AC Baggage Handlers Toss Bags 20Ft! VIDEO!
Apr 19, 2014, 2:24 pm
#61
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: YVR
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Here is AC's post on FB.
In light of a recent video posted to YouTube, we would like to apologize for the totally unacceptable mishandling of our passengers' baggage captured on video. We are in the process of identifying the employees involved whose employment will be terminated pending the outcome of our investigation. Their actions clearly contravened our standard baggage handling procedures which require gate-checked bags to be hand carried to the ramp.
We take matters involving the protection of our customers' personal possessions very seriously. The actions of these individuals are not representative of the vast majority of our employees who work hard every day to take care of our customers.
We take matters involving the protection of our customers' personal possessions very seriously. The actions of these individuals are not representative of the vast majority of our employees who work hard every day to take care of our customers.
Apr 19, 2014, 2:32 pm
#62
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 797
LOL! I was wondering where you were...
I am not saying poor Air Canada or defending the actions of the handler, but Canadian Media loves to hate AC and loves to love WS. It would be a non-story with another airlines. Thats all im saying.
Air Canada could fire this clown and then the media would report how unfair they are to their employees. It really is lose/lose for AC in the media.
I am not saying poor Air Canada or defending the actions of the handler, but Canadian Media loves to hate AC and loves to love WS. It would be a non-story with another airlines. Thats all im saying.
Air Canada could fire this clown and then the media would report how unfair they are to their employees. It really is lose/lose for AC in the media.
If WJ were caught tossing bags 15 feet off a jetway, it'd make the news everywhere, including Calgary.
If it has occurred, there are enough cell phone cameras out there to have recorded it.
Apr 19, 2014, 2:40 pm
#63
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: YYC
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Posts: 3,008
Also using the term investigation takes I the heat off the spokesperson. Saying " I will look into the matter" then brings the follow up question about what course of action will be taken or having to promise to the media to release further details. If the spokesperson uses the term investigation, there the nature follow on that the investigation has concluded, however for privacy reasons the details cannot be disclosed as the investigation is a personnel matter.
Apr 19, 2014, 2:56 pm
#64
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,913
"terminated pending the outcome of our investigation": typical AC use of English. Doesn't actually mean "terminated" in the dictionary sense. It may mean "suspended with pay until things die down and we settle with the union for a one day suspension and a stern warning".
Really, what could there possibly be to investigate? The video speaks for itself and runs a couple of minutes.
Really, what could there possibly be to investigate? The video speaks for itself and runs a couple of minutes.
Apr 19, 2014, 3:11 pm
#65
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 286
Just wondering, but do those of you criticizing the union have specific knowledge of instances where the union has successfully its employees engaged in similar behaviour?
Personally, I'm disappointed that some are so quick to indict the unions and by extension all unionized employees over this one incident.
Personally, I'm disappointed that some are so quick to indict the unions and by extension all unionized employees over this one incident.
Apr 19, 2014, 3:14 pm
#66
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Just wondering, but do those of you criticizing the union have specific knowledge of instances where the union has successfully its employees engaged in similar behaviour?
Personally, I'm disappointed that some are so quick to indict the unions and by extension all unionized employees over this one incident.
Personally, I'm disappointed that some are so quick to indict the unions and by extension all unionized employees over this one incident.
Apr 19, 2014, 3:16 pm
#67
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 286
ETA: that is, assuming the union goes to bat for them.
Last edited by Acnyyz; Apr 19, 2014 at 3:27 pm
Apr 19, 2014, 3:32 pm
#68
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2009
Location: FRA / YEG
Programs: AC Super Elite, Radisson Platinum, Accor Platinum
Posts: 11,874
Just wondering, but do those of you criticizing the union have specific knowledge of instances where the union has successfully its employees engaged in similar behaviour?
Personally, I'm disappointed that some are so quick to indict the unions and by extension all unionized employees over this one incident.
Personally, I'm disappointed that some are so quick to indict the unions and by extension all unionized employees over this one incident.
There are many great employees at AC who happen to be unionized. However, many would argue that with strong unions it´s almost impossible to fire any bad employees (who reflect badly on the majority of good employees) and some employees may not be as motivated to offer good service.
Apr 19, 2014, 3:54 pm
#69
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: YVR, YUL, YEG
Programs: AC-SE MM, Marriott Platinum, HH Diamond
Posts: 273
The Truth
Hello all,
I have been waiting to post anything official on here until I had more correspondence with AC. After reading things here and on numerous other places online and on Twitter, I wanted to post exactly what happened and what AC's response has been.
I was on this flight and was the one who first informed AC of this incident via Twitter and initiated the video being taken. I want to state up front that I have been a loyal Air Canada customer for 14+ years, have been Super Elite the past 12 years, and am almost a 2 million mile guy.
The facts:
- This was AC 137 on Thursday from YYZ to YVR at 6 pm ET. It was on a 777HD. I didn't catch the fin #
- The video was shot from seats 14A/B (premium economy). There were 2 jetways in use...the one in the video is from door #2 between the J and Y cabins.
- As is common on this routing with this 777 configuration, "late" arriving passengers were forced to have carry-on bags stowed in the cargo hold as checked baggage once there was no space left inside the cabin.
- I was sitting in 14A and while waiting for all pax to board began to chat with the gentleman sitting in 14B. I had never met him before, but it turned out we had common business associates and he had dealings with the company I work for.
- My attention was drawn outside my window at a certain point when I saw the jetway door open and the baggage handler standing at the top of the stairs. I was amazed to discover the baggage handler dropping the carry-on luggage from the top of the jetway stairs to the "hose" container below.
- I watched for a minute or two and then told my seatmate what I was looking at. We were both shocked almost to the point of finding it comical. It was at this point that my seatmate began taking the video. For those who have watched and listened to the full video you can hear the two of us speaking.
- At one point he asked me how many bags I had seen dropped thus far, which I replied at least a dozen to that point. I would estimate there were at least 25 carry-on bags moved to the cargo hold. All of them were dropped from top of the stairs. None of the bags dropped were mine nor my seatmate's. No one else that I am aware of seemed to notice what was happening.
- For those questioning our estimate of 20 feet, I specifically counted how many stairs were on the jetway. I quickly counted 22. If you factor in the height at which the baggage handler dropped the bags from and consider this was a 777, our 20 ft. estimate seems more than fair.
- My seatmate began uploading the video to You Tube. There was no discussion between us about whether this should be done or not. Realizing this was soon to be in the public domain on social media I quickly sent a tweet to @aircanada stating what I had just seen.
- Within 3 minutes, I received a reply asking for the flight number and they stated that they would investigate the matter in depth. The flight departed slightly late around 6:30 pm ET.
- The video was tweeted to @aircanada immediately upon arrival in YVR; @aircanada was the first one to be advised of the video. All tweets related to the incident can be viewed on Twitter - @drvanslyke @dwayner9 @aircanada
- I had no further communication Thursday evening regarding the event
- Friday morning I awoke to various emails and Twitter notifications regarding the event. I had several requests from the media. I immediately requested @aircanada to contact me.
- Within a short time I received an email from a very professional and courteous customer service director who was obviously shocked and disappointed by the incident. He and I communicated via email several times during the day well before any statement was made by Air Canada.
- I did not make any statement to the media regarding this incident until late Friday. My seatmate made several comments and interviews throughout Friday.
- I have been promised that a high-level Air Canada executive will be personally contacting me early in the coming week.
My Comments:
Why am I stating all this?
- While I did not personally make the video public, I have to admit not realizing how sensitive this incident would be and how public it would become. As I said previously, I am a loyal Air Canada customer and the actions of the baggage handlers have not reflected my typical experience with Air Canada. It's unfortunate that an incident like this can quickly tarnish the Air Canada image despite of all of the good experiences and good people I have personally encountered at Air Canada.
- I must emphasize that all correspondence with Air Canada regarding this incident has been the epitome of professionalism and they are deeply concerned about what occurred.
- I do not condone the actions of the baggage handlers, of course, but I do believe that their actions are a symptom several larger problems with Air Canada and the airline business in general.
- These "high-density" seating configurations are an abomination, which I have previously denounced on this site. They are a direct cause of so many carry-on bags having to be checked and a direct result leading to the ill-conceived actions of the baggage handlers.
- The number and size of carry-ons is out of control. I almost always check a bag and only carry-on my laptop bag. Unfortunately, the airlines themselves have created this epidemic of carry-ons with poor checked bag experiences, checked baggage fees, lack of enforcement of carry-on rules, etc.
- There are obviously many more factors involved with why this incident occurred. All I can hope for at this point is what happened becomes a lesson for all those involved and that somehow this makes Air Canada and other airlines provide a better service for all. For my part, I have been taught a valuable lesson regarding how powerful social media is and how all employees reflect the image of a company.
I have been waiting to post anything official on here until I had more correspondence with AC. After reading things here and on numerous other places online and on Twitter, I wanted to post exactly what happened and what AC's response has been.
I was on this flight and was the one who first informed AC of this incident via Twitter and initiated the video being taken. I want to state up front that I have been a loyal Air Canada customer for 14+ years, have been Super Elite the past 12 years, and am almost a 2 million mile guy.
The facts:
- This was AC 137 on Thursday from YYZ to YVR at 6 pm ET. It was on a 777HD. I didn't catch the fin #
- The video was shot from seats 14A/B (premium economy). There were 2 jetways in use...the one in the video is from door #2 between the J and Y cabins.
- As is common on this routing with this 777 configuration, "late" arriving passengers were forced to have carry-on bags stowed in the cargo hold as checked baggage once there was no space left inside the cabin.
- I was sitting in 14A and while waiting for all pax to board began to chat with the gentleman sitting in 14B. I had never met him before, but it turned out we had common business associates and he had dealings with the company I work for.
- My attention was drawn outside my window at a certain point when I saw the jetway door open and the baggage handler standing at the top of the stairs. I was amazed to discover the baggage handler dropping the carry-on luggage from the top of the jetway stairs to the "hose" container below.
- I watched for a minute or two and then told my seatmate what I was looking at. We were both shocked almost to the point of finding it comical. It was at this point that my seatmate began taking the video. For those who have watched and listened to the full video you can hear the two of us speaking.
- At one point he asked me how many bags I had seen dropped thus far, which I replied at least a dozen to that point. I would estimate there were at least 25 carry-on bags moved to the cargo hold. All of them were dropped from top of the stairs. None of the bags dropped were mine nor my seatmate's. No one else that I am aware of seemed to notice what was happening.
- For those questioning our estimate of 20 feet, I specifically counted how many stairs were on the jetway. I quickly counted 22. If you factor in the height at which the baggage handler dropped the bags from and consider this was a 777, our 20 ft. estimate seems more than fair.
- My seatmate began uploading the video to You Tube. There was no discussion between us about whether this should be done or not. Realizing this was soon to be in the public domain on social media I quickly sent a tweet to @aircanada stating what I had just seen.
- Within 3 minutes, I received a reply asking for the flight number and they stated that they would investigate the matter in depth. The flight departed slightly late around 6:30 pm ET.
- The video was tweeted to @aircanada immediately upon arrival in YVR; @aircanada was the first one to be advised of the video. All tweets related to the incident can be viewed on Twitter - @drvanslyke @dwayner9 @aircanada
- I had no further communication Thursday evening regarding the event
- Friday morning I awoke to various emails and Twitter notifications regarding the event. I had several requests from the media. I immediately requested @aircanada to contact me.
- Within a short time I received an email from a very professional and courteous customer service director who was obviously shocked and disappointed by the incident. He and I communicated via email several times during the day well before any statement was made by Air Canada.
- I did not make any statement to the media regarding this incident until late Friday. My seatmate made several comments and interviews throughout Friday.
- I have been promised that a high-level Air Canada executive will be personally contacting me early in the coming week.
My Comments:
Why am I stating all this?
- While I did not personally make the video public, I have to admit not realizing how sensitive this incident would be and how public it would become. As I said previously, I am a loyal Air Canada customer and the actions of the baggage handlers have not reflected my typical experience with Air Canada. It's unfortunate that an incident like this can quickly tarnish the Air Canada image despite of all of the good experiences and good people I have personally encountered at Air Canada.
- I must emphasize that all correspondence with Air Canada regarding this incident has been the epitome of professionalism and they are deeply concerned about what occurred.
- I do not condone the actions of the baggage handlers, of course, but I do believe that their actions are a symptom several larger problems with Air Canada and the airline business in general.
- These "high-density" seating configurations are an abomination, which I have previously denounced on this site. They are a direct cause of so many carry-on bags having to be checked and a direct result leading to the ill-conceived actions of the baggage handlers.
- The number and size of carry-ons is out of control. I almost always check a bag and only carry-on my laptop bag. Unfortunately, the airlines themselves have created this epidemic of carry-ons with poor checked bag experiences, checked baggage fees, lack of enforcement of carry-on rules, etc.
- There are obviously many more factors involved with why this incident occurred. All I can hope for at this point is what happened becomes a lesson for all those involved and that somehow this makes Air Canada and other airlines provide a better service for all. For my part, I have been taught a valuable lesson regarding how powerful social media is and how all employees reflect the image of a company.
Last edited by luv2flyJ; Apr 20, 2014 at 12:07 am
Apr 19, 2014, 4:00 pm
#70
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: YUL/YVR/HKG
Programs: S100KMM,SPG Platinum,Fairmont Platinum
Posts: 514
Hello all,
I have been waiting to post anything official on here until I had more correspondence with AC. After reading things here and on numerous other places online and on Twitter, I wanted to post exactly what happened and what AC's response has been.
I was on this flight and was the one who first informed AC of this incident via Twitter and initiated the video being taken. I want to state up front that I have been a loyal Air Canada customer for 14+ years, have been Super Elite the past 12 years, and am almost a 2 million mile guy.
The facts:
- This was AC 137 on Thursday from YYZ to YVR at 6 pm ET. It was on a 777HD. I didn't catch the fin #
- The video was shot from seats 14A/B (premium economy). There were 2 jetways in use...the one in the video is from door #2 between the J and Y cabins.
- As is common on this routing with this 777 configuration, "late" arriving passengers were forced to have carry-on bags stowed in the cargo hold as checked baggage once there was no space left inside the cabin.
- I was sitting in 14A and while waiting for all pax to board began to chat with the gentleman sitting in 14B. I had never met him before, but it turned out we had common business associates and he had dealings with the company I work for.
- My attention was drawn outside my window at a certain point when I saw the jetway door open and the baggage handler standing at the top of the stairs. I was amazed to discover the baggage handler dropping the carry-on luggage from the top of the jetway stairs to the "hose" container below.
- I watched for a minute or two and then told my seatmate what I was looking at. We were both shocked almost to the point of finding it comical. It was at this point that my seatmate began taking the video. For those who have watched and listened to the full video you can hear the two of us speaking.
- At one point he asked me how many bags I had seen dropped thus far, which I replied at least a dozen to that point. I would estimate there were at least 25 carry-on bags moved to the cargo hold. All of them were dropped from top of the stairs. None of the bags dropped were mine nor my seatmate's.
- For those questioning our estimate of 20 feet, I specifically counted how many stairs were on the jetway. I quickly counted 22. If you factor in the height at which the baggage handler dropped the bags from and consider this was a 777, our 20 ft. estimate seems more than fair.
- My seatmate began uploading the video to You Tube. There was no discussion between us about whether this should be done or not. Realizing this was soon to be in the public domain on social media I quickly sent a tweet to @aircanada stating what I had just seen.
- Within 3 minutes, I received a reply asking for the flight number and they stated that they would investigate the matter in depth. The flight departed slightly late around 6:15 pm ET.
- The video was tweeted to @aircanada immediately upon arrival in YVR; @aircanada was the first one to be advised of the video.
- I had no further communication Thursday evening regarding the event
- Friday morning I awoke to various emails and Twitter notifications regarding the event. I had several requests from the media. I immediately requested @aircanada to contact me.
- Within a short time I received an email from a very professional and courteous customer service director who was obviously shocked and disappointed by the incident. He and I communicated via email several times during the day well before any statement was made by Air Canada.
- I did not make any statement to the media regarding this incident until late Friday. My seatmate made several comments and interviews throughout Friday.
- I have been promised that a high-level Air Canada executive will be personally contacting me early in the coming week.
My Comments:
Why am I stating all this?
- While I did not personally make the video public, I have to admit not realizing how sensitive this incident would be and how public it would become. As I said previously, I am a loyal Air Canada customer and the actions of the baggage handlers have not reflected my typical experience with Air Canada. It's unfortunate that an incident like this can quickly tarnish the Air Canada image despite of all of the good experiences and good people I have personally encountered at Air Canada.
- I must emphasize that all correspondence with Air Canada regarding this incident has been the epitome of professionalism and they are deeply concerned about what occurred.
- I do not condone the actions of the baggage handlers, of course, but I do believe that their actions are a symptom several larger problems with Air Canada and the airline business in general.
- These "high-density" seating configurations are an abomination, which I have previously denounced on this site. They are a direct cause of so many carry-on bags having to be checked and a direct result leading to the ill-conceived actions of the baggage handlers.
- The number and size of carry-ons is out of control. I almost always check a bag and only carry-on my laptop bag. Unfortunately, the airlines themselves have created this epidemic of carry-ons with poor checked bag experiences, checked baggage fees, lack of enforcement of carry-on rules, etc.
- There are obviously many more factors involved with why this incident occurred. All I can hope for at this point is that what happened is a lesson for all those involved and that somehow this makes Air Canada and other airlines provide a better service for all. For my part, I have been taught a valuable lesson regarding how powerful social media is and how all employees reflect the image of a company.
I have been waiting to post anything official on here until I had more correspondence with AC. After reading things here and on numerous other places online and on Twitter, I wanted to post exactly what happened and what AC's response has been.
I was on this flight and was the one who first informed AC of this incident via Twitter and initiated the video being taken. I want to state up front that I have been a loyal Air Canada customer for 14+ years, have been Super Elite the past 12 years, and am almost a 2 million mile guy.
The facts:
- This was AC 137 on Thursday from YYZ to YVR at 6 pm ET. It was on a 777HD. I didn't catch the fin #
- The video was shot from seats 14A/B (premium economy). There were 2 jetways in use...the one in the video is from door #2 between the J and Y cabins.
- As is common on this routing with this 777 configuration, "late" arriving passengers were forced to have carry-on bags stowed in the cargo hold as checked baggage once there was no space left inside the cabin.
- I was sitting in 14A and while waiting for all pax to board began to chat with the gentleman sitting in 14B. I had never met him before, but it turned out we had common business associates and he had dealings with the company I work for.
- My attention was drawn outside my window at a certain point when I saw the jetway door open and the baggage handler standing at the top of the stairs. I was amazed to discover the baggage handler dropping the carry-on luggage from the top of the jetway stairs to the "hose" container below.
- I watched for a minute or two and then told my seatmate what I was looking at. We were both shocked almost to the point of finding it comical. It was at this point that my seatmate began taking the video. For those who have watched and listened to the full video you can hear the two of us speaking.
- At one point he asked me how many bags I had seen dropped thus far, which I replied at least a dozen to that point. I would estimate there were at least 25 carry-on bags moved to the cargo hold. All of them were dropped from top of the stairs. None of the bags dropped were mine nor my seatmate's.
- For those questioning our estimate of 20 feet, I specifically counted how many stairs were on the jetway. I quickly counted 22. If you factor in the height at which the baggage handler dropped the bags from and consider this was a 777, our 20 ft. estimate seems more than fair.
- My seatmate began uploading the video to You Tube. There was no discussion between us about whether this should be done or not. Realizing this was soon to be in the public domain on social media I quickly sent a tweet to @aircanada stating what I had just seen.
- Within 3 minutes, I received a reply asking for the flight number and they stated that they would investigate the matter in depth. The flight departed slightly late around 6:15 pm ET.
- The video was tweeted to @aircanada immediately upon arrival in YVR; @aircanada was the first one to be advised of the video.
- I had no further communication Thursday evening regarding the event
- Friday morning I awoke to various emails and Twitter notifications regarding the event. I had several requests from the media. I immediately requested @aircanada to contact me.
- Within a short time I received an email from a very professional and courteous customer service director who was obviously shocked and disappointed by the incident. He and I communicated via email several times during the day well before any statement was made by Air Canada.
- I did not make any statement to the media regarding this incident until late Friday. My seatmate made several comments and interviews throughout Friday.
- I have been promised that a high-level Air Canada executive will be personally contacting me early in the coming week.
My Comments:
Why am I stating all this?
- While I did not personally make the video public, I have to admit not realizing how sensitive this incident would be and how public it would become. As I said previously, I am a loyal Air Canada customer and the actions of the baggage handlers have not reflected my typical experience with Air Canada. It's unfortunate that an incident like this can quickly tarnish the Air Canada image despite of all of the good experiences and good people I have personally encountered at Air Canada.
- I must emphasize that all correspondence with Air Canada regarding this incident has been the epitome of professionalism and they are deeply concerned about what occurred.
- I do not condone the actions of the baggage handlers, of course, but I do believe that their actions are a symptom several larger problems with Air Canada and the airline business in general.
- These "high-density" seating configurations are an abomination, which I have previously denounced on this site. They are a direct cause of so many carry-on bags having to be checked and a direct result leading to the ill-conceived actions of the baggage handlers.
- The number and size of carry-ons is out of control. I almost always check a bag and only carry-on my laptop bag. Unfortunately, the airlines themselves have created this epidemic of carry-ons with poor checked bag experiences, checked baggage fees, lack of enforcement of carry-on rules, etc.
- There are obviously many more factors involved with why this incident occurred. All I can hope for at this point is that what happened is a lesson for all those involved and that somehow this makes Air Canada and other airlines provide a better service for all. For my part, I have been taught a valuable lesson regarding how powerful social media is and how all employees reflect the image of a company.
Please update us after the "Big Wig" at AC Puzzle Palace gets in touch with you.
Apr 19, 2014, 4:11 pm
#71
Formerly known as tireman77
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 5,489
And I couldn't agree with you more about the proliferation of carry on bags. People brining in a suitcase, a backpack and another suitcase type bag make me want North American carries to adopt a weight limit on carry on bags like NZ has.
This incident is a regrettable reaction by rampies to a new situation (gate checking numerous bags on a wide body) that I am certain will be addressed by Acs investigation.
Apr 19, 2014, 4:12 pm
#72
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: AC SE100k, Marriott Titanium, UA Silver
Posts: 2,646
Thank you for the courteous and clear outline of the events/communications to date.
I think most people here will be waiting for the update from the follow-up.
Apr 19, 2014, 4:55 pm
#73
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: YVR
Programs: ACSEMM QRGold SPGLifetimePlat FairmontPlat HyattD AMEXCenturion SerenaPlat TalkBoard Founding Member
Posts: 8,963
This is likely going to create much greater enforcement of carry-on rules.
In general I'm in favour of enforced carry-on rules, just hopefully not totally crazy like some carrier's 7kg rule that they won't bend on.
In general I'm in favour of enforced carry-on rules, just hopefully not totally crazy like some carrier's 7kg rule that they won't bend on.
Apr 19, 2014, 5:33 pm
#74
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Canada
Programs: *G
Posts: 2,304
As has been reported on FT many times, the magnitude of the problem is 777HD specific. Greater enforcement of carry-on rules could actually make the handling/loading issue more acute. I strongly suspect that many AC management staff are now saying "I told you so" to those senior execs responsible for acquiring the HDs.
Apr 19, 2014, 5:38 pm
#75
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: YWG
Posts: 2,272
As has been reported on FT many times, the magnitude of the problem is 777HD specific. Greater enforcement of carry-on rules could actually make the handling/loading issue more acute. I strongly suspect that many AC management staff are now saying "I told you so" to those senior execs responsible for acquiring the HDs.