An open letter to US Airways

by Mike Barish on

I just got back from spending a week visiting a friend in Puerto Rico. Considering I am tan, well-rested and had perfect weather, I guess it was a successful trip. But it was almost derailed from the very beginning when US Airways lost my luggage.

You see, I was forced to check my luggage because the overhead compartments were full. When I asked the US Airways representative why people in our seating “zone” had to check our bags and not others who boarded first, he simply said, “next time book a seat in the back of the plane.” Now seems to be the right time to point out that I was seated in row 22 of a 30 row plan yet was in Zone 6 out of 7. Logic, thy name is not US Airways.

Well, the attendant quickly scribbled my flight info on the luggage ticket. And by quickly I mean sloppily. How sloppy? His SJU (San Juan, Puerto Rico) ended up looking like SJO (Juan Santamaría International, Costa Rica). Woops! Of course, no one knew where my bag was for days. Which meant that I spent New Year’s Eve in clothes purchased in San Juan and several days in a pretty ornery mood. Ultimately, my bag was found and returned and I am happy to report that I encountered several wonderfully helpful US Airways staff members along the way.

What follows is an open letter to US Airways (rest assured it has also been emailed, faxed and mailed to their Customer Relations department). I made sure to praise those who helped me. It’s only fair.

US Airways Customer Relations,

I am writing to express my great frustration and disappointment. On December 30, 2008, I departed LaGuardia airport en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico with a stop in Charlotte, NC (Flight 899 with a transfer to Flight 1568).

I attempted to board the plane at LaGuardia when my zone was called (Zone 6). At this time, I was told that the overhead compartments were full and that I would need to check my carry-on bag. When I asked the US Airways representative why people in our zone were essentially being penalized, he simply told me, “next time book a seat in the back of the plane.” However, I was in row 22 of a 30 row plane. Yet, I was in Zone 6 out of 7. Why was a seat in the last third of the plane included in Zone 6? And such a dismissive and smug response from a member of your staff is disrespectful.

I reluctantly gave up my carry-on bag to the attendant. However, because of his sloppy handwriting, my bag was sent to Costa Rica (SJO) instead of San Juan (SJU). I did not learn this for several days. In that time, I was in Puerto Rico for New Year’s with absolutely no clothing and no idea where my luggage was and if it would ever be recovered.

I made several calls to your toll-free number and found your customer service representatives to be uninformed and dismissive. My bag could not be tracked or accounted for.

Thankfully, I can say that your on-site luggage services staff in Charlotte and San Juan are professional, courteous and honest. David in Charlotte searched diligently for my bag and had the idea to check Costa Rica. He went so far as to call me back twice to assure me that he was still working on my case. Sheila in San Juan was fantastic. She called me repeatedly and even had the delivery service bring my bag to me before their scheduled deliveries. She later called me again to confirm that I had received the bag. I wish that your corporate office staff were as friendly and helpful as your airport staff.

It is absolutely unacceptable that A) my seat was in Zone 6 for boarding since it was in the back third of the plane, B) a member of your staff would give me such a dismissive explanation as to why I had to check my luggage, C) the haste and sloppiness of one of your employees would result in my luggage going to an entirely different country for several days, and D) your corporate staff is as ineffective as they are.

You should be ashamed of a situation like this. I certainly have no intention of utilizing your airline in the future. My disappointment is tempered only by the kindness of your airport staff, who showed that a little patience and humanity can go a long way.

Overall, however, your airline’s service was an embarrassment.

Sincerely,
Michael Barish

Air travel in 2008 to get worse: Tips on how to deal with it

by Jamie Rhein on

The news is not rosy for air travel in the U.S. for 2008. An article by Jeff Bailey in today’s New York Times covers the predictions that make air travel sound like something people are REALLY going to be miffed about. If we thought there were hassles in 2007, watch out. We haven’t seen anything yet.

The changes make me think we ought to rethink how we see air travel woes in order to trick ourselves into feeling better about them. Here are some psychological strategies I’ve thought of that work in other areas of life. Let’s see if the same strategies can work in this air travel situation.

Change #1 – Prices are going up.

We can either think that flights are too expensive, or give ourselves the illusion that they are cheap.

Instead of thinking that you’ll be able to snag a round-trip ticket for a screaming deal, like under $200, just say to yourself, “The flight will surely be too expensive for me.” Then add $100 or so to whatever you think the price might be. Then when you find out what the price really is, it will be, more than likely, less than what you imagined. Instead of being bummed that you can’t afford the trip –or mad that you are paying so much, you’ll think that you lucked out on a good deal.

How strategy works in other areas of life: This is similar to the when you are considering buying a new item that perhaps you don’t need, but you really, really want to have. Your significant other asks you how much it costs. You initially inflate the cost by 50% or more so that when the actual cost is reveled, it’s clear that you scored a bargain.

Change #2- Planes will be even more crowded.

To deal with crowding, expect that you will be stuck in the middle seat, or that you will not find room in the overhead bin for your own stuff. Then when you have an aisle or a window seat and there’s room for your luggage, you can count your blessings.

Also think of something worse that could be happening. Say something like this, “At least I’m not in a crowded emergency ward at a hospital with a cut on my foot that needs nine stitches.”

How this works in real life: If you are in an emergency room with a cut that needs nine stitches, you say to yourself, at least I’m not stuck on an airplane with the chance of bleeding to death because the plane is in a holding pattern.

Change #3 – There will be even MORE lost or delayed luggage.

We can get angry and frustrated or not care –and possibly feel happy about it.

Plan for your luggage to be delayed or lost. Pack clothes that you don’t want anymore so that when your luggage is lost, you’ll think, “Good riddance.” If the luggage does shows up, after you wear the items one more time, donate them to a place like Goodwill for a tax write-off. You’ll have already done the hard part–deciding which clothes to get rid of. Consider this part of an ongoing winnowing process throughout the year if you travel frequently.

Be happy that you remembered to pack an extra change of clothes and your underwear in your carry-on bag so that you’ll be looking fresh as a daisy despite the snafu. Better yet, vow to only buy new clothes when your luggage is lost or delayed so you’ll be hoping that this happens. That way you can wear something new for a change instead of wearing the same tired wardrobe over and over again.

How this works in real life: When your dog chews up a pair of your shoes, decide that you really didn’t like them anyway. Besides that, they weren’t quite so shiny, the insoles had lost their puff, the heels were wearing down, and isn’t it great to have a good reason to buy another pair of shoes?

One change I didn’t notice is if flight delays will be more or less. Let’s just say, no news is good news on this account.

The article does point out the reasons for the increase of travel woes, (Let’s just call them opportunities that give us the chance to act like our best selves under duress.) Higher oil prices are the number one reason. Consider this. Last year oil was $52 a barrel. Now it’s up to almost $100. The airlines are looking for ways to boost their profits. That’s the bottom line.

The silver lining to this cloud, and yes, there is a legitimate one. Airlines like Skybus and Virgin America may get a boost because of their cheap travel options.

TSA at Newark receives praise

by Jamie Rhein on

On December 24th, when I was at the airport in Columbus to send my mother off on Continental Airlines for a trip to see my brother in Manhattan, I heard a few announcements over the loud speaker. One was from an airline about an article of clothing left on the plane. Would the person who left it please return to the gate? Then there was an announcement about a cell phone left in the bin at security.

With travel having a hectic quality about it, leaving belongings behind is common. I hoped whoever was being beckoned heard the come hither notices and thought how nice it was that an effort was being made to reunite people with their belongings even though the loss was due to passenger error. I’ve had my own left behind incidences. Most ended happily.

According to Jaunted, TSA in Newark gets kudos for making more effort than all TSAs to make sure people hook up once more with whatever they’ve left behind. One person left a $30,000 Rolex watch. Can you imagine forgetting such a thing? I’d be sad if my Swatch watch with the butterfly on it that I bought in Hsinchu, Taiwan went missing. Come to think of it, where is that thing? The laundry room. I need this TSA in my house.

There are four people with Newark’s TSA who spend their work days helping to make the reunions happen. Most people never get their stuff back because most don’t go looking. If you ever leave anything behind, go find it. Maybe you’ll get lucky. If you’re in Newark, chances are you will. There is also a chance that Newark’s TSA methods will be implemented elsewhere since it’s been successful. Hmm, if 15% is successful and they have the best system, just think about the stockpile of stuff at airports.

RFID for Luggage: Coming To An Airport Near You?

by Martha Edwards on

Most people have a story of an airline losing their luggage. For me, it was en route to Thailand, and I was forced to spend a couple of days wearing my travelling companion’s clothing — too bad she’s about half my size. Luckily, I was prepared and brought a toothbrush, deodorant, some soap and most importantly, an clean pair of underwear with me in my carry-on.

A newish technology is being integrated into a number of airports, and is already in operation at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, as well as the Hong Kong International Airport. It’s called RFID — radio frequency identification — and it is embedded into luggage tags.

RFID works much more effectively than the current tracking device, bar codes. And while with bar codes, baggage handlers have to manually search for a bag, RFID allows them to track down the bag’s exact location. So far at McCarran, the technology has 99% accuracy in it’s read rate — the 1% being tags that are unreadable because they’ve slip under the bag handle. It’s relatively cheap too — $0.15 per tag, compared to $1.80 in 1997.

Expect to see this technology at Airports in Paris, Amsterdam, Milan and San Francisco, among others.

How Much Money Will You Get For Lost Luggage?

by Jonathon Morgan on

Starting February 28, the maximum amount airlines can be required to pay after losing your luggage will be $3,000 — $200 more than the previous limit.

But don’t get your hopes up. The chances of actually getting that much money are slim to none. Namely, because while they’ve set a max payout, the government still allows the airlines to decide how much they’ll give you in return for your missing bag and its contents.

According to travel lawyer Al Anolik, not only is the claims process difficult to navigate, its filled with rules that — not surprisingly — favor the airlines. In addition, many expensive items — like jewelry and electronic goods — aren’t eligible for reimbursement. Subsequently, payouts are a usually a fraction of the government’s limit.

Says Anolik, “They can exclude (from payment) everything but dirty underwear. It’s hard to get to $3,000 from dirty underwear.”

Have you ever tried to get reimbursed for lost luggage? Was it really that bad?