Incident w/ pro tennis player, too many carryon items/oversized bag & "aggressive GA"
Jun 9, 2017, 11:25 am
#61
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Once in a blue moon, some real information appears on facebook (if you are willing to believe it, and given the 99th percentile writing quality by FB standards, I'll vote "yes")...
I believe what we can take from this, is that professional tennis players have to 1) gamble that the GA doesn't enforce the carry-on size rules, 2) buy a hard case and check the equipment, or 3) buy a second ticket for your equipment (and a hard case) and place that in the seat next to you.
I believe what we can take from this, is that professional tennis players have to 1) gamble that the GA doesn't enforce the carry-on size rules, 2) buy a hard case and check the equipment, or 3) buy a second ticket for your equipment (and a hard case) and place that in the seat next to you.
A single tennis racket technically doesn't fit in the sizer because it is too long. Have the airlines completely abandoned the l+w+h allowance? Will a 23"x1" poster tube get rejected on a technicality?
An earlier post cited UA's own carry-on policy acknowledging that things like tennis rackets and smaller musical instruments won't fit in the sizer but will be allowed as carry-on.
This UA rep seems better suited for TSA, where she'd be free to make up her own interpretation of the rules all day long.
Jun 9, 2017, 11:32 am
#62
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Clearly we were not reading the same things! I was referring to what was in p
st
#47 of this thread. That is said to be a direct quote from the passenger. Of course the truth here is likely somewhere in the middle. Would the tennis racket bag fit in the overhead? Almost certainly. Would it fit in the sizer? Perhaps not given the details on tennis racket size above.
Agreed - that was disgusting.
st #47 of this thread. That is said to be a direct quote from the passenger. Of course the truth here is likely somewhere in the middle. Would the tennis racket bag fit in the overhead? Almost certainly. Would it fit in the sizer? Perhaps not given the details on tennis racket size above.
Agreed - that was disgusting.
I did a bit of quick math. In order to get a 29" racquet to fit in the sizer in the length dimension (22" limit) it would have to be rotated about 40.7deg. With that rotation it would be 18.89" in the height dimension (14" limit).
Edit:
Also just realized she could use the width to her advantage. The diagonal would be ~23.8" allowing her to reduce the angle of the racket to about 35deg. But even in this case the racquet would be more than 2.5" too tall. And this is for a single racquet. Obviously stacking more of them reduces the usable diagonal length.
Last edited by kb9522; Jun 9, 2017 at 11:39 am
Jun 9, 2017, 11:38 am
#63
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United's own website states: "United accepts one item of tennis equipment as checked baggage or carry-on baggage. An item of tennis equipment consists of one tennis racket case containing tennis rackets and balls."
Emphasis added.
Emphasis added.
Jun 9, 2017, 11:39 am
#64
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UA needs to train its employees to better value it's top customers.
Remember a while ago when there was a pax on CX that was top tier and they cooked his crabs for him?
Jun 9, 2017, 11:42 am
#65
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How could they have made this work? An oversized carry on is an oversized carry on. Too many carry ons are too many carry ons.
Jun 9, 2017, 12:04 pm
#66
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The ultimate question is whether or not the plane will go on time with all passengers and bags aboard. Starting an argument with someone whose bag is outside the norm but possibly within the rules doesn't seem to increase odds of that happening.
Jun 9, 2017, 12:04 pm
#67
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As somebody who worked for years in front line customer services, I had numerous complaints from customers who totally believed that the phrase "I'm sorry Sir/Madam, but that is not something I can do for you" constituted rude and abusive behaviour.
Luckily in those days they didn't have social media to go running to, so that there "plight" immediately became a national media story thanks to bone idle journalists who believe that researching stories means just constantly browsing Facebook and Flyertalk.
Luckily in those days they didn't have social media to go running to, so that there "plight" immediately became a national media story thanks to bone idle journalists who believe that researching stories means just constantly browsing Facebook and Flyertalk.
I've seen customers go berserk after legitamately being told no to their request. Or when told of a delay due to weather (you think UA scheduled a thunderstorm just to delay you?).
It it sounds like the agent didn't handle things as well as she should have. However, screaming on social media isn't the answer to everything. My guess is the passenger highly exaggerated the situation for social media and to get a payout. We haven't heard the GAs side - but the truth is likely somewhere between the two versions.
Oh, and about the photo of the GA, isn't it against UA policy to take photos of UA employees without their permission?
Jun 9, 2017, 12:12 pm
#68
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But the facts - as shown by the picture UA took (see link in OP's post) - is that United was in the wrong here, and that it happened to (a) a 1K, and (b) a chinese tennis player, is just horrible PR.
This story will be spread all over China, adding to the Doa incident. And don't think this does not matter, as UA said of their May 2017 traffic performance:
"the Pacific region is experiencing incremental weakness due to unfavorable supply and demand dynamics in China and Hong Kong."
United only said this - they don't normally comment on revenue in their monthly reports - as the impact is clearly material.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 9, 2017 at 12:57 pm Reason: Discuss the issues, not the poster(s)
Jun 9, 2017, 12:18 pm
#69
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There are closets, and besides it's often possible to 'tetris' oddly-shaped items into the overhead.
The ultimate question is whether or not the plane will go on time with all passengers and bags aboard. Starting an argument with someone whose bag is outside the norm but possibly within the rules doesn't seem to increase odds of that happening.
The ultimate question is whether or not the plane will go on time with all passengers and bags aboard. Starting an argument with someone whose bag is outside the norm but possibly within the rules doesn't seem to increase odds of that happening.
For example, a golf umbrella would be within policy and a good case for going in the closet.
In this case the passenger was trying to bring oversized luggage into the cabin. That is a violation of the terms. Period.
Jun 9, 2017, 12:25 pm
#70
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They have a policy allowing tennis rackets as carry on. I've done it multiple times without issue. How else is one supposed to travel with rackets? They are way too prone to damage to travel in checked luggage.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 9, 2017 at 1:03 pm Reason: Discuss the issues, not the poster
Jun 9, 2017, 12:28 pm
#71
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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?
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?
There's no excuse for the UA agent's behavior here.
Jun 9, 2017, 12:29 pm
#72
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Sure, no problem with making closets available to elites as long as their item is within policy in the first place.
For example, a golf umbrella would be within policy and a good case for going in the closet.
In this case the passenger was trying to bring oversized luggage into the cabin. That is a violation of the terms. Period.
For example, a golf umbrella would be within policy and a good case for going in the closet.
In this case the passenger was trying to bring oversized luggage into the cabin. That is a violation of the terms. Period.
The policy exists to make sure not every flight is an exception case. However, when an exception case arises, dogmatic insistence on rules doesn't count as customer service.
Jun 9, 2017, 12:40 pm
#73
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Jun 9, 2017, 12:44 pm
#74
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If it were the case, she should have handled it and made sure she was compliant prior to getting to the gate. If this occurred prior to the start of boarding, then yeah, the fire drill should be permitted considering she is 1K. After the start of boarding, all bets are off... you don't get to delay others (who may also be UA elites) because of your poor planning.
Jun 9, 2017, 12:48 pm
#75
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If the agent had made an effort to make it work, and if failing that had sympathetically insisted the bag needed to be checked, I doubt there would have been any facebook post.
The policy exists to make sure not every flight is an exception case. However, when an exception case arises, dogmatic insistence on rules doesn't count as customer service.
The policy exists to make sure not every flight is an exception case. However, when an exception case arises, dogmatic insistence on rules doesn't count as customer service.
