Laptop: Lug It or Leave It
Q: After a long business trip, I don't feel like lugging my laptop aboard the flight and would just rather check it. Is it okay packed in my luggage? -Dave P.
Checked Baggage: What's Not Covered?
A: David, I'd have to answer that question with another question, (as I channel and paraphrase Dirty Harry), "Well, do you feel lucky?"
I'd liken such a decision as to me choosing to wear horizontal stripes or obliging to sing karaoke; it's a tad bit risky.
Trust me, I feel your pain. I'd much rather enjoy a long flight (if that's possible) unfettered by the burden of carry-on luggage, but dare I trust my fragile treasures to the cold, over-packed underbelly of an aircraft. I think not.
When it comes to damage or loss of personal property like a laptop, airlines wrote the book on what is and is not covered. For starters, an object's value is clearly defined by the airline industry's tariff agreement in the contract of carriage. (Here's an example of an abridged version from United Airlines.)
If an airline loses or damages your luggage, reimbursement (in most cases) will not exceed $3,000 for a domestic flight. (In December, it goes up to $3,300.)
International flights are less generous and limited to the amounts agreed under the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions, which in some cases is $9.07 per pound ($20 per kg) for checked baggage and $400 per passenger.
Here's the caveat: not everything checked as baggage (no matter what the value) is covered under the $3,000 of the airline's tariff agreement. In fact most airlines assume no liability for fragile, valuable, or perishable items, deeming such effects unsuitable as contents of checked baggage, such as a laptop.
Some airlines allow you to declare excess valuation up to $5,000, but this doesn't cover limited liability items (again, like a laptop).
Check with the airline, but in most cases the carrier is not responsible for money, jewelry, eyewear, keys, medication, cameras, video and electronic equipment (including laptop computers), silverware, precious gems and metals, negotiable papers, securities, business documents, samples, works of art, antiques, collectors' items, artifacts, manuscripts, furs, irreplaceable books or publications, and similar valuables (just to name a few) contained in checked or unchecked baggage.
So Dave, when something is high-value, indispensable and/or irreplaceable (again, like your laptop), lug it with you, take a few breaths, and go to your happy in-flght place.
Tom Conway, who no longer uses his laptop as a laptray, looks forward to your questions, comments and tips.