I've had this happen to me once and I did spend way too much of my trip time coaxing their broken system to get me my bag back. As I understand it, the right t

I've had this happen to me once and I did spend way too much of my trip time coaxing their broken system to get me my bag back. As I understand it, the right thing to do is go shopping for the clothes you need as soon as your bag is missing, and then request reimbursements for those costs. This is congruent with how the claim process worked out for me. Although perhaps airlines have been working on weaseling out of their liability in the name of cost cutting.