Lost luggage: Not all of your items are covered

ORLANDO, Fla. – Do you know what items in your suitcase the airlines will cover if your bag gets lost? You may want to rethink what you pack inside your bag because airlines won't reimburse you if it's on their list.

Twenty-six million checked bags go missing every year and one of those bags belongs to Tracy and Charlie Vega.

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"Don't pack anything that is not replaceable because you're not going to get it back," said Tracy Vega.

Traveling on JetBlue from Orlando to Newark their suitcase was lost.  That's right, their luggage was lost on a direct flight.

"It was my husband's bag so we are looking around looking around no bag. We never saw it come off we never saw anybody leave with it,"  said Tracy.

The Vegas filed a lost luggage report and a detailed list of everything in their suitcase. From car chargers and prescription medicine to prescription glasses, all those small things added up. The estimated cost of contents in their suitcase came to nearly $1,500.

JetBlue offered them $110.

Tracy says she was upset.

"I was appalled, I was appalled I was aggravated," she said.

Why so little? JetBlue instructed them to take a look at their website and read the Contract of Carriage to see what is and is not covered. It's located on page 21.  Not covered are jewelry, wigs, cameras, medicines, contact lenses, keys and cellphone chargers just to name a few.

As for Delta, their Contract of Carriage is on page 31 and the same rules apply.

Air Tran and Southwest's list was on page 14 and the same items are not covered.

Travelers we spoke to were surprised to hear the lists of things not covered, including perfume, curling irons and even makeup.

Debbie Mossburg said she knows firsthand.

"They lost my makeup, very awful," Mossburg said. "Replacing make up is no easy task nor was it an inexpensive task either."

Kelly Mossburg says he has a solution.

"I've learned the hard way you have to carry on a lot," said Mossburg.

Most people who know about the Contract of Carriage have had their luggage lost.

Toni Jacaruso travels frequently and says her luggage has been lost before.

"Most things are not reimbursed," she said. "No of course, they never tell you that. If you knew what was not covered you wouldn't check it."

The Vega family was eventually compensated with a new suitcase and $500 travel voucher from JetBlue, but that was after a number of calls to a supervisor.

"They wait till you argue with them for days on end to say 'OK we'll replace that.'" Charlie said.

Tracy says you must stay on top of them.

"If you don't ask they are not going to offer it. You need to get names, times you talk to people, you need to get the dates you talk to people and you need to follow up," she advised.

As we mentioned. Tracy and Charlie Vega claim they lost nearly $1,500 worth of items in their lost luggage. Sp how did JetBlue come up with the $110 amount? We're told nearly $1,000 worth of their items were not covered per their Contract of Carriage.  The other $500 were items the family purchased one year earlier, so JetBlue depreciated the value to $110.