Science Goy

Of course not, but Centurion said "Do not travel with valuables." I presume everyone on a frequent-flyer board understands the distinction between "traveling with" and "placing in your checked luggage."

FullFare

FullFare

I'm not sure what it means to be "creative" about paperwork and perhaps Queen of Coach and Hillrider are not talking about the same thing. Most of what Queen of Coach pointed out I agree with---especially don't put anything in checked luggage that you can't afford to never see again. I think most FT'ers would agree on that.

It is very distressing to me to see the amount of bad press that AA is getting on this. I read all of the NYT newsprint on it today and it is really bad. Sure, other carriers may have done this, but if a tenth of what I am reading is substantiated, AA looks pretty bad, IMHO. I would like to see them reassure the public that they are going way overboard in correcting this. Their denials in the press didn't move me.

I fly either AA or UA SFO to JFK every month. Spouse, too. We've gravitated more to UA over the past year because they have 7 flights a day to AA's 4. I have not heard that UA had been pilfering at JFK to the extent AA did. AA is more vulnerable at that location given the more frequent flights and flights from drug-flow areas---South American and Caribbean. I don't ever check luggage, but if I did, it would not be on an AA flight.

QueenOfCoach

Then ship valuables via insured freight.

Dave Noble

Or when checking in declare the value of expensive items and pay any additional costs for this value ( max $5k )



Obviously do not check in items listed in http://www.aa.com/i18n/customerServi...p#BagLiability

QueenOfCoach

Here is exactly what I meant.

Can you create PDFs of your documents and take them instead of a briefcase full of "important" paper?

Can you take one training manual, then photocopy and create multiple training manuals after you arrive, rather than haul around multiple training manuals? Same thing holds with price lists, etc.

Can you load your paperwork on an iPad and read that in flight rather than carrying a load of paper? Can you get a Kindle or e-book edition of a textbook?

I agree it's terrible that baggage handlers and TSA inspectors have been caught stealing from checked luggage. I protect myself and my valuables by not putting anything of particular value in my checked luggage.

CityFlyerNYC

Pretty bad article in NYT yesterday about AA's T8 luggage handlers. Hopefully this has all been fixed. I definitely have noticed that luggage has been arriving quicker at JFK in the past year (and with most - if not all - my belongings inside!)

http://nyti.ms/rzMv9q

Seven American Airlines employees testified against Mr. Bourne, all but one of them defendants who pleaded guilty and testified for the government. Ms. Notopoulos, who prosecuted the case with Toni M. Mele, Soumya Dayananda, Alexander A. Solomon and Tanya Y. Hill, summed up their testimony and the government’s case by calling American Airlines Terminal 8 “a cesspool of corruption.”

Even the defense lawyer, Mr. Savitt, said that he believed part of the witnesses’ testimony. “It became very obvious that everyone in American Airlines’ baggage services is dirty,” Mr. Savitt said. “If they don’t steal commercial cargo on a regular basis, they are going to rifle suitcases. It is astounding the kind of valuable items they were able to steal.”

pongben

JDiver

There are many ways of avoiding taking a lot of 'stuff" - I ask my clients to provide projecting equipment, etc. and use the cloud for presentations, handouts, etc. I also try to take any valuables, medications, documents (passports) with me - even on an Eagle aircraft.

Sometimes, that just doesn't work so well - I take my photo / video gear, broken down dive regulators and computers, etc. in carry-on (a near-amazing feat in itself, especially on QF , an ATR-72 etc.) , but there is still significant dive gear that must be checked (and clothing). I generally do not shout "dive gear here!" by using newish, logo-sporting luggage (or expensive leather, Vuitton, etc. luggage for clothing) and sometimes even use camouflage - an old locked U S Army duffel if I am diving in the Galápagos, which looks like any other person taking clothing to the "Islas Encantadas" in Ecuador, notable for baggage pilfering, and using zip ties to show evidence of tampering.

Nonetheless, it's not fool-proof. Clever thieves can manipulate zippered baggage to access it even as it is locked, for example. And in many years, of flying with dive gear, the ONLY time I have had an item pilfered from my dive bag was by a TSA agent at Miami International checking in with AA to a Caribbean destination. Yep, I can back my claim 98%, as I was observing the TSA agent going through our bags after they were x-rayed, and he handled the knife, looking it over, and appeared to return it - but my view was blocked because of the bag and examination area. He put another tie on the bag - but mirabile dictu, when I arrived at St. Vincent, the dive knife was missing, yet the zip tie the TSA guy put on was intact. (AA's disclaimer would not allow airline responsibility, and there was insufficient proof for the TSA to bother.)

So, 1) you can take lots of precautions, but pilfering and theft can still happen - as can people stuffing your bag (or your car, truck, RV or trailer, for that matter,) with drugs to be intercepted and unloaded on the way back to the USA.

And, 2) it was one trip, so whilst some AA and contracted baggage agents and TSA agents are undoubtedly crooked, there are others who are not (probably the preponderance of them).

3) I have been flying since the 1940s on any number of airlines, and it is nothing new under the skies.

labeach

i'm certain that it is extremely wide spread. I had a pair of expensive pants taken from my bag at MIA. i understand that its not jewelry or high end electronics but designer clothing can be equally as expensive and it is a shame that people have to factor in theft of items from checked baggage into their travel planning.

I undertand that maybe 0.0001 percent of travelers are effected by this, and that the media is making a huge deal out of the whole things and portraying it like 99% of travelers have things stolen.

Still, i think all these people should me made public examples out of so that others in the airline industry think twice about theft in the future.

DHAST

Are you speaking from personal experience? Quite frankly, as an ex-baggage handler (never worked for AA or its affiliates) I'd say that the bin is the last place where I would expect any theft to occur.

Loading bags in a bin is a really fast paced activity, and when one is in the bins, he is on his hands and knees. I can't imagine trying to find a bag to rifle through, opening it up, and finding what I'm looking for in that environment.

DHAST

So, you're "certain that it is extremely wide spread" because you had a pair of pants stolen? You can't make any statistical inferences based on one incident. Further, how can you follow up that statement of certainty by saying ".0001 percent of travelers are effected by this" and saying the media is making a huge deal out of this?

OrvilleWright

TSA doesn't secure airports. Airports are locally operated facilities that are secured by entities operating them.

ftgirl

If you want security check a firearm with your baggage

1) You can use better luggage with real hardened locks; this is an express exemption to the "no real locks" rule
2) Federal law forbids TSA from opening baggage with checked firearms, they are required to alert you if they want to open them.
3) Federal law requires that baggage containing firearms not be specially marked.
3) TSA seems to ignore property theft most of the time, but nobody wants the light of a gun theft investigation to shine on them, especially if that gun is later used for robbery or murder. They WILL take a gun theft seriously.