Originally Posted by
tashi
I come across a lot of people who have lost baggage on UA (and others) and would swear they would never check baggage even if the floor under the seat was of glass and they could see the baggage underneath. They claim that the people/process behind the scene are the least skilled in the industry and there are no checks and balances in place to ensure a safe handling process.
I personally have never lost or misplaced a bag. I check bags 90% of the time. With 120k EQMs / 70 EQS already this year, thats a lot of bags checked on a lot of flights that made it fine and often out on the belt very early with the priority tag. I dont want to become part of the statistics but so far on my experience I have faith in the behind the scene process and people.
Do you have fear of loosing checked baggage?
Before my recent overseas trip, the answer would have been no. But now I do.
Recently went to SYD with a stop (a few days in HNL). Left EWR and decided to check our bags. Two duffel type bags. Upon arrival at HNL I noticed that my bag has a sticker that it was inspected by TSA since they thought I was carrying something that caught their eye. (must have been all the electrical components for my laptop, cell phone and extension cord). Anyway, I open the bag and everything looked fine except for two packs of cigarettes missing out of the carton that I put in there.
From that point on I decided to just carry the items for the rest of the trip. Coming back from HNL to DEN/EWR. The GA states that the cabin are smaller and would like volunteers to gate check their bags. We decided, sure why not. Get back to NY and find that the bags never made it on the plane. After 5-6 days, we finally got them back. Serves me right for being nice.
TS