fastair

And that same rules states racket and balls in that bag. What happened when she opened it? Was it simply a racket and balls? No, she had exceeded that when...voila, an entire shoulder bag was in it in addition to the rackets

one uses the specifics of a rule to justify, but fails to note the specifics of that very rule were violated. No matter how you slice it, she had exceeded either by generic size, or specific rule regarding what is allowed in a racket bag. By concealing an additional piece beyond what is specifically defined.

goodeats21

Very well said. ^
The root cause of many of the issues United brings upon themselves.

It is almost like the passenger is a customer who paid money to United.

The nerve of some passengers...expecting good service?

wolf72

Well said

Tennis and Badminton rackets will snap or crack if you check them into cargo even in the existing soft carry bag. And the risk of warping is also high if subjected to heat for sufficient amount of time.

I have never in 35 years of flying seen ANYONE checking in their tennis or badminton rackets into cargo. It's always a carry on item within the tennis/badminton carry bag, regardless if it's 1 or 2 or 3 rackets.

Pro's carry 4-6 rackets and that's normal.

I don't see what the big issue is here.

Instead of just being customer friendly and letting it go, this GA has a personal axe to grind. And it's with an asian pro now....

Beating up an asian doctor wasn't enough.
Round two now huh?

Sabai

Sounds like Chapter One of Smisek's playbook.

gaobest

Not to sidetrack OP but how did your carry on for the Denver flight get resolved?

kb9522

And when the money exchanged hands, both parties agreed to a set of rules to govern the exchange. When one party ignores those rules and breaks them, there should of course be consequences. And as far as consequences go, the GAs insistence on gate checking the out of policy bag was about as mild as it gets.

What does race have to do with it?

This passenger was in violation of the carry on policy, plain and simple. You'll notice the previous sentence does not include race either directly or indirectly.

fumje

You seem completely oblivious to the concept of service. Of course no one is entitled to bend the rules; however, good service would entail politely communicating the rules and considering their ultimate purpose. This is something the CEO of United has at least verbally recognised, and supposedly is working to re-introduce into the corporate culture. It's not a question of morality, it's a question of affect.

kb9522

Flights are filled with people who try to bend or outright ignore the rules. There are simply too many people to stop and politely explain what they've already agreed to (and so presumably already read).

bobbybrown

After this incident, UA and other airlines may start enforcing their existing rule (one equipment restriction that is clearly written at many websites). Those pros will have to arrange a hard suitcase with enough buffers to protect the other rackets. The passengers should have felt grateful for employees bending the rule so far. When the existing rule is finally imposed, should have suck it up and followed the rule instead of the expose one's lack of knowledge through social media. Honestly, this is more of a fault of previous UA employees who bent the rule (so that we all miss a chance to learn the rule) than the tennis pro.

JVPhoto

As a professional that flies with expensive electronic/fragile equipment I have to adjust accordingly.
Should I expect to wheel my Pelican case onto the plane and have them put it in a closet?
If I don't want to deal with the case I then can have equipment arranged for rent/use at the destination. Or I can pack it up and ship it if that ends up being cheaper.

I get someone going on vacation that may bring a single racket with them...but just because it is someone's profession then get to go 4 to 6 fold over the allowance?

usbusinesstraveller

Someone has posted a photo of the bag before the little princess was told to check it.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

LarryJ

Yeah, that's a little large...

tcp1

I saw two high school aged tennis players with that EXACT SAME Wilson bag being forced to check at IAD last Friday. They were huge - no way they would do anything but take up 80% of a single 737 overhead unless emptied and crushed.

GAs can be cranky and mean, and it doesn't matter if the pax is a 1K - people constantly and flagrantly try to get around the carry on rules.. Peolle with sports equipment seem to be amongst the worst.. Out in DEN we constantly get snowboarders with a rollaboard, a backpack, AND a helmet/boots acting like they're not carrying on 4 items...

minnyfly

I've run into my share of CSAs that have a bad attitude or simply don't follow protocol and cause a very poor service situation. But I've not once seen one make up rules or be "aggressive" unless provoked and deemed necessary to end the confrontation.

What I have seen many times though is passengers becoming "aggressive", sometimes in the right, but often in the wrong. Who am I going to believe was right when in doubt, the GA or the passenger? The former of course. And the real news is leaking out that the passenger isn't being truthful.

Good service for all the other passengers is enforcing the carry-on rules so everyone gets a chance at overhead space. Any way you slice it, this person got caught breaking the rules and clearly didn't like being busted. That's her problem, not the airline employee's. Good service isn't "letting stuff go" when someone makes a scene.

FlyngSvyr

https://twitter.com/BrianTRusso/with_replies

a good running report from somebody that was on the flight and gives his account of the incident. VASTLY different than what was portrayed the by the "victim".

Glad someone is willing to stand up for the GA when everyone on the internet wants her fired...