United Airlines has done it again. The same Dave Carroll, who responded to United Airlines’ total lack of response to breaking his guitar with a series of videos, just had his checked bag lost as he flew into Denver on United.
From what I have read in published reports, there was no broken guitar this time. Only a lost bag. (Hat tip to Karen Cummings.)
It just goes to show, even when you pay extra for the airlines to take your luggage, the service is the same as it used to be when it was included in the ticket price.
When, luggage was considered free, perhaps the airlines could be excused for “losing” a small percentage of luggage as they struggled to provide a customer service. Today, however, most passengers are paying to have their luggage transported by the airline. There is no excuse for the airlines “losing” anything. Transporting these bags is now a multi-billion-dollar part of the airline industry.
Though, I feel that the baggage fees are misdirected, when the airlines take our money for transport of checked luggage, they assume additional responsibilities. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the billions of dollars being collected are being used to improve baggage service.
Here’s Dave Carroll’s second video:
If the airline industry has any information on how they have improved the baggage systems, I would love to hear them.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
