Our flight back to Philly from Seattle on Monday ran into a few “issues” that make traveling these days so annoying, with the worst being the zipper ripped off one of our favorite bags.

On the outside, the taupe Dakota suiter doesn’t look like much. It’s old and bulky and isn’t exactly the most stylish piece of luggage. But it is spacious and convenient, particularly if you are packing suits and shoes for interviews or presentations. I even had room for my running shoes and workout gear.

Through extenuating circumstances, I ended up flying standby on a flight other than the one I was supposed to be on (our original flight from Detroit to Philly had been canceled because of mechanical issues). When we arrived in Philly, Don’s bag was there, but mine was not. The very nice Delta rep in the Philly airport told me that it would come in later that night. We opted to have it delivered to our house.

When the bag arrived at our home six hours later, we were shocked. The bag was completely wrapped in plastic, primarily because the zipper on the front pocket was now hanging by a tenuous thread. Several of my personal items in that pocket were also hanging out, with an umbrella outright missing.

I called the Delta baggage line. They told me to bring the bag down to the airport luggage claim within seven days to file a damage report. So today I hauled the broken suiter in.

The rep took the bag and told me that it would be sent to a luggage repair store in Texas to take care of the problem. It would then be FedExed back to our house, within 10 days or so.

Let’s see if this really works. Delta, you’re on the clock!

Have you ever had luggage destroyed or damaged by an airline? If so, how did they fix the problem? Tell me below!