I was young and naive, and I thought that giving hundreds of dollars to an airline meant that they hold up their end of the bargain (deliver your bag). I lost m

I was young and naive, and I thought that giving hundreds of dollars to an airline meant that they hold up their end of the bargain (deliver your bag). I lost my wife's 18 year old teddy bear. They stalled and stalled and 2 months later finally reimbursed us for clothes (but as the fine print says: "no electronics or jewelry or anything valuable! What kind of idiot trusts us with that anyway?"). It was AA too, but they're all the same. I've distrusted airlines since and go to extreme lengths to deny them my money or at least never check in anything.