Lost luggage ruins Cairns couple’s New Zealand holiday with one suitcase yet to be found weeks later

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How lost luggage ruined a couple’s dream vacation: forcing a man from the tropics to wear shorts in freezing New Zealand

  • A couple’s dream vacation was ruined after their luggage was lost in transit
  • The Cairns couple traveled to Queenstown via Brisbane for a nine-day vacation.
  • Mark Coles and Simone Bailey had to carry their summer clothes on their backs
  • None of their four suitcases arrived with them, only three arrived in total
  • Mr. Coles’s suitcase with clothes and gifts still missing 22 days later

It was a freezing night on New Zealand’s South Island and Australian traveler Mark Coles was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

He and his partner, Simone Bailey, crossed the ditch on December 21 as part of a dream vacation they had been planning for nearly three years.

But the Cairns couple’s long-awaited adventure quickly went sour when Virgin Airways lost their luggage.

Now her comfortable traveling attire, suited to the tropical climate of Far North Queensland and the five-hour flight across Tasmania, would become her only available clothing until her suitcases were found.

‘We went out the first night and sat in this lovely restaurant. I was in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts,” said Mr Coles a current affair.

“I think people looked at me like I was some kind of jerk, the way I was dressed.”

Mark Coles and his partner Simone Bailey (pictured) had flown over the ditch on December 21 as part of a dream vacation they had been planning for almost three years.

The cool Queenstown night quickly dampened Mr. Coles’ confidence that he could face the weather in the clothes he was wearing, so he bought a hoodie at a local Kmart to keep warm.

Still believing that his luggage would arrive any day, Mr. Coles wore the same outfit of a skinny hoodie, T-shirt, and jean shorts every day of his vacation.

“It was a great vacation and we got great snapshots,” he said.

“But we probably have 1,500 photos of me wearing the same hoodie, the same two shirts and the same shorts.”

Platinum and gold tier frequent fliers had checked in two large and two small pieces of luggage for their nine-day getaway, neither of which appeared on the carousel upon arrival.

Ms Bailey’s luggage finally turned up two days later, as well as one of Mr Coles’s bags, however the suitcase containing his winter clothes and a Christmas present for his partner never made it to its destination.

The couple were told to contact Virgin customer service every day for updates, calling a total of 27 times and only receiving one call from Virgin.

The Cairns couple’s long-awaited adventure quickly turned sour when Virgin Airways lost their luggage.

“Everything is barcoded, tagged, scanned and they just lost it,” Coles told A Current Affair.

The couple eventually boarded their flight back to Brisbane with no word from Virgin about where Mr Coles’s suitcase ended up.

Coles says a lady working at Virgin’s baggage service counter told her the four bags were transferred to Queenstown airport on December 22.

Virgin has urged Coles to file a compensation claim for his bag and his whereabouts remain a mystery, however he says “all I really want is my bag back.” It’s not about money’.

Virgin Australia (pictured) has ruled out the bag being at Cairns, Brisbane or Queenstown airport, urging Coles to file a claim for compensation.

Virgin staff have ruled out that the luggage is at Cairns, Brisbane or Queenstown airport.

“Find her bag, it has to be somewhere, it can’t be missing,” Ms Bailey told A Current Affair.

I want my Christmas present.

A Virgin Australia spokesman said the airline regrets the mix-up.

Any delayed or lost luggage is unacceptable and we sincerely apologize to our guests for their experience.

“We are working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”

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