Got it from ATA both directions!
 

Here is one crazy story. If I didn't see it happen I would think it a little wild.
Sunday March 30. our party of 6 departs PHX on ATA for OGG-Maui.

Along with our luggage we brought one box of Alcohol. Box had previously been used to ship wine back to the mainland. Still had individual shipping styrofoam inside, and so we were using it to keep separated the following....

4 750ml bottle Johnny Walker Black
2 750ml bottle Wild Turkey Rare Breed
3 750ml bottle Absolut Grapefruit Vodka
1 bottle triple distilled Smirnoff Black label 100 proof
1 bottle of Zaya Rum

11 bottles in a 12 bottle styro box...inside a cardboard shipping box.

At the ticket counter our box was accepted. No issues. A Baggage Claim tagged was attached to it.
At the Gate, we were told they wouldn't accept the box, there was an issue with the quantity of high proof alcohol packaged in the same container. It was considered a possible explosion hazard....(Never heard of anything like that before!!)

After much discussion about separation of the box into our individual suitcases, the decision was made to just pick the box up on our return, Saturday April 5th. The box had a complete home address on it, along with cell and home numbers.

On our return (finally) on April 10th, due to the bankruptcy, at the airport our box was no where to be found.

Found the original gate agent who thankfully works also for another airline, to help to locate the box. Unable to locate.

Upon return home, we had 2 voicemail messages.
The first one was from April 3rd, at approx 11am Arizona Time, by an ATA employee, telling us we needed to come pick up our alcohol that day!! And that if we can't get there, we need to send a friend.
Mind you we aren't scheduled to return until April 5th....
(asked a friend w/o knowledge of the phone calls, to pickup our box for us...as he is a mechanic with usair...said no go, they aren't allowed to leave with anything!!)

Next voicemail message April 3rd, at approx 1pm Arizona Time, SAME AGENT! 2 hrs later ...."we had to DESTROY it."

over $400 of alcohol!!! "DESTROYED"

they couldn't have had TSA care for it? The main airport office?
Thoughts? Ideas? Recourse?

Probably you're going to have to get in line with the other creditors.

It wasn't just the passengers who got sc***ed by ATA - I sure hope those poor employees at least had a nice goodbye party thanks to the OP! :D

Seriously, it sounds like a sad and highly weird case. Sorry for your loss and I hope you were able to hit up a "packie" in Hawaii!

Yes, but would the OP file their claim as a passenger or as a catering supplier? :D

The lesson here is that you should never leave your property with an airline while you go on a trip. Even for an airline that doesn't become insolvent while you're away, the number of staff members and the busy nature of airport operations does not lend itself to storing things for pax. And this is not their job anyway; they are only responsible for transporting the luggage that goes with you. Next time call a friend who can pick it up from you before departure, or mail it, or do anything but hand it over to the airline!

isn't baggage theft a federal offense?
should I file a police report?
I already gathered forms to file with the bankruptcy proceedings...

its a bit difficult when it has a baggage claim tag on it and will only be released to the person holding the baggage claim reciept. as for doing anything different, thats tough when they made the decision to pull the box within 30 minutes of departure...too late to juggle bottles into other luggage (if that were even possible)
and we were told it was going to be kept under lock and key due to its valuable content

oh yeah, and we expected them to do "their job" and transport the luggage we brought with us. does anyone have anything TSA related that says you can't ship alcohol in checked baggage beyond a certain quantity? Shouldn't TSA be held partly responsible? It was there decision to pull the box off of the flight. We flew the flight we were expecting the alcohol to be transported on, we aren't on any terrorist watch list or any such thing. It was at best a HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS and COMPLETELY ARBITRARY decision to pull the box and not transport it with the passenger

...and try finding one of those these days! :D (Thanks! I'll be here all week...)

They didn't steal it if you left it with them...if I'm reading your description correctly, you didn't check it, just left it (though maybe I'm reading that incorrectly). It sounds like someone tried to figure out what to do with it, so it's not as if they intended to steal it--they just ran out of time and had to vacate the premises. I would hope that someone "destroyed" the booze by consuming it instead of just pouring it down the sink--that seems a complete waste.

edit: OK, I did read that wrong, you did check it. But since they (rightly or wrongly) decided they couldn't transport it, was it still considered baggage?

if anyone can find anything that indicates how much alcohol can be transported in checked baggage i would be most appreciative.

i did notice that ATA has indicated a lack of responsibility for pilferage of baggage...

it's a sad commentary on things when we accept as acceptable the act of pilferage and then don't have the courage to call it what it is....THEFT!

The industry standard appears to be five liters per person. Several airline sites I've scanned seem to futher restrict this to no more than five liters in a single luggage item - http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1189.shtm

Here is United's Policy

Unfortunately alcohol is flammable, so airlines and government regulations limit the amount allowed on board. It's not a TSA thing, this link has a little more information http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dangerous_goods/
It's a little complicated, so just trust them if they say you can't bring that much :)

Also, it seems like ATA didn't really have any option but to destroy it, since they closed up shop.

Funny...the ad displayed at the bottom of the page is for "Three Sheets", a show on the MOJO Channel (?). Slogan is "Around the World, One Drink at a Time." :D

Agreed. Unfortunate, but hardly "theft" imo, given what we know so far.

If you read the above carefully you will notice that the restriction is per passenger. There were 5 of us traveling under the same locater number. Two married couples and one single guy. Given the above restriction, either of the married couples could have met the restriction guideline of 5 liters per person or a total of 10 liters per couple as there was ONLY 8.25 liters total in that box. Its really not that complicated alphaeagle...it just requires a bit of thought. When we were checked in, we were checked in as a group, treated as a group and our baggage was collected as a group.

All of the above references were what I had already found. None of it would seem to restrict my (our, as in all 5 of us) ability to take 11 bottles of alcohol.

As for the theft comment, that was generic on my part, you will notice there was no accusation of theft, simply the acknowledgment that we (society) call it pilferage rather than theft when someone takes something that isn't their's.

Personally at this point, I think (imho) that I have a much stronger case for destruction of private property rather than theft, as they accepted the box, agreed to keep it until I returned and therefore accepted what is known in the legal system as CARE, CUSTODY and CONTROL.

What they did was inappropriate. My only real question is, what is my best recourse?