Outraged? No, those of us who fly suspect this kind of thing is happening at every major airport in the country. It’s the only explanation.
The Unclaimed Baggage Center would have to be ten times its size if every piece of lost luggage ended up there.
And so we see this when we pick up the morning paper: News of nearly 1,000 pieces of stolen luggage being found while police served a search warrant at a home near Phoenix.
Here are details from the Phoenix police department.
What the heck?
The Arizona Republic has the following disturbing details:
The suitcases were stacked without identification tags, the owners’ names erased from the bags they never picked up at Sky Harbor International Airport.
Detectives uncovered nearly 1,000 pieces of stolen luggage Tuesday while serving a search warrant at a home in the northwest Valley, linking the items to Keith King, who’s accused of plucking the bags off airport baggage carousels.
Phoenix police found the bags at a home in Waddell, 35 miles from the airport, many emptied – a property crime considered rare despite the flow of more than 200,000 people each day through Sky Harbor.
Police officers arrested King three weeks ago at the airport after an officer noticed him grabbing a random bag off one of the carousels. He was given a misdemeanor-theft citation and released, though police said he returned to the airport days later.
That prompted reader Joseph McNeely to make the following observation:
Remember when you used to have to match your luggage with a luggage tag!
This is outrageous to caution travelers on what to do and not do when the airlines and the airport have totally abandoned any pretense of securing the bags. Anyone at any airport can simply take your bag from the carousel and leave with it.
They are now charging you for checked bags. But they don’t want to accept responsibility for them. I barely secured my own bag on my last trip as some one removed it from the carousel … also I always put identification inside the bag, not just rely on tags. If they are found whoever finds them are without excuse as to notifying me. I even put a copy of my flight itinerary.
The airlines take your money and then by “law” are limited to pay nothing for your stuff!
That’s true. The problem is not just lax security. It’s that airlines don’t have to pay you much if they lose your luggage, or if it’s stolen.
Here’s what the government rules say about “lost” luggage:
If your bags are delayed, lost or damaged on a domestic trip, the airline can invoke a ceiling of $3,300 per passenger on the amount of money they’ll pay you. (This limit is $3,000 for flights before December 22, 2008.) When your luggage and its contents are worth more than the liability limit, you may want to purchase “excess valuation,” if available, from the airline as you check in. This is not insurance, but it will increase the carrier’s potential liability. The airline may refuse to sell excess valuation on some items that are especially valuable or breakable, such as antiques, musical instruments, jewelry, manuscripts, negotiable securities and cash.
In other words, the most an airline would pay now is $3,300. Truth is, it’s almost always significantly less.
So the airlines don’t have much incentive to safeguard your luggage, even though they now charge a fee to transport it. The government’s luggage rules are wishy-washy. Airport security, when it comes to checked luggage claims, is at best porous. (And who is responsible for the bag between the plane and the carousel, anyway?)
No wonder this happened.
Whose fault is this? Apart from the thieves who stole more than 1,000 pieces of luggage, it’s hard to find someone not to blame.
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{ 71 comments… read them below or add one }
$3,300? Ha. I recently returned from a 3-week trip to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos. During the transfer from mainland Peru to the Galapagos, one of our group’s bag never showed up. The airline (AeroGal – an Ecuadorian airline that serves the Galapagos) confirmed that it was loaded on the plane in Quito, but was not unloaded from the plane in the Galapagos. They couldn’t find it anywhere. So what…did it get dropped en route?
The bag contained all the clothes the couple were planning on wearing for the week that we were in the Galapagos. (We’d stashed the bulk of our luggage at a hotel on the mainland and only took what we needed for the week.) They were given an allowance of $60 for the COUPLE to buy clothes to wear for the entire week we were in the islands. Then they were told that they would be given a grand total of $300…even though they had clothes and other items in that bag that were worth well over $1000. But not for a while…not until the airline can decide that it’s really lost.
It’s now been a few weeks, and the bag has not shown up. They have still not received anything other than that $60…and no date for when the airline might really want to accept that the bag is gone.
Rediculous. But what are you going to do, when it’s a foreign airline?
well in Vancouver BC you can take anyones bags that you want, no security no problems, just dress well and act like you came off the plane. ( thats what the video showed when my bags got stolen). However in Mexico City you need a claim ticket to get your bags or the police officer will not take it. First world security or third world security. first world doesn’t care what happens to your bags as long as they arrive to the airport, never mind the right person at the baggage carousels.
LEEANNE shame shame racist foreign airline ; good grief Gee I adore traveling on so many of them; believe it or not some are really better than American ones.
Christopher, I appeal to you once again to clean up the mess in your comments forum. Please delete Barbie’s hostile comment directed at me.
Barbie…using the term “foreign” is not racist under any known definition of this word. It is simply a statement of fact: I am an American. The airline is Ecuadorian. Hence, to me it is a foreign airline. I cannot see how my post is “shameful” on any level. But your continued hostility in this forum certainly is.
You stated in your last post that you would stop reading my posts. Please follow through with your promise.
Barbie45, what part of LeeAnne’s story made you think “racist”?
James – that is a very interesting observation. When I think about it, in my most recent travels the ONLY airports in which I have been asked to show my luggage check ticket to claim my bags have been in less-developed countries!
Los Angeles, Burbank, Miami – no one asked. No one was even there.
Lima, Peru – had to show the tickets
Quito, Ecuador – had to show the tickets
Bali, Indonsia – had to show the tickets
Stockholm, Sweden – no one asked. No one was looking.
Hmmmm….very interesting! And SCARY!
@LeeAnne and @Barbie please stop reading each others’ comments. This will solve the problem you are currently having.
Ratchet back a little, Barbie. I don’t think Leeanne was being racist. The truth is, U.S. laws of compensation don’t apply to foreign airlines, and there isn’t much a U.S. citizen can do to put pressure on them. If a U.S. airline screws up, at least we have some recourse, such as the FTC, FAA, our congressional representatives, and of course, Chris here. Or, if the airline (like British Airways) has a corporate office here, there might be something they can do. But an airline in another country follows the laws of its own country, and the passengers simply have to play the waiting game.
The subject at hand is lost baggage. I try to never check a bag, but pack wisely so I have a carry-on that meets the size and weight standards. I don’t check bags if I can possibly avoid it.
In Huntsville, it’s all pretty casual. Anyone can park in the deck, walk into the terminal, go straight to baggage claim and pull a bag off the carousel, walk out and go home. No checks, no safeguards. Just walk off with the bag and act like it belongs to you.
Considering the fact the couple had over 1,000 bags at their home, this would be a funny stupid criminal story if those bags didn’t represent a lot of people who lost their belongings. I wonder what they were going to do with all the bags: go to the world’s longest yard sale next year? Good grief.
Christopher – it will not solve the problem of having hostile and hate-speech-filled comments in your forum. If you don’t see a problem in having these comments appear here, then this is not the type of forum in which I wish to participate.
You have received many accollades about the high calibre of your comments section. People in your industry have noticed, and mentioned, that your readers generally appear to be intelligent people with excellent communication skills who bring up valuable issues in their enlightening discussions. I hate to see that trend be marred by one angry frequent contributor. Please, can you just delete hostile, attacking posts? That’s what most forum moderators do, rather than allow the offenses to continue and tell the aggrieved parties to just “ignore” their attackers.
In 2006, when I arrived in Tampa, our luggage never came across the carousel (sp?) except for one bag. So we went over to the baggage office to see if it was there or if we needed to report it missing. It was sitting right there in front of the office. According to them, it arrived on an earlier flight. We didn’t have to show a baggage claim ticket, id, airline ticket or anything to get it. We asked and they said no so we just grabbed it and left. I felt very lucky that someone had pulled it off and brought it over to the office without taking anything and that no one took it from the office since they apparantly could have!
@LeeAnne, I’m conflicted about this. Deeply conflicted. Are you asking me to delete all of Barbie’s posts? To ban her from commenting further?
Does anyone have any recommendations? I mediate disputes for a living, but am honestly at a loss with what to do about this one.
I’ve already communicated with Barbie, and her position is that you are being unreasonable.
For the record, I don’t agree with what everyone says in the comments. And I don’t think they would be interesting if we all agreed. Still, I have to insist on some civility.
Living in Phoenix, this is quite the topic of conversation. Sky Harbor has stated they used to have someone who checked baggage claim tagss, but the position was eliminated due to budget cuts. Now I can just see the potential lawsuits!
In this day and age, it wouldn’t be that hard to match the tags on luggage and claim slips with some kind of electronic reader, but I guess this is one more reason to travel light and only use carry-ons.
Christopher – thank you for taking this seriously…although I certainly don’t wish to be part of something that is causing you deep conflict. It appears we want the same things – basic civility in your forum.
I’m sure that Barbie feels I’m being unreasonable. But I really do believe that the answers are all here for you – just go back and look at her last 30 or so posts. Many of them are objectionable on a number of levels:
1. Attacking mothers for nursing their babies on planes
2. Saying that all Hasidic Jews are “obnoxious”
3. Characterizing a man who she knows nothing about, other than the fact that he has “appears” Middle Eastern, as a terrorist who belongs to Al Queda.
4. Saying to your client who found herself in an uncleaned hotel room “I do not believe your stupidity”
5. Sarcastically telling a mother of a 3 year old how happy she is that she won’t get stuck with her and her child on a plane
6. Saying in that same comment thread “This guy was a complete idiot”
Are any of these comments offering anything of value to your forum? Can you not see the negativity that such comments bring? Is this type of behavior really what you want on your site?
I responded to her posts because I felt obligated to, especially in regards to the hate-speech. If we allow people to denigrate entire groups of people for their religion or ethnicity, is that not us being complicit? As for her snipey (and completely irrational and nonsensical) comment directed at me personally…well, I hope you can understand why I responded, and asked you to delete it.
I will happily never respond to one of Barbie’s posts again…provided she stops with the nastiness. But if she directs her nastiness at ME, I feel I have no choice but to respond.
I would happily discuss this with you personally. You should have my email address from my posts…it asked me to include it, although it doesn’t appear with my post, so I must assume you have access to it. If not, please let me know and I will email it to you.
In the meantime, I don’t think any of this discussion adds a single thing of value to your site. If I were you, I would delete all of Barbie’s offensive posts – and all of mine in response. Do you think anyone else is interested in this pissing match? I doubt it. Heck, even I’m not interested! ;-) But I brought all this up because I feel obligated to. We all need to fight this type of unacceptable behavior. You know the saying – when good men do nothing….
Chris-
I thought I’d throw my two cents in, in case it helps.
I don’t spend much time in the forums and have never read comments from either Barbie or LeeAnne. I agree with the others that have already posted here that Barbie’s comment was over the line. I fail to see how anything LeeAnne said was racist and that is not a word that should be thrown around lightly. Differing opinions are what forums are about. Insults, name calling, and immature behavior is nothing more then childish bullying. If someone can not have an intelligent conversation about a topic they disagree on, then they do not have the right to post. Insults are inappropriate, no matter the topic. We are all grown ups, after all.
“@LeeAnne and @Barbie please stop reading each others’ comments. This will solve the problem you are currently having.”
Haha, this sounds like something right out of “Flight Attendants Secret Guide to Avoid Dealing with Annoying Passengers” – which in turn could have been copied directly from “How to Handle Cranky 5-Year-Olds”.
Suggestion: Report-this-comment buttons.
The most interesting part of this story to me is that this occurred at Sky Harbor… the only airport I’ve been to that has asked to see my claim stub when I proceed to leave the baggage area so it could be matched with the name/ticket on the bag.
I don’t know how frequently they do this anymore, but over the dozens of times I’ve flown in the there, I always made sure to hold onto my claim stub in case asked… and on more than one occassion I have. (granted I haven’t flown in there in probably 4 or 5 years so things might have changed)
When two additional people (“Jennifer the other one” and “Chicky”) also comment on the nature of a person’s response, it seems like time to call for a time out. IF I ran the world, I would edit out the initial comment (“shame shame …racist” ) and for the sake of clarity, the few words referring back to it in these and LeeAnne’s comments so the rest of us are not confused by the edits.
If it’s not profane (just a hostile or attacking post), it should stay. Everyone should be free to post things that make them look like fools, and the person being attacked has no obligation to respond to such silliness. The easily-offended may not want to post comments on the internet, period — regardless of the site.
@Anna – what confuses me, to be honest, is the fact that this forum lately seems to lack ANY moderation. When you post a comment it doesn’t appear immediately – there is a message that says “your comment is awaiting moderation”. But does any moderation actually occur? Can anybody say anything at all in here, no matter how offensive?
@Christopher – I’m just curiouis: do you moderate this forum, in terms of deleting offensive comments?
I am sorry this is upsetting you…believe me, it’s upsetting to me too. I would like nothing more than to see all basic rules of civility followed here, but the realities of the internet are that public forums often do draw objectionable comments. The best, most valuable public forums are those in which a moderator maintains control, and deletes posts that would be deemed by most readers as offensive. I’ve been following your blog for a long time, and this is the first time I’ve seen really offensive posts appear. Again, I just want to say that I appreciate your taking this seriously, and look forward to fewer of these appearing here in the future.
I tend to agree with Aimee. I follow the forum fairly regularly, commenting occasionally, and it seems to me that the appropriate response is to implement the same guidelines that are often enforced at other sites–namely, that attacks directed at another person are not permitted. Neither are potentially incendiary remarks (such as “all Canadians are terrorists”) Usually a first-time offense is a warning, and future offenses lead to banning.
From what I’ve seen, the issue began with LeeAnne taking offense at barbie’s comments in one thread. At that point, it probably would have been more appropriate to email Chris (or use the report-this button suggested by Anna) and ask that he speak to barbie, rather than engage in directly. If Chris felt the comments were inappropriate, he could have deleted them, asked barbie to refrain from making such comments, or taken other action as he deemed necessary. If Chris did not find the comments inappropriate…well it’s his website and his blog.
At this stage, I think Chris needs to implement some clear guidelines for posting (i.e., no personal attacks against another poster, such as calling them racist) and all parties need to move on.
Barbie: Shut up! No one really cares about your stupid comments. If you have something valuable to write, please do so, but not this crap that’s better suited for trolling forums. Troll!
I agree.
OK, new rule, going forward: No more personal attacks.
Report the offender to me. I’ll delete the post.
Barbie’s comments do often seem overly confrontational. I realize that not everyone is going to agree, but it is possible disagree with respect. Some sort of button that we could push if we find a comment helpful or unhelpful might be of use as well.
Christopher – I respectfully request that you delete Barbie’s comment in which she bizarrely calls me a racist for using the word “foreign”. Gracias.
reading this type of story reminds me why i always pack light and carry-on…however, this then contributes to the issue of fighting for overhead bin space…
Chris, are you now the arbiter of what is or is not racist? Or if someone feels a comment by another poster is racist then no one is ever allowed to comment about the percieved racism? I just wanted to mention some general considerations in favor of allowing free speech in this case.
@Charline – I WISH I didn’t have to check my bags. I would love to be able to carry everything I need in a small bag that would fit under the seat in front of me, so I didn’t have to participate in the jockeying-for-space-in-the-overhead-bin wars.
However, a lot of my travel involves SCUBA diving. And I have no choice but to bring my own gear. (Don’t even suggest renting – I tried that just recently in the Galapagos, and was given a defective BCD and almost died!) SCUBA gear is heavy and bulky, and I have to check it. My biggest fear is that it will get lost when I am on a trip that is solely for SCUBA diving. Then I will have no choice but to rent substandard gear, literally putting my life at risk. And it’s also WAY more expensive than I could probably get back if it got lost.
It’s a gamble. But what are our options? This story just serves to remind me how MUCH of a gamble it is. That is not a good feeling.
Hi to all:
This is my first time, on this webpage, and i see the comments back and forth
very unpleasant.
I’m interested in the news of the lack of security at the US airports since i travel many times a year.
I am Mexican, and travel to Mexico city and other parts of South America, and the security in the so called “third world countries” is much better than the US and some other airports in Europe.
It might be just might be that calling third world countries might be racist….
Thanks
Estuardo
@Citizen, no. If Barbie had said, “You are a stupid racist” then it would have been a personal attack. I’m not sure if simply calling someone a racist — whether true or not — is a deletable offense.
wow, just wow… I feel bad for you Mr. Elliott. I mean i skimmed the content of the comments, and as far as I can see its a misspeak thats been blown out of preportion…
As for the checked luggage subject (which is what we’re SUPPOSED to be commenting on) I think that the airlines should consider investing in electronic tags that track the luggage. I mean its expensive technology, but even if its an optional thing (which i’m sure alot of people will take that option, even with a fee attached) It would definatly help keep lost luggage to a minimal, and besides electronic tags can be reused so my thinking (which knows very little about technology or the airlines luggage systems so dont attack what I say, pleaseits just my personal opionion) is that it could be a good investment for airlines in the long run, as well as a good investment for travellers who have no choice but to travel with expensive stuff.
Ronda – it’s not a misspeak. There is a history here that many who viewed this comment thread did not know about. Barbie posted some undeniably racist comments in earlier articles, and objected to being called out on it. Her little post here was simply her way of getting back at me – by calling ME a racist. You’d have to have read more of her posts to understand her idiom (she doesn’t write in standard Queen’s English).
But don’t worry – Christopher has it all under control now. :-)
I WISH the airlines would invest in some form of technology that would do a better job of keeping the belongings we PAY them to transport for us safe, and provide a better guarantee that they will actually provide the service for which we paid (namely, transport our bags and give them back to us.) But I think that’s about as likely as expecting them to start giving us free, edible meals.
Well, how about a constructive suggestion? Cordon off the baggage claim area and have security checking your boarding pass from an arriving flight. Don’t have a boarding pass from a just arrived flight? You don’t get into the claim area.
One of the problems is that from 20 feet away, most rolling bags look the same. As for me, I dress my bag up like a Christmas tree. Bright tape on the handle. A neon red and yellow label taped to the bottom. If I could actually put flashing lights on it, I would. I know instantly when that bag comes thru the luggage “doggie door” and I keep my eye on it until it gets to me.
Seems to me that someone could come up with a “Luggage Lo-Jack”.
We pay the Airport usage fee. The Airlines deliver the luggage to the airport belt. Airport security should be responsible, like in any other “third world country”….have a security personnel to check the tags, and claim ticket.
Personally, I miss the paramilitary guards with machine guns that are posted in European airports. We gave that a run right after 9/11, but it seemed to decrease most people’s sense of security instead of increase. I’m sure a guy dressed in black fatigues with BFG9000 would have deterred these thieves.
Because I can’t keep my mouth shut, I do want to comment on the other “issue” circulating.
How ridiculous is it to expect/insist that Chris personally moderate this forum? While I certainly agree that there are some out-of-line comments (especially the earlier Hasidic Jew generalities that were made), I think that the forum should be able to moderate itself. Perhaps the previously mentioned “report this comment” feature should be implemented. That way, if enough people are offended by a comment that is not contributing to the discussion, that comment can more easily be flagged for deletion.
Fortunately, as Chris mentioned, we don’t always all agree on issues. And often, people feel very passionate about their opinions. I find reading “dissenting” opinions very interesting, as, although I may not agree with the opinion, it does open my mind to the way other people are thinking. And discussion of issues is always healthy, even when it is obviously the two (or three or four or five) sides will never agree.
Unfortunately, there are people that, due to ignorance or maliciousness, make generalizations of people of different races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, etc. Perhaps the people have had bad experiences with one member of one of these groups and have, due to ignorance, assumed everyone in that group must act the same way. Their minds just need to be opened to the wonderful diversity of people that exist. We are particularly fortunate here in the US, especially in larger cities or university neighbourhoods, that there is such a lovely kaleidoscope of peoples of different backgrounds. By spending more time with people who are different from us, we can better understand both what makes us similar as members of the human race, as well as all the interesting and special cultural artifacts that make us different.
Unfortunately, there are people who refuse to be accepting of persons different than themselves, even after we in the forum (or others in the real world) politely (or not so politely lol) point out that we are offended by someone’s characterization of a group of people. For comments by these people (and I agree that it is generally limited to a couple of “frequent flyers” in this forum), this community should be able to moderate itself. We can politely point out an offense (“soandso, I find your characterization of this group of persons to be a stereotype” for example). And, if the answering comment from “soandso” is not an apology/explanation and is instead a personal attack on someone, we, as a community, can choose to not respond to the commenter’s continued ignorance.
We have a great community here, with only a few exceptions. People who frequent any other online community will probably admit that the boards/comments are full of what people refer to as “Trolls”. These people have nothing better to do than to try and instigate problems by baiting the boards with insensitive comments.
The best way of handling a “Troll” is to stop feeding it Troll Cookies – i.e., don’t respond to the ignorance or you end up sounding so yourself.
And, now, I really want real cookies, but I am stuck here in a hotel in Massachusetts. LOL Go Yankees.
I witnessed someone stealing my luggage once in ATL. I tried to stop them and called to a rent a cop for help but he was too busy texting on his cellphone. Hope that guy enjoyed two weeks worth of dirty clothes!
I read the first comment from LeeAnne, she finish her post with this:
Rediculous. But what are you going to do, when it’s a foreign airline?
With this last comment you imply that all non US based Airlines are not good
Let me tell you the best airlines are not US based….please find the reviews, you can find them in a lot of websites. it might be that you are used to fly in US airlines, have you fly with first rate “foreign” airlines, Emirates, Lan, Aeromexico. Singapore, etc.
Just my 2 cents worth. As they say
Estuardo
There are many things that are done in an unreliable manner:
-checking and retrieving bags
-returning library books to the “bin”.
-returning rented videos to the “bin”.
I also notice that hotels, cruise lines, etc. do not carefully watch bags that are entrusted to them. How often have you seen a pile of unattended bags sitting in a hotel or outside one…or by a ship?
These companies do not take good enough care of the things they are entrusted with. Bags need to be “checked in” and “checked out”.I’m very uncomfortable with the way it is done now.
Of course, there seems to be a general lack of customer concern and care in most industries now. For example, last time my new expensive FORD vehicle was serviced at a FORD dealership, they left it unlocked. I thought it was a mistake and got upset..they led me to believe that they do this normally. Then the salesman says not only that, but he leaves the keys in his vehicle out in the lot.
No wonder thieves profit so handsomely. There is a huge crop of uncaring and not very wise people out there.
Since this forum is about airline bags, I’m going to advocate that they get a better system in place. However, if you look around you, as I’ve mentioned, the airlines are not the only foolish ones. It is a rather large “club”.
I have to side with LeeAnne, Liz, Anna, Aimee, etc. – barbie45 does not contribute anything helpful or meaningful to your website. Since this is your blog, you have COMPLETE DISCRETION as to who posts here and how far each poster can go before crossing the line of civility.
It’s one thing to write “I disagree with LeeAnne’s position because I find it harbors a prejudice against that country’s people…” and quite another to write “LEEANNE shame shame racist foreign airline…”
The reason I enjoy your comments section so much is that I DON’T have to read hateful back-and-forth nonsense about Obama being Hitler, Republicans being Nazis, Democrats being terrorists, LeeAnne being racist, and posters constantly writing stuff like “Barbie: Shut up! No one really cares about your stupid comments.”
The level of discourse and information in your comments section are something for you to be proud of. So don’t let one or two bad apples spoil the barrel. You’re not the U.S. Government censoring a citizen’s right to free speech, but rather a moderator using his discretion to keep the message boards he OWNS clean and civil.
Look at it this way…if you delete all the hateful comments and block the I.P. addresses of belligerent posters, no one will ever know – because their rude and useless posts won’t be seen! Gotta love circular logic :)
All I know is this, I just spent about 10-15 reading these CHILDISH posts, and that is 10-15 I cannot have back. Are you sure you 2 are adults and not in junior high school. The worst part is, I only got to see the 2nd half of the argument, since I assume Chris did in fact delete the derogatory comments in question. It’s not like anyone knows who you are. Say what you want. What ever happened to free spech?
Chris- If in fact you did delete Barbie’s earlier posts, I think it’s only fair to remove ALL comments from EVERYONE regarding that issue. What’s the point in leaving them up if we can’t see how it started?
Chris, regarding Anna’s comment on reporting: since you’re using WordPress, there are various reporting comment plugins for that if you search in WP’s plugins site. A user clicks the button, you get the report, then you do the rest.
Happy blog comment moderating. He he.
Ronda great idea; some sort of electronic device; I am curious about the airlines reports on lost baggage; once again good idea not to pack valuables or medication in a checked baggage.
http://www.reuniteit.com/luggage-security.aspx
Lojack for luggage is available.
[LeeAnne] Rediculous. But what are you going to do, when it’s a foreign airline?
[Estuardo] With this last comment you imply that all non US based Airlines are not good.
@Estuardo. No, this is an unwarranted hyperextension. Dealing with foreign companies can be nearly impossible for a “normal person” — you don’t know the law, you don’t know your rights, and suddenly none of them speaks English/any other common language. Foreign in this context does not exclusively mean non-US. For the record, my favourite airline is Swiss.
Back to the luggage problem.
Why is there no control in US airports? Is it a pass-the-blame game? The airlines think it’s the airports’ job, the airports think it’s the airlines’ bags? I’m surprised it’s cost-effective in the long run — are they that good at deflecting lost property claims? Or is it not really that big of a problem anyway?
In days of yore, DTW had people comparing baggage tickets to those stapled to your boarding pass. It was a good system. I have a feeling that budget cuts are responsible. Since they are now charging to check luggage, it seems reasonable that the airlines bear more responsibility for checked luggage.
@Estaurdo
I think you misunderstood LeeAnne’s point. Its not that US airlines are all good or that non-US airlines are not good. Its that as an American, you have far more leverage against a bad US airline than you do over a comparably bad non US Airline.
@Chris
My two cents regarding moderation.
I think that an objectionable post is one that impugns that character and dignity of one of the members. Thus, Barbie’s calling LeeAnne Racist would fall solidly in the objectionable arena. Those types of invective do not advance the discussion but makes it personal. It is appropriate to vigorously debate an issue, but personal attacks simply distract.
Carver;I reallly would like to drop the whole argument; however in my defense,I did not begin it; The postings happened several mounths ago in regard to survey what most annoys you about your fellow airlines travelers; I responded and and was critized very harshly; Ialso responded to another post concerning a persons post about an unpleasant group which ruined her flight; Again a tirade about my racist attitude was posted; I resented beingi called a racist as it has very many connotations; I do not apperiate phrases being taken out of context. I intend to drop it but need to insert a word in my defense.
@ Chris (Elliott)
If you are still reading this, here are my 2 cents…
I have been reading your blog from day 1. One of the main reasons I read it on an almost daily basis is because of the intelligent and often insightful reader comments. Often, (no offense to you) I have learned as much from some of the reader comments as the initial story. Unfortunately, like all other blogs/discussion forums on the Internet, eventually pathological personalities make their way in. I agree that there has been a pattern (not sure if it is a trend or not), of more hostile comments and off-topic comments. So far, it has not detracted from reading your articles, but I find myself skipping over some of the comments.
Issue #1: The best solution is to IGNORE it. I think your initial suggestion of “ignoring” the posts is a good one. If EVERYONE ignored “barbie45″’s initial post, none of this would be an issue. The person behind “barbie45″ would simply go away and move on. In that sense, I feel that “LeeAnne” is partially responsible for this becoming a nagging issue. This is true on most discussion boards. Some people just want to post inflammatory comments to incite drama. I believe there is even a name for it “a troll”
Issue #2: Who is actually behind these posts? One of the limitations of the software is that just about anyone can post using any name. I remember a few month ago when Paula from Southwest airline posted a response about “lost luggage” I sent you a private e-mail asking how we could verify that it was actually someone from WN, vs someone pretending. You have access to IP traces, so you can reasonably tell if Barbie45 today is the same as Barbie45 from 3 months ago. The rest of us can’t. I won’t discount the possibility that either the same person is using different names to post, or someone is pretending to be someone else.
Issue #3: The actual post that Barbie45 wrote is “shame shame racist foreign airline” Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t see anywhere in that post where Barbie is calling LeeAnne racist. Yes the post is made in poor taste, is completely USELESS from an informational statement, and is mocking LeeAnne. But I think many readers are stretching it a bit. Should it be removed… probably not. Again, I think several readers added fuel to the fire by acknowledging it.
Issue #4: Solutions? Here are a couple of possibilities
a) Does your software allow “registered” users? ie, everyone has to create a login/password to post. This will reduce the number of drive-by posts. The disadvantage of this is that one of the reasons why I love posting on your site is because of the ease of posting. Most newspaper sites require putting in so much information I just pass on posting.
b) Temporarily close comments if a discussion starts getting too hot. (ie allow the discussion to cool down) It works on the message board that I help moderate
c) Do IP flags on members who continue to post inflammatory or detracting remarks and not allow them to post. The risk of this is that if someone uses a public access point like the library or public site, it may become a problem
d) Have verified users (ie people who post on a regular basis). This again, will help me identify who’s comments I want to read and who’s comments I may ignore
Issue #5: So what do you moderate? This is really tough, because if you start removing posts, someone could always “accuse” you of censorship (we know that isn’t true). The litmus test that we use on our boards is a) is the post promoting something illegal, unethical or immoral (yes, its still subjective), and b) does it promote a commercial activity where the poster has a financial interest in
Again, I don’t know if you will be reading this. I had considered sending you a direct e-mail, but I thought I’d share my comments with the entire site.
Chris in NC
The very fact that we are now paying the airlines to handle our luggage to me means that they have an added responsibility to ensure the safety of said luggage and to deliver it to me at my final destination at the same time I arrive. They are collecting all that extra revenue from the bags – you’d think they could find it in their budget to pay a couple of security people to check either for a valid boarding pass in order to enter the baggage claim or to compare luggage claim tags to the bags upon exit.
I predict that this story will lead to just that. In the meantime, I hope our checked bags all make it down to Miami and back next week.
Estaurdo; I agree that several foreign airlines are superior in many cases to American airlines in regard to food.comfort,and ambience. The airlines you stated have recieved glowing reports from several of my friends; I like Air France and EL AL.