It Won't Fit in the Overhead!!

On a flight last week to Richmond, a woman came aboard and attempted to put her bag in the overhead compartment.  A gentleman offered to help but she demurred.  She proceeded to make three attempts to jam the suitcase in, but failed all three times.  A fight attendant approached and offered to help.  She watched as the passenger made her third attempt and then stated the obvious, "It isn't going to fit."  The attendant then suggested that the passenger remove some of her effects and flatten the bag enough to allow it to fit.

What happened next even took me, the seasoned traveler by surprise.  The passenger opened her bag and took out .... another carry on bag!!  She removed some of the contents of the bag, stuffed it into the second bag, and parked it right next to the first bag, which now fit in the overhead compartment.

Bottom line, she turned out to be an airline employee commuting from her home base in Atlanta to her job in another city.  So that's how you get around the one bag rule!!!!!

To Be Fair: A Good Luggage Story

In the spirit of fairness, here's a story about the good side of damaged luggage. WARNING: it's boring, but it's good.

Hagarajam Sethuramah of Bangalore, India, writes in his blog of a recent trip from Detroit to Bangalore on Air France.  When he landed, his American Tourister suitcase arrived on the luggage carousel with sharp wires protruding from the area where the handle should have been, nearly drawing blood.

He immediately took it to the Air France representative in the baggage area, who immediately offered to fix the damage at their cost.  They sent a representative to his house the next day, picked up the damaged bag and returned it repaired with a new, matching handle a week later.  Kudos to Air France!  Boring!  http://www.geekytalk.snaga.net/2010/12/damaged-baggage-in-airtravel.html

A quick Non-Luggage Post - "Goodwill Hunting - Or Just Missing?"

Friday night while heading out of RIC, I heard the following conversation between 2 USAIR gate attendants, one of whom (Attendant #1) had just told a young woman that she would have to pay a full ticket change fee to get a flight to join her family to see her grandfather, who had turned seriously ill.  They talked openly in front of me as I was checking in:

Attendant #1 (to Attendant #2) - "Well, you could use some of your goodwill and give her a family medical waiver to avoid the fee."
Attendant #2 - "If I do, someone up the line will want to know more.  They'll inquire and I'll just end up getting blamed for doing the wrong thing.  IT's not worth it."
Attendant #1 - "I know, I've used up all my goodwill for many years to come."

Meanwhile, the poor young woman trying to get to her grandfather before he dies was left to wander the airport hunting for someone in USAIR who still had some goodwill left to give.

The Gorilla detests USelessAir!!!!!  

Quick, check the Philly Zoo to see if a Gorilla is missing!

Oct. 7, 2010 - PHILADELPHIA - US Airways workers loading a Bermuda-bound plane grew suspicious of another baggage handler and confronted him today.  When confronted, the man fled on a baggage-handling vehicle.  The 100+ passengers and crew were taken off US Airways Flight 1070 for more than four hours. The plane was surrounded by emergency vehicles and security dogs checked luggage spread on the ground near the jet. The flight finally left after 4 p.m.  A passenger reported that "TSA personnel, police and all kinds of guys in suits swarmed the plane.

Somewhere in Kuala Lumpur a Luggage Gorilla is Giggling

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA –  KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian man pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his bag bursting with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyer belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

A Brief (case) Tale of Woe

Let me share a brief (case) tale of woe with you. This one went down in Cincinnati. The airport there is actually in Kentucky, not unlike the D.C. airports being in Virginia. Returning home from one of the many trips that flew me over the million mile mark, I headed for the baggage claim area. Tired of lugging baggage after a particularly grueling trip, I had checked both my suitcase and my briefcase. I had rarely checked a briefcase before, and never afterward!

Luggage in Cincinnati presents itself high atop the carousels, and then drops down a steep shoot onto the oval conveyor. I quickly retrieved my suitcase and stood waiting for the briefcase to arrive. Soon, I realized that all of my fellow travelers were gone. I stood alone, with the nagging feeling that a Gorilla was watching me from some hidden peep hole, smirking and giggling, knowing what was coming next. 

Moments later, my briefcase, or the pile previously known as my briefcase, arrived at the pinnacle of the carousel. Stuffed into a plastic bin, pieces of the briefcase frame jutted out amongst the strewn contents of the case like some bizarre airport sculpture. It hovered for a moment and then came crashing down onto the belt, papers, pens, pocket change and briefcase parts scattering in every direction.

While they eventually agreed to buy me a new briefcase, they insisted on getting their plastic bin back, leaving me to my own resources to get my pile home.