Incident w/ pro tennis player, too many carryon items/oversized bag & "aggressive GA"
Jun 8, 2017, 10:12 pm
#16
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Absolutely zero news value. This happens every day with every airline, no shortage of stupid, mean GAs (just as there's no shortage of helpful, good GAs).
I'd have thought that the Dao effect was over now, but I guess not....
I'd have thought that the Dao effect was over now, but I guess not....
Jun 8, 2017, 10:31 pm
#17
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From the Facebook photos he had a red bag, a brown bag and a black bag (backpack?).....that's three carryons with stuff sticking out. 1K or not, you don't get three carryons (He actually says he started out with four) -- truly excessive. Gotta love it when people grouse because they can't get their way. Childish and ridiculous. ......The GA was doing her job but I guess everyone that feels they should have exceptions can post all over Facebook otherwise and claim all sorts of mishandling. "torn boarding pass"......WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TORN - on the perforated edge. It certainly wasn't destroyed. Why now do I really doubt the boarding pass and passport were "grabbed" from him?
Walk a mile in agents' shoes, I can guarantee it's a different perspective. I'm sick of every whiner coming out of the woodwork and expecting apologies and monetary/ miles rewards for their own rudeness and tantrum throwing. Do they not know that if enough people cry "Wolf" United and all the rest will have to stop their current never-ending flow of money and miles ? Sorry the street goes both ways, there are two sides to every "story" so people need to stop believing everything they read on Facebook accounts by some overwrought tennis player who got away with murder on previous flights with too many carryon bags.
From the Facebook photos he had a red bag, a brown bag and a black bag (backpack?).....that's three carryons with stuff sticking out. 1K or not, you don't get three carryons (He actually says he started out with four) -- truly excessive. Gotta love it when people grouse because they can't get their way. Childish and ridiculous. ......The GA was doing her job but I guess everyone that feels they should have exceptions can post all over Facebook otherwise and claim all sorts of mishandling. "torn boarding pass"......WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TORN - on the perforated edge. It certainly wasn't destroyed. Why now do I really doubt the boarding pass and passport were "grabbed" from him?
Walk a mile in agents' shoes, I can guarantee it's a different perspective. I'm sick of every whiner coming out of the woodwork and expecting apologies and monetary/ miles rewards for their own rudeness and tantrum throwing. Do they not know that if enough people cry "Wolf" United and all the rest will have to stop their current never-ending flow of money and miles ? Sorry the street goes both ways, there are two sides to every "story" so people need to stop believing everything they read on Facebook accounts by some overwrought tennis player who got away with murder on previous flights with too many carryon bags.
The agent took everything out and counted it as 5 rackets+1 backpack+1 tennis racket bag as 7 bags.
The agent was being stupid.
I have carried my tennis rackets (not 5 but 2 at the maximum in a tennis bag) and never had issues on AA or UA before back in 2015/2016.
I just don't understand why UA need to bring these silly issues on themselves and why they insist on targeting people who are asian.
Jun 8, 2017, 10:33 pm
#18
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News coming out of the states today that a Chinese pro tennis player had her tennis rackets checked in at the gate into cargo (5 rackets) and was rudely attended to.
Have UA not learned anything since the Dao incident!?!
Have UA not learned anything since the Dao incident!?!
Jun 8, 2017, 10:33 pm
#19
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Think she actually has a backpack with her lap top and her tennis rackets in another tennis racket bag which contained a small backpack within.
The agent took everything out and counted it as 5 rackets+1 backpack+1 tennis racket bag as 7 bags.
The agent was being stupid.
I have carried my tennis rackets (not 5 but 2 at the maximum in a tennis bag) and never had issues on AA or UA before back in 2015/2016.
I just don't understand why UA need to bring these silly issues on themselves and why they insist on targeting people who are asian.
The agent took everything out and counted it as 5 rackets+1 backpack+1 tennis racket bag as 7 bags.
The agent was being stupid.
I have carried my tennis rackets (not 5 but 2 at the maximum in a tennis bag) and never had issues on AA or UA before back in 2015/2016.
I just don't understand why UA need to bring these silly issues on themselves and why they insist on targeting people who are asian.
Think that if you want (UA bringing it on themselves and targeting Asian people) ? I don't agree. Just another case of "misunderstanding" on the part of the passenger because they managed to fly with 4 or 3 carryon bags on various other UA flights and then assume that is the case on every other UA flight into Eternity. GA's and FA's are to blame for not enforcing carryon limits. Here was a case where the GA was doing her job and doing it correctly instead of putting on blinders.
Last edited by FlyingNone; Jun 8, 2017 at 10:39 pm
Jun 8, 2017, 11:07 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2014
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A quick Google search shows the typical tennis racquet is 27-29 inches in length. It would seem that any bag containing tennis racquets would exceed the allowable carry on dimensions.
Jun 8, 2017, 11:11 pm
#21
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People get away with crimes all the time, too. Does that mean we should just eliminate all laws?
Jun 8, 2017, 11:12 pm
#22
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Chicago
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I take some pity on the passenger, though it sounds like she may have handled it poorly and gone too confrontational throughout the process. Gate agents allow so many bags to skirt the limits. (I'm willing to wager my rollaboard wouldn't truly fit within the actual contraption).
United encourages high value, fragile items to be carried on (along with guitars, violins, etc ) and specifically mentions tennis racquets:
Examples of high-value, fragile or perishable items for which United is not liable (in the case of travel within the United States) or for which United's liability may be limited (in the case of most international travel) include, but are not limited to:
United encourages high value, fragile items to be carried on (along with guitars, violins, etc ) and specifically mentions tennis racquets:
High-value, fragile and perishable items
United recommends that you do not pack high-value, fragile or perishable items in your checked baggage. United will accept such items as carry-on baggage (subject to carry-on baggage allowances) or as checked baggage (subject to checked baggage allowances). If you choose to pack high-value, fragile or perishable items in or as checked baggage in connection with travel within the United States, United is not liable for the loss of, damage to or delay in delivery of such items.Examples of high-value, fragile or perishable items for which United is not liable (in the case of travel within the United States) or for which United's liability may be limited (in the case of most international travel) include, but are not limited to:
- Totally unprotected items such as tennis racquets and umbrellas, either individually checked or tied/strapped to the outside of luggage
Jun 8, 2017, 11:14 pm
#23
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All they're saying about tennis racquets is to pack them well or there's limited/no liability. They don't say you have license to carry them on and disregard size restrictions.
Jun 8, 2017, 11:18 pm
#24
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As it is very close to fitting within the limits and they recognize the fragile nature, i'd let it slide 100% of the time if I were United.
Jun 8, 2017, 11:42 pm
#25
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I'm sympathizing with the passenger on this. Her bag is long by about 3" in the length dimension, but appears much smaller in the other dimensions. With that in mind, her bag will still fit length wise as it isn't tall enough to deal with the curvature in the back of the bin. She is a 1K, and likely never had a problem on previous flights. The photos of the GA give me the impression that cranky is her middle name. I mild ounce of common sense from the GA would seem to make sense IMO.
Jun 8, 2017, 11:56 pm
#26
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In 2008, Continental started charging for checked bags and I was still playing at the time.
Jun 9, 2017, 2:12 am
#27
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Think she actually has a backpack with her lap top and her tennis rackets in another tennis racket bag which contained a small backpack within.
The agent took everything out and counted it as 5 rackets+1 backpack+1 tennis racket bag as 7 bags.
The agent was being stupid.
I have carried my tennis rackets (not 5 but 2 at the maximum in a tennis bag) and never had issues on AA or UA before back in 2015/2016.
I just don't understand why UA need to bring these silly issues on themselves and why they insist on targeting people who are asian.
The agent took everything out and counted it as 5 rackets+1 backpack+1 tennis racket bag as 7 bags.
The agent was being stupid.
I have carried my tennis rackets (not 5 but 2 at the maximum in a tennis bag) and never had issues on AA or UA before back in 2015/2016.
I just don't understand why UA need to bring these silly issues on themselves and why they insist on targeting people who are asian.
I am getting tired of people pulling the race card/gender card/whatever card that suits them. Just because you got crummy customer service does not automatically mean that you were targeted in a discriminatory manner.
I replied to one of the comments on her facebook page regarding the sizer, and someone else replied to me "why are defending this racist POS" to which I replied "where's the evidence of racism?" and someone else agreed with me and wrote "I saw someone try to argue that he can take extra carry-on items because he's a veteran, and he was a white male".
Ranting about perceived racism that does not exist dilutes actual racism, and it dilutes your complaint about bad customer service. It's childish behavior unbecoming of a so-called "professional" tennis player. Professional in the athletic sense, sure, but not professional in the general sense, meaning not throwing a tantrum online and pulling the race card at the drop of a hat with NO EVIDENCE. Has it ever crossed anyone's mind that Ms. Cranky Gate Agent simply hates everyone equally?
Jun 9, 2017, 3:12 am
#28
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 575
Where does this so-called "observation" come from? Dr. Dao wasn't beat up because he was Asian. This woman wasn't picked on because she was Asian, and I did go through the trouble of (painfully) reading her one gigantic paragraph rant on facebook. There are a billion Asians in the world, of whom TWO have had a problem on UA lately.
I am getting tired of people pulling the race card/gender card/whatever card that suits them. Just because you got crummy customer service does not automatically mean that you were targeted in a discriminatory manner.
I replied to one of the comments on her facebook page regarding the sizer, and someone else replied to me "why are defending this racist POS" to which I replied "where's the evidence of racism?" and someone else agreed with me and wrote "I saw someone try to argue that he can take extra carry-on items because he's a veteran, and he was a white male".
Ranting about perceived racism that does not exist dilutes actual racism, and it dilutes your complaint about bad customer service. It's childish behavior unbecoming of a so-called "professional" tennis player. Professional in the athletic sense, sure, but not professional in the general sense, meaning not throwing a tantrum online and pulling the race card at the drop of a hat with NO EVIDENCE. Has it ever crossed anyone's mind that Ms. Cranky Gate Agent simply hates everyone equally?
I am getting tired of people pulling the race card/gender card/whatever card that suits them. Just because you got crummy customer service does not automatically mean that you were targeted in a discriminatory manner.
I replied to one of the comments on her facebook page regarding the sizer, and someone else replied to me "why are defending this racist POS" to which I replied "where's the evidence of racism?" and someone else agreed with me and wrote "I saw someone try to argue that he can take extra carry-on items because he's a veteran, and he was a white male".
Ranting about perceived racism that does not exist dilutes actual racism, and it dilutes your complaint about bad customer service. It's childish behavior unbecoming of a so-called "professional" tennis player. Professional in the athletic sense, sure, but not professional in the general sense, meaning not throwing a tantrum online and pulling the race card at the drop of a hat with NO EVIDENCE. Has it ever crossed anyone's mind that Ms. Cranky Gate Agent simply hates everyone equally?
Jun 9, 2017, 3:45 am
#29
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I stood next to Laura Robson, the former world no. 25, at SFO a few months ago as she was waiting for her two tennis bags to come out of the baggage system. So checking bags can be and is done by professional tennis players.
Jun 9, 2017, 6:07 am
#30
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