Flying to Hawaii is supposed to mark the start of a dream trip, but when your checked luggage doesn’t make it, and the baggage carousel turns up empty, that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare or at least a headache. BOH editors Rob and Jeff have experienced lost bags four times on flights to and from Hawaii on multiple airlines—each one leaving us a little wiser while also more cautious.
Jeff honestly did the dumbest thing (his words) once, and we’ll share about that, too. While it gratefully hasn’t happened this year, we’ve learned plenty from these situations, and upon seeing the latest government statistics below on airline lost bags, we’re sharing those insights here.
Losing bags is more common than you want to think.
Despite all the advances in air travel, including app notifications of checked bag status, losing luggage is still a regular occurrence on flights to Hawaii and beyond.
American, Delta, and United Airlines had the worst record. Alaska was in the middle, and Hawaiian had the best record, followed by Southwest. American led the pack with the most lost bags (per 100 checked – September 2024 ATCR for July data above). Hawaiian Airlines, often considered the bellwether carrier for the islands, isn’t entirely immune either, and had about one-third the lost bags (per 100 checked) that American Airlines encountered.
One reader, Kimo A., summarized it: “I had a tight connection at LAX, and sure enough, my luggage didn’t make it to Honolulu. It took two days to get my things back when the bags got delivered to my hotel.”
Why bags go missing on Hawaii flights.
From our own experiences and what readers have shared, it’s clear that there are multiple primary reasons why your bag might not make it to or from Hawaii with you.
One of the biggest issues is short layovers on connections. Connecting through hubs like Los Angeles or San Francisco, with barely enough time to catch the next flight, increases the likelihood that your bags won’t keep up. Especially should there be any delays.
Even if you make it on the next flight, your luggage might not. As Sarah commented, “After a storm delay leaving Kauai, our bags ended up staying behind. We didn’t get them until days later.”
Another factor is the sheer number of airlines and hands involved in handling your luggage. From the moment you check your bag, it gets passed from one team to another—baggage handlers, security, ramp workers. Mistakes happen, made worse with tight connections and when changing airlines.
What we’ve learned from our lost luggage experiences.
After going through this four times too many, we’ve picked up a few things we keep in mind when flying to and from Hawaii. The most obvious one? If possible, take a direct flight. Fewer connections mean fewer chances for your bag to go missing. We have never lost bags on a nonstop flight in hundreds of attempts.
As David mentioned, “Non-stop flights have been my solution. After losing luggage twice on connecting flights, I haven’t had an issue since.”
Another insight is to be mindful of how you pack.
We learned this lesson all too well. Jeff made the mistake of packing all his clothes in one suitcase and the incidentals in another. On arrival, it was the suitcase with “all” the clothes that went missing for several days. Now for the dumb part. Jeff’s walking shoes were also packed in the missing bag too, and he had only the slippers that he wore on the flight. Those had to suffice for several days over a holiday weekend.
We have since learned to pack some, not all clothes in a checked bag, just in case one goes missing. We also pack more essential items in our carry-ons – things that we can’t afford to be without for days should another luggage loss occur. Leilani noted, “Switching to carry-on bags has saved me so much hassle. No more lost luggage nightmares.”
For those who prefer checking bags, luggage tracking devices, including AirTags, have become game-changers. Several readers have mentioned using them and found them worth the investment. Tracking your bag in real time, alongside the airline’s tracking, gives you peace of mind, even if it goes missing. Airlines, however, started to frown on these before seemingly backing off these being an issue.
What to do if your bag doesn’t arrive.
From personal experience, the first thing to do when a bag is missing is file a report before leaving the airport. This gets the airline’s process started right away. Ensure you have kept your luggage tags and a description or photo of your bags (color, size, model).
Keep receipts for any items you purchased while waiting for your luggage. Under Department of Transportation regulations, airlines must reimburse passengers for essentials like clothing and toiletries if their bags are delayed. In Jeff’s case, he received new shoes and clothes.
Finally, persistence pays off. As “Terry” shared, “Calling the airline every day may seem excessive, but it’s how I finally got reimbursed and my bag delivered.”
Why bags go missing on Hawaii flights.
From our own experiences and from what readers have shared, it’s clear that there are multiple reasons why your bag might not make it to Hawaii with you.
Short layovers. Connecting through hubs like Los Angeles or San Francisco, with barely enough time to catch the next flight, increases the likelihood that your bags won’t keep up.
Even if you make it, your luggage might not. As “Sarah” commented, “After a storm delay leaving Kauai, our bags stayed behind. We didn’t get them until days later in Honolulu.”
Tight inter-island connections. Another factor is the sheer number of hands involved in handling your luggage. From the moment you check your bag, it gets passed from one team to another—baggage handlers, security, ramp workers.
Canceled Flights. Finally, our luggage was also delayed due to canceled connecting flights that required us to be rebooked on another carrier.
Lack of unique appearance. Bags can more easily disappear when they look just like someone else’s. When this happened to us, we quickly used duct tape to make permanent “stickers” on luggage so that no one takes a bag by mistake.
What are your tips and worst experiences with lost luggage and what do you do to prevent it?
Think minimalist. If you stay in a nice condo with a built-in washer/dryer you should be able to do just fine with one change of cloths…for weeks. Another alternative is places like “Ship Stix”. They specialize in golf clubs but will do other bags too. They will pick-up, ship and deliver your bags to you … to and from Hawaii.
Extreme weather events will also delay your bag from one place to the other. The most poignant case for me was when I flew from Portland through Newark to Washington DC, just before Superstorm Sandy made landfall on the East Coat. Yes, my bag never made it out of Newark. And it had all of my clothes in it as I was taking a multiple-stop trip at the time for different events. At United, I told them that I needed to buy clothes and incidentals to get by. They, at the time, told me to spend no more than $150 (since then, knowing if it went over, they would still probably reimburse me). So off to Target, I went to buy clothes for my time in DC, and sure enough, my bag, which was tagged as a status bag, only made it back to me when I came home, to HNL, five days later. Key to this…discuss any lost bag early with the airline before leaving the baggage claim.