How We Research

Every fact on Baggage Finder traces to a primary source.

When we say airlines must compensate up to $4,700 for lost bags on domestic flights, that number comes from 14 CFR Part 254 — the federal regulation that sets the minimum liability floor. ^[1] When we say 33.4 million bags were mishandled globally in 2024, that figure comes from SITA’s annual Baggage IT Insights report, which surveys airlines representing over 80% of global air traffic. Not a blog post. Not a Reddit thread. The primary source.

This page explains how we decide what qualifies as a source, how we verify claims, and what you’ll see on every page we publish.

Our three-tier source system

We classify every source into one of three tiers based on its authority and reliability.

Tier 1: Government regulations and legal documents. These are the highest-authority sources we use. Federal regulations like 14 CFR Part 254, ^[1] international treaties like the Montreal Convention, and airline contracts of carriage. When we make a claim about your legal rights — what an airline owes you, what deadlines apply, what limits exist — we cite Tier 1 sources. No exceptions.

Tier 2: Official data and airline policies. The DOT Air Travel Consumer Report, ^[2] SITA’s Baggage IT Insights, airline official websites, manufacturer spec sheets, and press releases from airlines and government agencies. These power our statistics, airline-specific facts, and product specifications.

Tier 3: Major news outlets for context only. AP, Reuters, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, established travel publications like Conde Nast Traveler, and consumer advocacy sites like Elliott.org. We use Tier 3 sources to add context and background — never as the sole authority for a factual claim.

What we won’t cite

We don’t cite Reddit, forums, travel blogs, AI-generated content aggregators, or unnamed sources. If a claim can’t be traced to an identifiable, authoritative publisher, it doesn’t belong on this site.

You’ll never see “according to experts” or “studies show” without a specific citation. If we can’t name the source, we don’t make the claim.

How we verify

Every factual claim on the site goes through the same process.

Primary source check. We trace the claim to the original document — the regulation, the report, the airline policy page — rather than relying on what another website says about it. When we cite the $4,700 domestic liability limit, we link to the actual federal regulation, not to an article that mentions it. ^[1]

Access dates recorded. Every source in our database includes the date we last accessed it. This matters because airline policies change, regulations get updated, and data reports get revised. An access date tells you — and us — how fresh the underlying source is.

Staleness flags. Sources older than 12 months are flagged for re-verification. When we review a page, the first thing we check is whether its sources are still current. If a regulation’s been amended or an airline’s changed its policy, we update the page before republishing.

Tier enforcement. A claim about your legal rights can’t be supported by a Tier 3 source, no matter how reputable the publication. Legal claims require Tier 1. Statistics require Tier 1 or Tier 2. We don’t bend these rules.

What you’ll see on every page

We use a hybrid citation format designed to give you confidence without cluttering the reading experience.

Inline attribution for critical claims. When we state a dollar amount, a legal deadline, or a passenger right, we name the source directly in the text. You shouldn’t have to hunt for the authority behind a claim that affects your money or your rights.

Numbered footnotes for statistics. Supporting data points — mishandling rates, recovery percentages, industry costs — use numbered references that link to the full source at the bottom of the page. ^[2]

Full source list on every page. Every content page ends with a complete list of cited sources, including the publisher, the URL, and the date we accessed it. You can verify any claim we make by following the link to the original document.

How we keep content current

Publishing a page isn’t the end of the process. Airline policies change. Compensation limits adjust for inflation. Government reports issue new data.

Every page on the site displays a “Last Updated” date. When we learn about a change that affects our content — a new DOT consumer report, a revised airline policy, an updated regulation — we update the affected pages and record the new access dates.

Content that hasn’t been reviewed in the current cycle is flagged internally for priority attention. We’d rather tell you a page is under review than let you rely on outdated information.

Corrections

When we get something wrong, we correct it publicly and note the change. If you find an error — an outdated phone number, a changed policy, a broken link — contact us at contact@baggage-finder.com. Accuracy matters more than appearances.