Air Travel....

[RS1976]

A certain air travel company DESTROYED my guitar case... and the axe inside was dinged up as a a result too. but the case saved its life...

 

still... not what you wanna see after being in airports all day and on the baggage carousel.

 

a damage claim was filed.

 

The baggage supervisor appologized profusely and assumed responsibility. telling me they would replace, or cover cost of any repair.

 

not til i hear the verdict of said companies Corporate Office i will say who it was and whether you can trust them with your gear even with a hardshell case. Even with proper protection and extra padding protection yada yada yada...

 

this wasnt baggage handeling... this was an act of aggression by an employee/employees.

[duane v]

Sorry to hear about that.

 

I travel heavily for my job, and I would never consider taking a guitar on a plane as checked baggage unless it was in a anvil flight case, or if I was able to bring it on the plane with me.

[brundaddy]

That blows. Good luck, bud!

[saturn]

It's a shame that the airlines sunk so low in their service and handling. I worked for an airline for many years and watched things go from good, to bad, to worse to horrible. I have friends who unfortunately for them still work at the airlines. From what I hear, it is worse than ever and the few times I have flown since leaving I can see it too in the service and way things are run.

 

When I was first hired to work the ramp back in the 80s, airlines were considered a good job with a long future and even retirement if you stayed that long. They were very picky on who was hired and we felt privileged to be working there. In those days we would always load things like musical instruments last so they wouldn't get buried by other bags and would be the first things offloaded at the other end. For the most part everyone was very careful. Sure, things still got damaged but most times it was inadvertent. When so much stuff is being loaded and transferred in such a hurry some things will get banged around.

 

The problem now is that the few old timers who used to actually care and who actually know what they're doing are so jaded and disgruntled after being kicked around so many years. They feel like since they've invested so many years working there that they won't get hired anywhere else and are just stuck and management knows this and treats them such. In short they just don't care anymore. The new hires are a total different breed for the most part. They are hired at crap wages and will never make much more and they know this. Many of them only last a few months. Good luck getting them to act like they care about anything including your guitar. Not only are they careless but you're lucky if they don't intentionally break or steal your stuff.

 

Sorry for the rant....

[SlashPerryBurst]

Sorry to hear about your axe. I recently had my own air travel related guitar dilemma. It can always be stressful and sometimes you aren't left with much of a choice.

 

Still, on the bright side, your guitar survived intact. It could have been a lot worse and maybe you'll be able to pick up something nice with the compensation.

[Rocky4]

When you pay people poorly, you get poor work. Why would baggage handlers care for what they get payed?

[SlashPerryBurst]

When you pay people poorly, you get poor work. Why would baggage handlers care for what they get payed?

 

Because at the end of the day, they are human beings capable of emotions such as guilt and remorse. I wouldn't throw about someones instrument even if I wasn't getting paid. I guess you can always hope that the baggage handler plays guitar and will be sympathetic.

[RS1976]

thanks for the kind words guys... and I tell you thus far, I'm giving the folks the benefit of the doubt. I was a stagehand for years, and know about schlepin cases etc. things may get scratched, even when on the move.. but This guitar case doesn't look like they 'stacked too much luggage on top of it"

 

this was thrown under the bus....

 

still, the airline reps have been cool thus far, and they have admitted to damaging the goods. They've also stated that they would replace the guitar. meanwhile, they might not give me MSRP (which i don't expect) but they claim to reimburse me for the actual sale price of the guitar.

 

at minimum a real ATA flight case.

 

will keep you posted

[SlashPerryBurst]

but This guitar case doesn't look like they 'stacked too much luggage on top of it"

 

this was thrown under the bus....

 

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but would you be willing to post a picture of the case? I'm getting curious as to how much damage was done.

[Rocky4]

Because at the end of the day, they are human beings capable of emotions such as guilt and remorse. I wouldn't throw about someones instrument even if I wasn't getting paid. I guess you can always hope that the baggage handler plays guitar and will be sympathetic.

 

You're a lot more optimistic about people than I am. I would never complain about my cheeseburgers when I swing by a fast food joint for fear of what might wind up on it.

[SlashPerryBurst]

You're a lot more optimistic about people than I am. I would never complain about my cheeseburgers when I swing by a fast food joint for fear of what might wind up on it.

 

True, but I don't think I could throw around someones pride and joy without feeling bad.

[pfox14]

Anvil doesn't call them "flight cases" for nothin

[heymisterk]

We've been on this topic before, and for good reason: flying in any form unless you are a bird or are incredibly wealthy pretty much blows.

 

Saturn is right: things have gone from bad to worse. I used to work at the air ramp at the MSP FedEx terminal in the mid-90s. While I know that is different from commercial air travel, I can say that we took a great deal of pride in our work. Certainly accidents happened - I once sideswiped a pickup while pulling a cargo bin - but we tried our best to do our best.

 

Everyone in flying these days, from the pilots to the passengers to to ground crew, seems p*ssed off. Frankly, in my frequent travels, I have seen as much poor behavior from passengers as I have from the airline employees. That might be the result of how people are treated, but it could also be a sign that society is, overall, ruder.

 

Sounds like your guitar was the victim of the "system!"

[Vega1]

That sucks :(

 

Sorry to hear that

[Notes_Norton]

Sorry about your damage.

 

When I fly I do 2 things:

1. Always put the instruments in ATA approved flight cases - regular hard cases aren't good enough
   
2. If I have time, send it via UPS or FedEx with a notice to "Hold For Pickup" at the office closest to the airport where I will be landing
   

 

FedEx and UPS take care of the packages better than the airlines. Their business is package shipments and they don't have a number of bags getting off one plane and on another so they pack their planes better.

 

Of course, they can mess things up too.

 

I never use DHL, IMHO they are very inferior. I could tell a couple of stories, but that would be for another thread.

[duane v]

Sorry about your damage.

 

When I fly I do 2 things:

1. Always put the instruments in ATA approved flight cases - regular hard cases aren't good enough
   
2. If I have time, send it via UPS or FedEx with a notice to "Hold For Pickup" at the office closest to the airport where I will be landing
   

 

FedEx and UPS take care of the packages better than the airlines. Their business is package shipments and they don't have a number of bags getting off one plane and on another so they pack their planes better.

 

Of course, they can mess things up too.

 

I never use DHL, IMHO they are very inferior. I could tell a couple of stories, but that would be for another thread.

 

Great advice!!!!