate Wellness Weekend in Las Vegas
Photo: Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas
Not long ago, you'd be laughed out of the casino for suggesting a Las Vegas weekend could leave you feeling more rested than when you arrived.
Now a growing wellness scene, from rooftop yoga and banana leaf body wraps to fitness boot camps and plant-based fine dining, offers a detox from Sin City's more hedonistic side.
G U I D E
Inside One of the Southeast’s Largest Free Festivals
Photos: Michelle Shultz
Fall for Greenville takes over downtown Greenville, South Carolina, this weekend with more than 60 restaurants, seven stages, and over 80 musical acts along Main Street, steps from the waterfall at Falls Park. Admission is free, and a kickoff concert opens the weekend on Thursday, Oct. 8.
S T A Y S
I Forfeited My Sight, My Shoes, and My Assumptions About Mexican Spirits at This Los Cabos Resort
Photos: Ariel Runyon
At Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos, every experience asks you to give something up. First your sight, at a five-course dinner in total darkness, then your shoes, at a barefoot grape-stomping harvest ritual, and finally the assumption that Mexican spirits begin and end with tequila.
Travel Well
The Matador Editorial Team
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