I think I'm missing something... how are they distorting the broad facts of Carroll's case?

I think it's sad that it takes something so drastic (or the shadow of something so drastic) to get an airline's attention.

@Englishee Teacher: My understanding is that Carroll doesn't want compensation at this point, let alone a new guitar, but they wrote:

He hopes the trilogy ends with a song about his new guitar, provided by the airline.

That's a big misstatement.

if dave carroll's song gets the airlines to start compensating for justified damages, i say people who get airlines to replace their stuff could do him a favor by chipping in for a new guitar. or just because people can always use cash

Here's a unique and different idea for all you companies out there. Rather than break into your lie and deny routine why not admit when your wrong and make good on the situation? If you want to save some real money work on eliminating the problem rather than sticking it to your customer.

Every customer you jerk around and make angry tells their story to at least 5 people. And in some cases 5 million people in a you tube video. It takes years and millions of dollars to establish a reputation and just a few seconds to loose that reputation by trying to take advantage of that one customer.

Since when did they start teaching people in Business School it was ok to lie and to unfairly take advantage of their customers? Maybe this is why our economy is so screwed up right now.

I may be missing something, but haven't people seen what happens to luggage through the plane window? I'm not sure I would ship a guitar in anything less than a plastic hard-sided pelican-type case. Properly packed, I've been able to ship just about anything with me. (I know, stop blaming the OP, etc...) But people, use your brains!

We had issues with Sunwing in 2007 when a couple of our bags came back torn and marked. Given the runaround on their claim process, we wound up w/ a 50 dollars off Sunwing coupon..

Imagine what would be happening these days if Dave's song was called "United Breaks Laptop Computers"...

@Laura Northrup: Agreed, it's a huge misstatement. They have already offered him compensation (after the song was released) and he asked United to donate it to a charity of their choice instead.

@keeper1616: Doesn't make it okay, especially since the airlines don't seem to be denying that luggage is being thrown around. Also, from the original story, it doesn't seem as if the throwing was the usual toss from truck to conveyer belt....they were repeatedly throwing items onto the tarmac.

note to self: short Sunwing Airlines stock.

Sadly, the airlines problems with breaking guitars, laptops and anything else that people fly with is almost impossible to solve. They would have to find employees that give a #$&%.

@gttim: Yeah. Who care more about being nice to luggage than getting everything on the plane in time so that everything is on schedule.
Which makes me wonder: how much time do they have to load a plane and how many planes does an individual gate see a day?

@Laura Northrup: Is it possible that they're just behind? I was under the impression that the goal was originally to get the guitar replaced, but once the song was a hit he decided not to accept it? Maybe I just misread the original article.

@NewsMuncher: There's an episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike does luggage handling. They tell him their normal time frames, but I completely forget what it was now.

@Englishee Teacher: I think the writer was worried more about being cute with words than the facts in this sentence. Sometimes they just want to be to cute.

@JustinSane07:

I remember that. He had to crawl around inside the plane and the tag codes were nearly incomprehensible to a newbie. It's amazing anyone's luggage gets anywhere.

Is anybody still surprised when their fragile stuff is broken on an airline?

My friend is a baggage handler at an airline and he tells me horror stories of disgruntled employees routinely throwing bags specifically because they say "fragile" or "handle with care".

If you can't trust a person making $12/ hour at the tail end of an 11 hour shift in 100 degree heat breathing jet fumes while watching people come and go from vacation, who can you trust?!

I couldn't imagine putting a valuable musical instrument in the hands of baggage handlers without encasing it in some very protective packaging. We used to use Zero Halliburton cases when shipping lenses just for the peace of mind, and that was when airlines actually seemed to care about customers. This is clearly the airline's fault, but the OP should take some precautions as well, if for no other reason to avoid the inconvenience of having to deal with the claims process.

@jamar0303: I had to drag a broken suitcase into an airline's office to get them to compensate me. Despite photos (theirs and mine) and documentation signed by the airline staff and myself at the airport, and their promise to contact me within two weeks, I received no response after a month despite me calling them four times.

I walked in, plunked the case on the empty counter in front of the clerk with the foot long rip facing her. Documentation in hand, I asked why I had gotten no response from them. Rather than admit laziness, they processed the claim.

Once I had the cash, I handed them the case to keep. They were not happy, so I said plainly, "You broke it, you bought it." They didn't contact me afterward.

@H3ion: I have one of those cases that three baggage handlers could jump up and down on and probably still not damage the guitar. But I'd still be nervous even checking that. The temperature change alone can't be good for instruments.

@frank64: I wouldn't know anything about that. *wide, innocent eyes*

@keeper1616: That doesn't matter, for two reasons:

1) You're not allowed to lock your case, and
2) Airline employees are more curious than a pack of marmosets

I checked in my Epiphone hollow body curbside last year on a trip, only to watch with horror (after I'd gone inside and was looking out the window) as the skycap opened my SKB case and started strumming my baby with his dirty mitts.

@#$(*&@$#!!!!!!!

I don't even want to think about what they do in the baggage handling areas, away from prying eyes.

@brittedward:

Very good point!

While I'm not all for unions in the airlines (or any critical business sector, such as power generation), there needs to be some force of responsibility to impact the airlines to treat employees well. Money is always a good one! I think free flowing information about how airlines (this can be applied to any business) treats employees is necessary now.

I know, many people don't care how the employees are treated... People can be very selfish... Well, selfish people who want fast airlines buy tickets to the faster airlines who don't properly pack things and things get broken... or people want cheap, so cheap that the employees are over worked and underpaid and maliciously destroy items... either way, the greedy and selfish ruin it.

People need to start caring about people they don't know because the events are all inter-related. A toy company in China uses lead-based paint to reduce costs, people get sick, the toy company shuts down NA sales, and maybe worldwide. Had there been compassion for others on the VP or CEO level and compassion from the companies who wanted the goods... eh.

The way business is run irritates me, turning a quick buck seems more important than sustainable profit... Hey, that's working out real well in this economy right? ;)