Blue Ribbon Bags LLC, developed by Englewood, NJ resident Daniel Levine and partner Gabriel Menkin, marked the international launch of their baggage protection service this week, announcing Israel would be the first marketplace to benefit from the program.
“Israelis are among the most active and enterprising travelers on the international scene and this market serves as the perfect starting point to highlight the need for our service,” said Levine, at the opening of the 20th International Mediterranean Tourism Market Trade Show in Tel Aviv. Levine, president of the company who grew up in Israel, said “We welcome the opportunity to bring our program to Israel and take a giant step forward in removing a major worry for tens of thousands more travelers each year.”
Blue Ribbon Bags, which launched in the US in 2013, provides travelers with an easy, yet comprehensive service to protect their baggage for a minimal fee. With the pricing model that was developed for the US but Levine confirmed would not change for international consumers, for only five dollars per passenger, the traveler is guaranteed $1000 for each lost bag if not returned within 4 days, no matter the contents. No proof of what is in the bag is required to receive payment.
“Our approach is to radically simplify the baggage protection process – and make it a no brainer for people to protect their goods,” said company CEO Menkin. “After thoroughly testing the concept in the US and benefiting from an overwhelmingly positive response we knew we were ready to launch internationally. Given our personal backgrounds and the understanding that Israelis are a discerning yet intelligent consumer we looked to here as the natural next step in our international rollout.”
Through one transaction, completed in minutes through a custom-designed portal at Blue Ribbon Bags, www.blueribbonbags.com all baggage checked in anywhere in the world, including last-minute bags checked at the gate, is covered by the company’s service. In the event that a bag is lost and hasn’t been returned to the traveler within four days, the traveler will be credited $1000 with no need for additional claims or follow-up paper work. According to Blue Ribbon Bags, there are 150,000 bags mishandled every day worldwide.
The company chose to launch at The 20th International Mediterranean Tourism Market expo held in Tel Aviv this week. Sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, IMTM is the largest professional tourism fair of its kind in the eastern Mediterranean, and is the only official exhibition in Israel for the tourism trade.
“There’s no disputing that travel can be a stressful experience and that lost bags add a major headache,” says Yehuda Fishman, Regional Manager of Europe and the Middle East for Blue Ribbon Bags. “Our objective is to remove that concern as much as possible at a very minimal cost to the traveler.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Is this merely an insurance policy that pays after the loss, or is there some actual protection that tries to prevent the loss from happening?
Judging from their agreement, available at their Website:
https://www.blueribbonbags.com/ServiceAgreement
This appears to be supplemental insurance, as one is required to purchase baggage insurance from the carrier, firstly.
Also, here is no mention made of when payment will be made. So it seems to me that all they are doing is fronting you the money from the airline, and they will then be the recipient of future payment (although this is not explicitly stated.)
It’s a very light contract that I personally would very leery of signing.
I am not a frequent flyer, but I and my family have made an average of 2 airline flights every year for 40 years, and I have never lost a bag for more than 4 days. In fact, only one bag was ever “lost” at all, but was found and returned in 3 days. (And, the airline did not lose it. A passenger mistook my bag for hers and took it home with her, but when she realized she had the wrong bag, she called the airline.) 80 flights, 2 bags per flight, would have cost me $800. Strikes me as expensive protection.