"Airlines In Nepal Didn't Lose My Bag"
At last week's NBAA convention in
Atlanta, there were plenty of opinions on the reasons for the boom
in business jets. One that popped up in almost every conversation
was the continued decay of the airline travel experience.
Fact is, if you're close to making a private jet pencil out, a
few horrible days travelling through airline hubs can really help
convince you to take the step. Lost, damaged and just plain stolen
luggage is a growing part of that declining airline experience.
The US Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that June
and July ranked among with worst months in 20 years on
record-keeping for airline baggage complaints.
The Washington Post reports that over the last five years alone,
reports of mishandled bags have more than doubled -- from 3.84
reports per thousand bags handled, to 7.93.
Airlines blame a jump in the number of checked bags after the
TSA imposed restrictions on what could be in carry-ons, and
staffing levels are down due to layoffs during airline
bankruptcies.
Somewhat curiously -- given the airlines themselves made this
decision -- carriers also blame luggage woes on the abundance of
regional aircraft, which can't carry as many bags as their larger
mainline brethren.
The Air Transport Association -- lobbying group for the nation's
airlines -- was quick to make an arguably tenuous connection
between lost baggage, and the nation's aging ATC system.
"The primary reason behind mishandled bags is delayed and
misconnected flights," said ATA spokesman Dave Castelveter. "And
we're seeing record delays this summer... No airline tries to [lose
bags]... The carriers are trying the best they can given the
existing situation."
Whatever the causes, frequent fliers seem more and more aware of
the growing problem.
"It's just a disaster. They never lose my bags in other
countries," said Joshua Marcuse, a 25-year-old management
consultant and frequent traveler. "Seriously, I could be in the
jungle in Latin America, on safari in Africa, in India or Nepal.
The airlines in Nepal didn't lose my bag."
It isn't merely the great unwashed masses who are complaining.
As ANN reported, California
congressman Bob Filner... well, freaked out... when his bags failed
to arrive in a timely manner after an August flight into Dulles
International Airport in Washington, DC. The confrontation -- in
which he allegedly shoved a United Airlines employee -- resulted in
the worker filing assault charges.
"I was tired after a delayed flight and frustrated by the
subsequent further delay of the entire flight's baggage," Filner
explained.