KenHamer

That would have been something everyone should do.

But the fact he did not does absolve AC of its faults.

Yet every time there's a thread about AC losing a bag there is also a large swath of posts that effectively claim it was the passengers fault for checking their (whatever).

Perhaps now that AC has recently undone their not-so-recent imposition of overly stringent weight restrictions on carry-on weight people will be less likely to check things they would prefer to hand carry.
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24left

Agreed.

So, to summarize: AC lost bag. CBC had another news story.
.

eigenvector

It's not his fault AC lost his bag.

But it is his fault that losing a bag is such a massive problem because he put things in there that he was specifically told to carry on.

If he had just lost his clothes and other easily replaceable items he would be rather less upset and this probably wouldn't be a story.

Bags do get lost and delayed, it is the airline's fault but like all inconveniences caused by airlines, travellers would be well advised to plan for them because some things cannot be fixed or compensated - like losing the only copy of years of original work or missing a wedding or funeral.

Hopefully he gets his bag back but also learns something from the experience.

I had a flight to Santiago go mx and post a 14-hour delay a couple weeks ago. At the customer service counter where UA was handing out hotel and meal vouchers someone was in tears because the delay would mean her 48-hour trip of a lifetime to Easter Island would only be 24 hours. Yes, the airline screwed up and caused the delay, but the passenger's dubious planning exacerbated its effect. The airline can give some $ compensation but they can't get your time back.

KenHamer

For 30 days.

And counting.

(And why wouldn't he take to social and other media? How many times have people been given the perpetual brush off by AC only to get almost instant satisfaction once the story went public?

And don't you think CBC is doing a public service by educating people on the hazards of checking valuables?)

DrunkCargo

I've lost a Macbook Pro Retina 15" from my carry-on sitting in F on DL.

The laptop is worth nothing. The data encrypted and synced. He dum. He is late with his assignment. He fail.

172pilot

I'm not sure about ORD but if you fly UA through IAH, INTL to INTL (Yes Canada is INTL) then you don't even claim your bag. It is transferred automatically. Does ORD work the same? If so, who really lost the bag?

WR Cage

To be clear, the pax would have to collect bags at USCBP, walk out of USCBP, go past the UA connection desk, board the air train to T2, and then recheck all items with AC.

My guesstimate is that the pax checked the bags with UA, as that is the airline he would have dealt with up to ORD. he would have UA bag tag, UA card stock BP, to a destination UA flies to from OrD. the connection desk agents might not have noticed that he was actually flying AC and they should have directed the pax to T2.

JumboJet

Something like this happened to me a few years ago. After a Montreal to Hartford flight AC said they lost my bag that it would be at the airport the next day. Well after many days and numerous phone calls, no bag, file claim. I finally asked my AA agent at the airport if he would go look around in the back for my bag and sure enough he came out with it a few minutes later.

Often1

More important, as this was an international ticket and both the US and Canada are parties to the Montreal Convention, his bag is considered lost after the 20th day. At that point, he is entitled to claim the fair market value of the bag and its contents to a maximum of approximately CAD 2,160.

By IATA convention the claim is against AC as the last delivering carrier, no matter what the logistics of the connections and no matter where fault lies. The passenger simply deals with the last carrier and that carrier may, if it chooses, deal with the others.

None of this excuses the folly of checking a laptop or of not backing up data. But, it does resolve the issue germane to FT.

DrunkCargo

Right so why doesn't AC just do the basic crap of cutting a cheque? Why is everything a dumbass boring game with these losers?

It's like the bidniz of airline is big or something... Mistakes can be big flame balls and such, but the actual business is just mundane logistics.

How does this dumdum bumbum turn into news?

Often1

We don't know that. There are so many details missing and this is all third-hand at best, that I wouldn't get all bothered about anything here.

If the guy spent as much time filing a claim as making stupid social media tweets, he would likely be done with it.

YZF_Elite

It's amazing that a lost bag can get this much attention.

AC really needs to figure out how to improve its image and how it overall treats customers so that when these 'crap happens' events occur everyone in the country doesn't recall that time AC screwed them! This should be a non-event non-story, but it has legs for a reason.

songsc

AC doesn't care about its image that much, since they can fill up their cabins and doing well financially.

On the other hand, nowadays people tend to rant on everything instead of holding AC accountable or simply vote with their wallets.

jazzsax

I see a few issues here.

1) From a business perspective, why cut a cheque if you don't have to? Zero obligation to do so until day 21 so let it play itself out. If it was my money I wouldn't be paying it out unless I had to.

2) The tariff is pretty clear on how this is handled. Onus is on the flyer to understand that. Sure english appears to not be his main language and he would (like 95% of the world) have no intricate knowledge of who handles what where (ie, UA handling most of the logistics but AC still being responsible for the bag dissapearing). He just wants his bag back

3) Customer optics - guy wants bag back, looks like spoiled millenial, cries to twitter, CBC and Gabor milk it dry. For every bag that goes missing how often do we hear about the ones that don't? I've flown for 36 years and have yet to lose a bag once. I've had one bag delayed and arrive the next day. Delivered straight to my door by AC. So I can't complain. The non story is suddenly a story

4) I don't care if you're a student, in business or what. When will people learn never to carry valuables in checked bags? How hard is it to put a laptop in a carry on bag? Not very. He took the risk, his own bloody fault.

DrunkCargo

Month equals 28+ days. Eh?
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Failure to provide his bag 21+ days after flight means money. Law much?

Yep. AC dum. Pay him at day 22. Duhhhhhhhhhhh

Yes. And he gambled. Contract/law/whatever says pay. Pay.

And like I said upthread. He fails his discertation or whatever amazing research he was doing. He dum. (Not AC; Pax.)

Sure he's a snowflake. But he's right for compensation. Sure AC might still find he bag, and for 21 days they were absolutely right.

It is beyond that date. Seriously AC needs to hire real lawyers. Idiots.