‘I’ve had meltdowns’: Woman says airlines lost at least $10K worth of valuables in overseas move from Toronto to Berlin

Five months have gone by and Bianca Beemer says she has yet to bring the bulk of her belongings to her new home in Germany after airlines lost one of her bags.

Somehow, Bianca Beemer whittled down all of her belongings—decades of valuables that she says was worth at least $10,000—into a carry-on, a suitcase, and an Ontario Reign branded hockey bag, the latter of which carried the bulk of her life. Her career as a freelance content creator beckoned the 30-year-old to move from Toronto to Berlin.

But five months have passed, and Beemer has still yet to welcome her belongings to her new home after her luggage disappeared somewhere along a journey that spanned two flights and took her through three airports.

Outside of items she needed for her work, like filming and recording equipment, Beemer explained she stowed sentimental valuables in her boyfriend’s hockey bag too.

“My grandparents passed away during COVID, so I just had some things from my grandma,” Beemer told CTV News Toronto. “My grandma always used to wear scarves, so I had some of those.”

On Aug. 20, Beemer lugged her bags to Toronto Pearson International Airport. She said she got to the airport early, about three-and-a-half hours prior to boarding, to give herself ample time should anything arise—which it did, as the hockey bag weighed about 75 pounds and Beemer needed to check it at a separate kiosk.

“When I went to check my oversized bag, they asked me to pay in cash, which I thought was kind of bizarre,” Beemer recounted, adding that she paid nearly $400 check-in the oversized bag.

Beemer’s flights—first with Condor to Frankfurt, then with Lufthansa to Berlin—flew without incident. But, when she arrived at her final destination, all of her belongings did not.

She waited for the Ontario Reign bag to appear on the luggage carousel, but it never showed, and said it was also nowhere to be found when she went to go see if it popped up to where they stow sporting goods and strollers. Airport staff told Beemer that her bag was still in Frankfurt.

“I was quite stressed because it had everything I owned, but that was it. I had to go home, and at this point, I was still quite optimistic that my bag would show up because why wouldn’t my bag show up?” Beemer said.

Months have passed and Beemer is still waiting for her bag. Luggage is considered lost after 21 days.

Beemer says she has had hundreds of interactions with Lufthansa and Condor, spending hours on the phone and sending countless emails to only have them bounce back without reply. Or when she would get a hold of airline staff, she would be told conflicting updates as to where her luggage currently was, she says.

“For me, this whole situation was super distressing. I moved countries. This was not a bag that I had for vacation, this was a bag I had to move countries. So I mean, as you can imagine, when you move, you don’t have the comforts of home—your friends are not there, your family’s not there,” Beemer said.

In one phone conversation on Sept. 13, recorded by Beemer and reviewed by CTV News Toronto, the Lufthansa representative says her bag had been scanned at the Berlin airport on Aug. 26, though the airport had not confirmed it being there.

“They said it was there a week ago, or a few days prior, and then now it’s not there anymore. But, no one had contacted me to tell me that it had ever been in Berlin, which made no sense,” Beemer said.

On Oct. 9, an email from a Condor representative regretfully informed Beemer that “the file tracing results (were) negative and Lufthansa will reimburse the lost baggage.”

“I am sorry I do not have better news for you,” the email reads.

‘Not replaceable’

A spokesperson for Condor told CTV News Toronto in a statement that Lufthansa is responsible for Beemer’s lost luggage, as it was the last airline tasked with bringing her belongings home.

“However, we very much regret that Ms. Beemer has had a bad start in her new place of residence due to the loss of her baggage and, as a gesture of sympathy, we offer to refund the excess baggage charges,” the statement reads.

Lufthansa, in its statement, says it is “unable” to comment on the details of Beemer’s luggage and its status, citing strict European Union data protection laws. However, the airline did confirm it has been in “constant communication” with her.

“Furthermore, reimbursement has been provided in correlation to what was listed on the missing item content list,” Lufthansa’s spokesperson wrote in an email.

Beemer says she was refused the refund of the nearly $400 she paid, but said she has been reimbursed 1,500 euros (just shy of CAD$2,250) when her bag was missing. Per Air Passenger Protection, airlines are obligated to provide compensation of up to $2,780 for lost or damaged luggage. They also must refund any fees fliers paid for baggage services, including fees for oversized suitcases.

But at this point, Beemer’s dream is to be reunited with her lost belongings.

“No amount of money can replace what was in that bag for me. I’ve had meltdowns going to try to replace things because it’s not the same,” she said.

“It’s not the same. You can’t accumulate things over your life, and they hold meaning to you, and I can’t just go out and replace that. I mean, I don’t think they would give me the money that it would even take to replace what the financial value is, but the value that those things have to me is not replaceable.”