Or you could go for a stroll in John Kruk's shoes. They're dressy black loafers getting sopped and muddy as they tramp around the rain forest surrounding Brazil's Iguazu Falls. Meanwhile, the waterproof hiking boots he packed are nestled snugly in his suitcase somewhere in the Miami airport. Most travelers would agree that there's nothing like a wayward bag to get a trip off on the wrong foot. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, the major airlines have done little to ease the resulting hassles faced by passengers forced to make do for a day or longer with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Policies vary greatly.
And the amount you get, if any, depends not only on circumstances, but often on your abilities as a negotiator. She bought a skirt, underwear and gym socks at the hotel store the next morning, but when her bag still hadn't shown up by 5 p.m., she called the airline. I've traveled extensively, so I have learned to be aggressive, but not to the point I'm blaming customer service people, because I know it's out of their control. On the other hand, Kruk, a Racine, Wis., information systems engineer, and his wife, Robin, were en route to an Antarctica-bound cruise ship when they touched down in Buenos Aires sans some suitcases. In fact, the chances of an airline misplacing your luggage are relatively slim.