jazzsax

Like I said, why do you think there is insurance? Accidents will happen. You can't expect everything to be perfect every time. We know that about air travel. If it's that mission critical and all your eggs are in one basket --- cover your a55ets.

The issue about money / compensation is not secondary. There's no reason otherwise to go to the media unless you're starved for attention or are using it for leverage. Plain and simple. To think this isn't about money is the furthest thing from the truth

She made it clear --- the poles are worth $10K or more. It's a risk you take EVERY TIME you fly. Cover your butt for circumstances like this. Crap happens.

longtimeflyin

Your expectation of a Canadian to take accountability for his or her decision is a bit...

CZAMFlyer

A few thoughts here: you seem to have missed the point of the story. It's not whether the poles were insured or not, it's that they arrived at the beginning of a competition in unusable condition. The money part can always be sorted out later; being expected to compete without the required gear is the thrust of the story.

How do you know she bought a basic economy fare? What does it matter if she did? Are you suggesting we should expect to incur more or less damage to our property according to the fare we paid? If we hold an insurance policy, is it ok for airlines to be less careful with our stuff? And why should her insurance pay for the damage; isn't that what the carriers' insurance is for?

Your comment "I'm going to cry on social media" betrays an utter lack of empathy and a willingness to criticize without knowing any of the facts. Carry on with baseless Instagram/endorsement theories; you're convincing only yourself.

CZAMFlyer

Oooh, finish that thought. Please.

longtimeflyin

The other point to mention here is whether or not busted poles is even an important item when compared to other belongings that Air Canada carries. No one died here, no one's medical needs were not met, no dog was killed in this process etc. Busted poles - big deal. Air Canada created an issue, resolved the issue, case closed. Why people are raising a stink about this is beyond me.

jazzsax

1) We don't even know if AC was at fault (or another airline and they were just the ticketing carrier). Doesn't really tell us where this happened.

2) I didn't say it's ok for the airline to take less care. I said get insurance. Businesses and others carry this stuff to cover mission critical circumstances.

3) I'm happy to criticize when I know the individual in question could have done more. See below with my own anecdotal comparisons.

4) Remember - everyone wants 15 minutes of fame. Wouldn't shock me here with her.

You're a quasi-professional pole vaulter competing all around and you don't have a backup set of poles? Wow, your redundancy in case of failure is just like AC's IT systems.... the fact she has to rely on trying to get replacements shipped to her or borrowed elsewhere tells me she has no backup plan and puts all her eggs in one basket.

AC sounds like they are sorting her out. But she's still whining and complaining, and getting attention. In the meantime she could have... you know... planned for a just in case circumstance like this and maybe I'd have a bit more compassion.

I used to travel with pricey musical instruments on AC quite regularly. I carried extra insurance both personally and professionally to cover in case of loss, and on some trips when the instruments went below declared the value to AC and paid the premium (back in the 90's). Funny how I never had an issue ever, but I was covered if I did.

I once had an instrument stolen in a smash and grab --- and then recovered a week later. In the interim my insurance covered replacements (we're talking 8-10K + value instruments, similar in price to the vaulter) so I wasn't missing a beat (no pun intended).

CZAMFlyer

This is irrelevant, given that you attacked her character and her motivations. Who did the damage and where it occurred is entirely separate.
How do you know she didn't carry insurance? You sound very certain. And how would insurance have helped her procure new poles in time for the competition?
Done more how, specifically?
No. We don't. It sounds like you know the athlete personally, given the certainty of the assertions.
Some people have little understanding on the economics of sports travel, especially if not a sponsored or top-tier athlete. Even then, do you think pro golfers, tennis or hockey players ship secondary bags of clubs, rackets and sticks when they fly? This is of course rhetorical; the answer is no.
Where was that written; I must have missed this. Or is this conjecture?

tcook052

Let's please save the personal invective for the next family dinner and as per FT Rules post in a more respectful and friendly manner.

tcook052
Ac forum Mod.

jazzsax

And as a followup...

She's nike sponsored.

Her instagram is 1/3 pics of her showing off her abs, 1/3 in dresses, and 1/3 actual competition pics.

117K followers.

Yep, no sympathy. Get a sponsor to pony up for a backup set of poles and deal with it.

jazzsax

She's Nike sponsored. They aren't exactly poor.

And AC responded both in the article and online indicating they were addressing the issue. So as far as we know they will take care of it. She's the one who posted the angry reaction implying they might only offer $200 or whatnot. No one knows what was offered except for her. Until then, she's simply responding angrily and riling up the masses.

CZAMFlyer

That she is (understandably) upset is not an excuse for making assumptions about nearly every aspect of this story and the person in question. Nike as a corporation is indeed wealthy. How much of this wealth is transferred to this athlete is unknown. We can't assume a rich benefactor equals a high endorsement figure. We have no idea at this time whether Air Canada will resolve the issue; it's to be determined. How does the subject of Instagram images and number of followers have any bearing on the athlete's character?

skywardhunter

She may well have a backup set. She may also have insurance. AC has said they're shipping another set to her, I didn't click the link but it didn't say they bought her a new set, it may be her own backup. Either way she has lost valuable prep time and possibly missed the entire event. How anyone could try and apolgiapofor AC is beyond me. These are extremely important events not just emotionally but career wise and may affect her financillly in the ongoing term if her endorsements and sponsorships are based in cin competition performance.

beachmouse

She competed today with borrowed poles (the announcers described it as asking a professional golfer to compete at a major tournament with borrowed clubs) and went out at 4.54 meters. Her season's best is a 4.75 at Commies a few weeks back, and assumption is she was in similar form here. 4.54 got her 7th place and two points toward qualifying for the very high paycheck Diamond League Final, which is the biggest event of the track & field sports schedule for 2018. (non-outdoor World Championships, non-Olympic year) The winning vault today by Sandi Morris was a 4.74, which got Sandi 8 points toward the Diamond League final .

Given that elite athletes only get a certain number of invitations to the 'regular season' Diamond League meetings, and that Newman underperformend compared to Commies with unfamiliar equipment, it's not that much of a pathway for the broken poles in Doha to lead to a failure to qualify for the final and high placing in the DL final, and as much as a six figure (USD/CAD) loss in income from prize money, sponsorship deals, and appearance fees an athlete who is A- list on the global track scene can get.

longtimeflyin

That's what a lawsuit is for.

jazzsax

And / or insurance. Alot of professional sports athlete's (nba / nhl / etc) have insurance for this kind of stuff.

Heck there's even actresses who have insured their boobs.