Originally Posted by
krvw
To the OP, I sympathize with your horrible experience. What a shame!
That said, I agree with the sentiment that valuables shouldn't go in checked luggage.
+1 here. And to the OP, I am very put-off by all of the "
you should know better" and "
what were you thinking?" comments you're getting. Yes, most frequent flyers are aware that checking valuable items is not always a great idea. However, that doesn't change the fact that you've been robbed; plain and simple. If I accidentally leave home without locking my front door it doesn't make it "OK" for someone to walk into my home and steal from me. I think its pretty horrendous that we seem to be conditioned by routine mistreatment, and therefore place blame on the victim and not the criminal.
But I have to wonder about how "the law of unintended consequences" is going to bite United and other carriers who are beginning to charge for first bag (and beyond) service. Now that customers are explicitly paying for the service, I'm curious if their expectations will be higher with regard to speed, quality, and security of their checked items.
Of course, it's the same people behind the scenes today as it was before the fee increase, but I'm curious if customers will expect and demand more.
I have wondered the same myself. Fortunately as an elite I am (for the time being) shielded from the bag fees, but if I was a non-elite and had to pay the fees, I would be pretty darn PO'd if my bags were lost/delayed/burglarized. Its gonna get harder (hopefully) for airlines to turn the other cheek in regards to mishandling of bags when the owner is paying them specifically to transport them.
Craig