You were probably on a regional jet, 1 aisle, two seats on each side. That is operated by Mesa Air. In order for US Air to hire another service for their regional small route needs, they need someone crappier than them. You were just part of the crappiest fleet in the US coupled with the crappiest service.
us airways almost shoved my wedding gown under the plane about 6 years ago when i was flying from RDU to BOS for my own wedding - despite the fact that i'd called several times, talked to the gate agents, and the flight attendant who was going to hang it in her closet. you want to see an un-girly girl pitch a bitchy hissy fit, try to cram her wedding gown into the cargo hold.
hope everything gets resolved with minimal headaches/murder.
1. Sam if your equipment doesn't recover, you may have a career in writing.
2. Based on stories like this, it's quite clear that the heightened airport security isn't there to prevent terrorism, it's there for the safety and protection of the airlines employees. I could totally take on some of those "customer service" employees! They're friends with the tasers down the hall? Not so much.
3. Ed is awesome. And brilliant. Again. The more I read this guy's posts, the more I realize he's likely a whiz kid MIT graduate. One way to avoid losing checked in bags is to place a flare gun in the bag. Then claim that you have a weapon. One page of additional paperwork is required but I assure you that there will be a zero percent chance that they will loose that bag.
You have got to take care anytime they put your gear in the hole. The are zillions of stories where animals get put in the hole and die from cold or lack of oxygen because the pilot is not told or forgets to turn on the heat and pressure in the cargo compartment. Those regional jets are just pure torture to fly in and you want nothing frail or fragile in the hole unless it is packed in really good luggage or cartons. Oh and sorry for your trouble and yes US Scare sucks but then that describes 50% or better of the US airline industry.
Literally felt sick reading that. Water + Electronics = bad news. if not now, later. Corrosion can take a while to show up. Do the silica gel trick or there is something you can do with a bowl of rice..sounds ridiculous(google it) but removing the moisture is the best thing at this point even if it's been a day or two. Hope it works out man
really sorry to hear about this. made me ill just thinking about it. i'm sure we all know the feeling we get from rude customer service. i hope everything works out!
I have never, ever, ever had a good experience with US Air, and refuse to fly them ever again.
I also never, ever, ever let them check my camera equipment. I don't have nearly as fine equipment and I never let it out of my sight. This situation hasn't happened, but after this story, if it ever does, I'll find myself another flight home.
Sorry you had to deal with all that, Sam. There's got to be SOMEONE higher you can talk to in US Air, hasn't there?
EDIT: Seriously, they thought you had a water bottle? When the TSA freaks the heck out every time they even SUSPECT that you have one? That's just idiotic.
I remember years ago my sister flew from SLC to SJC on Delta and had checked in her saxaphone. It was in an airline approved hardcase, followed all packing instructions, blah blah, blah. When they saw the saxaphone come off the conveyor belt to be claimed it was now taped shut and the top section was crushed. Over the next few months Delta first claimed the case wasn't approved by them, which my dad had (thankfully) made a webpage printout showing it was, then they tried everything else to prove it wasn't their fault. It only took a letter from a lawyer threatening legal action and poof, a check magically appeared in our mailbox for full replacement.
After reading this sad story I think that I will be packing a Studiocruzer with camera gear and using my Flipside 300 for all the personal gear, and if anything like this would happen I would switch the contents of the bags. Thanks for sharing this horrible story, and when you get the FB link up, please post it here.
Sorry to hear about the mishaps man. I came back from NY the other day, and I too had to check in my camera bag because the overhead compartments were tiny. I flew continental, but they had small jets too. I've had to do this twice now, and both times it's nerve racking. What's even worse, coming back from NY this time, I was actually looking out the window this time, and the luggage crew grabbed my bag from the platform, and literally threw it down to another person, who just tossed it on the conveyor belt like it was a piece of meat. I have ALL of my gear in there pretty much, about the same amount as you... and it makes me so nervous. I'm very glad that I have the TT bag, which is pretty solid, and at least keeps all my gear in place firmly.
Delta is also bad, and that was the other airline where I had to check in my carry on. My advice would be to try to go with southwest or jetblue, or don't try to book your flight through any of the internet deal maker sites (orbitz, priceline, etc). Usually to get you a lower fair, they'll get you a seat on the cheapest airplane, or the fastest route, which are usually the express jet type planes.
Sucks bro. Mega hard. If it were me, I'd do everything in my power and write a letter to US Airways, from a lawyer. Also, I'd have my insurance making the repairs or replacements. What good are they if you have insurance and they are a hassle to deal with if you ever have a claim? My deductible is fairly low, $250, so if it's more than $500 then I would have them cover the cost.
Better yet Sam, copy the text from this post and post it on your facebook as a "note". Get everyone on FM to link to it from facebook. Google bomb them basically
sboerup wrote:
Sucks bro. Mega hard. If it were me, I'd do everything in my power and write a letter to US Airways, from a lawyer. Also, I'd have my insurance making the repairs or replacements. What good are they if you have insurance and they are a hassle to deal with if you ever have a claim? My deductible is fairly low, $250, so if it's more than $500 then I would have them cover the cost.
+1
Get a good lawyer, and let them have it. Airlines are known to be notorious in their customer service, and will usually give you the walkaround like this. Get all of your evidence and present it to a good lawyer, and get at least the deductible back for your insurance.
What a nightmare. So sorry for what you're going through!
Did you save any of the liquid? If anything is still damp (or is dried out after having been wet, like the case?) maybe you could get it tested to see what it's composed of? If it indeed is refrigerant or whatever, that would silence their claim that it's from a water bottle.
I arrived in Paris once to find Maple Syrup all over my luggage. I went to the Air Canada counter only to have the douche put a sign in front of my face that said they're not responsible for damaged luggage. He didn't even look at me one.
Airlines suck period when it comes to this shit, I put most of the blame on the unions!
