The loudspeaker announces the security warning clearly, “Do not leave your luggage with anyone else…” Yet, inevitably, someone always asks me to watch their luggage for them while they go… wherever. Once, while waiting for a connecting international flight, this lovely older person asked me to watch her one piece of carry-on luggage while she went to the restroom. Again, I apologized, and said “no.” It was obvious to me that she could have carried it with her without any problems.
This traveler insisted she wasn’t a terrorist or anything and that her luggage did not contain anything to worry about. I informed her that it wasn’t about me not knowing who SHE was, but rather SHE should worry about who I WAS. I painted the scenario in which while she was gone (and if I were unscrupulous), I could put anything into her luggage and she would end up getting blamed for it.
She then turned to the person on the other side of her and asked exactly the same favor. When that person also said no, she announced we were all rude and huffed her way through the whole ensuing flight.
Tagged as:
baggage,
security,
senior citizen
I can’t even tell you how excited I was to be heading to this particular music camp. Not only was it out of state (a big venture for someone who had been in Florida her entire life), but it was a very renowned program that would give me a ton of experience.
Seeing that it was a music camp, I brought along my violin, which would be used heavily the next five weeks. My parents called the airport several times to be sure that it could be designated as carry-on, and they said it would be fine. They even called the day of to be sure, and again, no problem.
That is, until we get there.
It was my first time flying in a plane on my own, and I was terrified. I clutched my purse, which carried a few essentials, and my violin case was strapped to my back. I had given my luggage up already, so the other two items were all I had.
As I started towards the security checkpoint, someone stops me and says, “You can’t bring that on here.” Um, what?
My parents and I tried to explain that we had asked if we could bring it — we had even given them dimensions when calling, and they approved — and that I was not getting on that plane without my violin with me. They had me *open my case* and show them the contents of my violin case. Then they started sticking their dirty hands in there. If it weren’t my grabbing the violin out before they could touch it, their grimy hands would have been all over it, shaking it about. After all, they were doing that to the rest of the case.
Eventually, they brought over their managing head, who told us again that we couldn’t bring it aboard. I was livid at this point — what did they think, that a tiny 17-year-old violinist was a terrorist and had some effed-up device hooked up to my case?
The plane was about to depart and we weren’t getting this through those dumb-ass attendants, so I saw no other option than to put my violin under with the rest of the luggage. One can imagine the level of stress I was under, both due to a 3-hour flight (when I’m already terrified of flying and *alone*) and my precious violin being stowed under the cabin.
When we landed, I watched as my case was literally thrown down the slide to the conveyor belt (so much for the “FRAGILE” stickers plastered all over the case, huh?). I quickly grabbed it and took a look at the case.
It had been opened, music had been shuffled through, my violin was no longer strapped in the case, and I was missing one of my two rosins (seriously, who steals tree sap?!). Heaven forbid the sound post had fallen, but otherwise, thankfully, my violin was in good shape. I only wish I remembered the name of the airline, as I would forever let my fellow musicians know of the hell that they put me in and to dissuade them from similar treatment.
Tagged as:
baggage,
security
Summer 2007, I flew SWA from St. Louis to Oklahoma City to attend my sister-in-law’s baby shower. The flights themselves were no problem at all.
However, when I got home and opened my bag to unpack, someone had dumped out EVERYTHING in my bag and just stuffed it all back in willy-nilly. Even my makeup and toiletries had been dumped out their their Ziploc bags and just pitched back into my suitcase.
When I complained to SWA, they said that they are allowed to search my bags at any time for any reason. I told them that if they wish to search my bags within TSA regulations, that is fine, but aren’t they required to place some sort of notice in my bag? The rep then asked me if anything was missing. I said nothing was missing, it was just a big mess and I found that to be disrespectful. The rep HUNG UP ON ME. She never gave me her name or took any of my information.
I will continue to fly SWA because their flight crews are friendly, they don’t nickel and dime with fees and the tickets are cheap, but I will NEVER check my bag with them again. And if any fellow travelers have issues with people and their carry-ons, I will refer them here.
Tagged as:
baggage,
southwest airlines
Over the 20 years that I have flown for business, it is generally the rule that after about six months I need to replace my suitcase. Baggage handling is never gentle but on one trip, shortly after buying a new suitcase, I retrieved my suitcase and it was flattened like a pancake!
So I went to the baggage people from the airline to make a claim and I got the usual bureaucratic answers – it’s not their fault, blah, blah, blah. Well, clearly evident on my red suitcase was the tire print of a 767! After I pointed that out, there was no further debate. I was issued a check within a few days. Thankfully I was on my way home when this happened.
