Just to defend CO and their baggage handlers.....

I just relocated from Ireland back to the States and moved most of my apartment through CO's generous 3 bag, 70 lbs allowance for Star Golds. (Even the $150 extra bag fee was less than sending boxes through the post office or FedEx.)

I sent an HP DeskJet (in it's original packaging) inside a duffel bag. DUB-EWR is on a 757, so the bag was bulk loaded, and when it arrived in Newark there was no damage whatsoever. In fact, I packed pictures and glasses in heavy duty moving boxes with bubble wrap and packing peanuts and they all arrived without damage.

This also protects CO from PAX shenanigans involving taking old electronic equipment, smashing it, checking it then trying to make a claim. Before you all roll your eyes, consider that scams are perpetrated every day, many of them much more ridiculous that the above scenario.

+1 Electronics typically need rigid foam inside a box.

All of us have seen how bags get tossed around on the belts and stuff. Even the final fall onto the carousel can be pretty rough.

Bubblewrap may offer some protection if you're personally carrying the items (e.g., personally, in your car), but for automated baggage systems, belts, and such, no way.

The only other time you might be able to skimp on packaging like this is maybe if you're crating or palletizing lots of equipment, and you know it's going to be handled with a forklift, not going to be bumped, tossed, or dropped.

Continental Jammed My Printer!
 

I was printing my boarding pass and my printer jammed! The document itself was damaged in the process of extracting it and I needed to print a second copy. Do you realize how much ink I wasted printing all those advertisements two times? I'm also out the cost of the paper that was damaged.

If only the check-in process at EWR wasn't so time-consuming, I could print my boarding passes at a kiosk at the airport and my printer wouldn't jam.

Am I entitled to compensation, and what should I ask for?

Why would you pack a printer in your suitcase? Have you seen your bags get handled? I don't even look anymore. It's like watching sausage being made. And not the gourmet sausage either. More like the saver's club bulk sausage type.

Belive it or not, most mfgr packing wouldn't qualify for FDX/UPS standards for packing electronics, as they use minimal to cut costs as they can afford to replace broken items.

I have sent via CO luggage, thousands of pounds of household items. Including computers, 20" computer CRT monitor, 25" TV, and lots of other stuff. These were going international, and I've never had anything that was packed correctly broken.

I also knew that if anything broke that it was unlikely that I'd get reimbursed. I think knowing how to pack securely helps quite a bit.

Last month, I even shipped a bunch of filled liquor bottles, and had none break, via CX, SA, KL and DL.

Fragile items and electronics should NEVER be checked. On any airline. Period.

I think this is taking things to a bit of the extreme. In some cases there may not be a choice. But having them correctly prepared for the transit is critical to a successful outcome.

In my line of work, we've checked many electronic items -- likely much more expensive than the OP's printer -- and never had an issue. But we're talking about generally solid state hardware in original manufacturer packaging.

Additionally, manufacturers use airlines to ship products at times. It's not uncommon to receive an urgent shipment from a manufacturer with an airline flight label on it.

Incidentally, if you ever are in the gate area in AUS, you can sometimes see several Dell boxes being loaded onto the CO planes for transport. It's perfectly fine if packaged correctly.

I agree 100%. I don't check anything that I am not prepared to lose. Period.

There's no way to ensure that a fragile item won't get damaged in transit, but, Why didn't you ship it via a carrier who would insure it against such damage? :confused: CO certainly won't.

I shipped a computer to Brazil as luggage. But I had a UPS store pack it correctly. Arrived without a problem.

There is always an art to packing. I have otherwise smart friends who have absolutely no clue, shipping 2' x 2' x 2' cubes half full. I saw luggage carriers in Jamaica hurl bags to the tarmac from 747 door height. If one's packing job fails, I chalk it up to evolutionary pressure.

I once packed 46 bottles of wine in checked luggage from Italy. I worried about the trail of red which never happened. I should have worried about the drug beagle, who got distracted from his rounds twice because he fervently believed there was nduja sausage in my daypack.