threepackape

I was the 3rd person to board after getting a last-minute upgrade at the counter. I had a small laptop case(with Sony Vaio laptop inside) and a small regulation-size carry-on case(with my Macbook Pro/Retina diaplsy and a bunch of holiday gifts inside).

I put my bags in the empty overhead, sat down in my bulk head first class seat, and went to work on trying to finish a book. Just before the door closed, I heard one of the FAs announce over the PA:"will Mr. xxxxxxxx please come to the front and identify his carry-on bag?" I was confused and got out of my seat. My carry-on bag was no longer there and I looked towards the cockpit door. The FA was standing there with my carry-on. She was one of those super-senior grandma flight attendants. She said in a rude voice: "your bag will have to go travel in cargo area because there is no more in any of the overhead bins"

That's when I got even more confused. First class was completely full, but coach was less than half full. I protested and asked why my bag couldn't be placed in the coach section? I spotted the 2nd row in coach with 3 empty seats. I suggested politedly that my bag be placed under one of those seats or be strapped to the seat. She said that can only happen if I move there and sit there for the remainder of the flight.

I did not want to cause a scene and just told her to gate-check my bag. She handed me the claim check and said "next time board earlier..." I WAS THE THIRD PERSON TO STEP ON THE AIRCRAFT!!!. Guess it was my fault to take my eyes off the bag.

After the door closed, we sat at the gate for another 30 minutes. At that moment, it started to rain. We finally started pushing back after another 20 minutes or so.

When the flight landed, I stood at the gate along with other folks who had gate-checked bags. There were almost 20 people. I heard others mention that they were forced to gate-check despite the half-empty coach section.

When I picked up my bag, it was dripping with rain water. That's when I remembered my Macbook Pro was inside. I immediately opened my bag and it was soaking went. It couldn't get wetter even if I had opened it and dumped it at the bottom of the swimming pool. The guy next to me said he saw the baggage handlers at the originating airport leaving all the gate-checked bags on the ground during the rain... the bags were loaded only a couple of minutes before the plane pushed back. That meant all the bags were sitting out there in the pouring rain for 30+ minutes.

I was told to go down to baggage claims area and an agent there would deal with my "stupid" complaint. (guess who said it? the very same FA who gate-checked my bag in the first place)

After waiting in the baggage claims area for 20 minutes, the agent said the best he could do was issue me a $100 travel voucher. If I wanted to escalate it, I would have to contact UA directly. He gave me the number and I left.

The next day, I stopped by the local Apple Store and my 11-day-old Macbook Pro with Retina display was declared dead. Not covered, since it was clearly water damage. When the employee flipped the Macbook upside down, more rain water came pouring out. I went back to my hotel room and called SquareTrade. I was told that it would be totally covered under the 3-year
plan with ADH that i had purchased. Since it was water damage and based on the description of the Apple Store, the Square Trade supervisor said they would just issue me a check for the purchase price once they receive the Macbook back.

Before I ship it off to SquareTrade, I just want know if I should bother contacting UA. Shouldn't UA be the responsible party here?

Doc Savage

I'm glad you had SquareTrade.

It is likely not worth your time to waste too much time with United, since you are covered, but I'd definitely write in to them once to complain about the FA.

WineCountryUA

A couple of things don't make sense about this but ultimately do you want this resolved quickly (go with SquareTrade )or do you want to spend more of your time and longer before you get a replacement (peruse UA)?

Personally I would go the SquareTrade route and then file a complaint with UA. You might get a CS voucher for the situation from UA. A full replacement by UA is battle I would void if i had an alternate.

MatthewLAX

I am glad you had SquareTrade too. There is no way I would have given into the FA. How dare she. I hope you got her name.

Curious, what the was the route/aircraft type?

LaserSailor

I know of no regulation that says you have to sit in the 'vicinity' of your carryon luggage.

The liability on luggage excludes electronics though, so there is little recourse there, IMHO.

anc-ord772

I never let my laptop go in a gate check situation. I'll hold it the whole flight if I have to. The place to stand your ground was before the door closed.

Jorgen

I doubt they have any legal liability for the laptop, but you definitely need to complain about this FA.

bldr1k

Why did thy take your bag out of the overhead?

In almost 30 years of flying with United, nothing like this has ever happened to me.

Like the previous poster said, she would have had to call a supervisor or Captain before I agreed to gate check something there was room for.

FlytheTail

I think you'd be wasting your time with United, since they (and other airlines) warn against this for checked bags, and I'd wager this applies to gate checks too:
http://www.united.com/web/en-us/cont...e/fragile.aspx

Baze

I believe UA specifically states does not cover laptops in checked bags. Wonder if this includes these regional jet gate checked bags too. Probably.

WineCountryUA

Reading between the lines, I suspect another passagner removed the OP's bag. The other passagner (or maybe FA) may have asked around and hearing nothing assumed an economy passagner had intruded the first class OH and liberated the space. That is a scenario I have seen in person.

Was this mainline or UX?

LaserSailor

I once thought (mistakenly) that RJ checked bags had different 'status' than checked luggage but learned that was not true - they are in fact covered by the same T&C.

Those little green tear-offs you get are proof of your checked luggage so make sure you get them (I take a photo of them since Im always using them to split my cashews.)

I once had a gate check bag lost on DL and without that tag the GA told me it would be 'lost property' rather than a baggage claim.

Shareholder

Still don't understand how OP could not have noticed his bag being removed from the overhead as others were boarding. What's missing from this tale? Also, would not an elite getting an upgrade have those elite tags on the bag so it could be ID'd? Did OP fall asleep...just don't know how this went unnoticed!

kenn0223

I wouldn't waste your time talking to agents (beyond the initial claim) or calling. United, like most airlines, settles claims for damage to checked luggage via a claims process. I would fill out and send in the baggage claim form. I don't see why you couldn't pursue a claim with both United and SquareTrade.

I did a quick review of the United Contract of Carriage and it does not seem to explicitly provide relief to United's liability in the event of rain however computers and other electronics are completely excluded. Were there other items in the bag that were damaged? Despite the CoC exclusion I would still file a claim since the damage was due to the lack of United exercising due care while the bag was in their possession.

I frequently take my seat during boarding and go back to reading or working during the 20-30 minutes it takes to board the plane. I have more interesting things to do than eyeball everyone walking by me and monitoring the overhead bins.

Parikh1234

I flew out of EWR today at 9 AM and it was a monsoon out there. I saw SO MANY bags just sitting next to planes. On our flight I could see them loading bags, the guy with the car, dropped off all the bags by the belt and left. 5-10 mins later some guy came and literally thew the bags on the belt and they sat there another 5 minutes when he pushed the button, to put them on the plane. Those bags must have been half filled with water. Terrible bag handling on UA's part.