$4000+ cash stolen in EK First on CDG-DXB

KTPAFlyer · Thu Jul 06, 2017 5:16 am

Wow, I would be pissed if this was me, especially after spending on EK F. Hope this is resolved soon.

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/ ... ass-theft/

PatrickZ80 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 5:51 am

Why on earth would anyone take that amount of cash with them on a plane anyway?

aviationaware · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:03 am

I carry a couple hundred right after raiding the ATM, why shouldn't a millionaire carry a couple thousands? Not that uncommon.

anstar · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:04 am

Pretty fishy story. And I doubt that the tax refund place would give it back in cash like that rather than onto the card. Looks like the couple were trying it on. Especially as they didnt end up filing a police report.

UAEflyer · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:13 am

maybe for tipping the cabin crew :duck:

448205 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:21 am

Doesn't sound like anyone took it seriously; EK, the couple or the UAE Police.

Had that happened on an inbound US flight, I guarantee a big enough stink could be made to have Police/FBI hold the plane up. It's a felony robbery by definition. ($500+ and victim present) Possibly aggravated given the circumstances of the flight.

CARST · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:22 am

Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

zeke · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:28 am

PatrickZ80 wrote:
Why on earth would anyone take that amount of cash with them on a plane anyway?

Really isn't a lot of cash for some people.

Goodbye · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:29 am

Many things don't add up in this story. Either it's fake or the couple are trying to pull a fast one.

Virtual737 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:48 am

CARST wrote:
Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

Down a dark alley in Rio and maybe I would agree, but in the first class cabin of a major carrier, really?

IMHO your post was rather way off the mark. I think you're better than that.

puppethead · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:49 am

I remember this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04v6cnd) documentary on london's oxford street, someone had their £35,000 handbag stolen with £100,000+ cash in it(all shown on camera), perhaps carrying cash is more common than we think.

I must be in the wrong job.

CARST · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:01 am

Virtual737 wrote:
CARST wrote:
Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

Down a dark alley in Rio and maybe I would agree, but in the first class cabin of a major carrier, really?

IMHO your post was rather way off the mark. I think you're better than that.

I probably should be save in the cabin of EK. But what about the airport at the destination and the origin? What about the airport/s inbetween, like DXB? You move between thousands of People. You wait at a baggage belt. You perhaps wait at the curb for your limousine or taxi. Whats before and after the flight?

The world is not a small village where you know everyone. There are criminals everywhere.

Why have 4k cash with you? For which reason? Even if you tip a lot, you probably need a few hundred in cash, not 4k. It's just not smart in these days. And we don't need to go into the favelas of Rio to know this.

Theseus · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:03 am

PatrickZ80 wrote:
Why on earth would anyone take that amount of cash with them on a plane anyway?

I boarded my first long haul flight with almost $2k in cash. I was scared about it, but had no choice: as I was going to do a long internship abroad, I was required to pay the first month rent, last month rent plus deposit on day 1, but I had no .
That is just one case.
So, I can see plenty of reasons (all completely legal) that would explain why a first class passenger would carry $4k.

KTPAFlyer · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:17 am

Come on guys, read the article, it literally explains why they had $4000+ cash.

The pair had splurged on some expensive items in France and had just received their tourist tax refund when they left the country. The airport insisted on paying it in cash, rather than risk something going wrong with the credit card transaction.

So when they boarded their Paris-Dubai Emirates flight on June 30 they had €2674, worth $4168 in their carry-on baggage.

Virtual737 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:27 am

CARST wrote:
Why have 4k cash with you? For which reason? Even if you tip a lot, you probably need a few hundred in cash, not 4k. It's just not smart in these days. And we don't need to go into the favelas of Rio to know this.

Respectfully, we have different opinions.

Redwood839 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:27 am

Nothing wrong with carrying a large a mount of cash depending on your circumstance. My wife and I carried 9.5K each (max 10k) when we moved to the UK to have cash while we opened up bank accounts here.

However, I never took it off my person except when going through security... would never put anything over 1K in a carry on.

RoySFlying · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:40 am

If this story is true it is unfortunate that they lost such a arge amount. But why would the "airport" (which is not even responsible for tax refunds) insist they take cash? One has the option of having the refund credited to a bank account of one's choice.

But even if what they claim is true, I do not see why they would imagine it wise to leave €2574 lying around. When I travel, I always keep my cash, credit cards, passport and travel documents on my person, even when I go to the bar or go into the showers. It is not just the risk of theft (which can happen anywhere) but in the unlikely event of an emergency landing in a foreign country or at sea, those documents will be necessary for onward travel. They would certainly be necessary when arriving at one's destination, so why risk losing them?

Coal · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:47 am

Redwood839 wrote:
Nothing wrong with carrying a large a mount of cash depending on your circumstance. My wife and I carried 9.5K each (max 10k) when we moved to the UK to have cash while we opened up bank accounts here.

I don't get this. I have lived in 11 different countries of varying levels of development and I have never had the need to bring cash with me when I moved.

Redwood839 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 8:01 am

Coal wrote:
Redwood839 wrote:
Nothing wrong with carrying a large a mount of cash depending on your circumstance. My wife and I carried 9.5K each (max 10k) when we moved to the UK to have cash while we opened up bank accounts here.

I don't get this. I have lived in 11 different countries of varying levels of development and I have never had the need to bring cash with me when I moved.

The UK has one of the hardest policies for opening bank accounts for non EU citizens (which I am not) and often require you to have utility bills and a rent contract to open up a bank account. I was relocated so I wasn't able to obtain either for at least 3 months. Considering I had to buy cars when I moved here and pay deposit fees and rental fees I prefered to bring cash rather than the outrageous conversion fee my bank back home would charge me for using my debit card. Additionally I could only withdraw £500 a day and could only only use my debit cards for up to £1,500 daily. I don't use credit cards and never have.

I'd imagine if I was from the EU or a major country it could have been easy. However, being from a tiny country that no one knows and thinks it's part of Mexico made it very difficult.

Imagine having a medical emergency and only being able to cost up £1,500 daily with limits or having to return home as an emergency and not being able to pay for the ticket? Again... circumstances.

Virtual737 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 8:18 am

Why the fixation on the amount of cash? Many people do not lead the "normal" lives that you lead. I do not have a bank account in the country I reside in. Opening one is a right royal pain in the rear and I just do not trust banks here anyway (Cyprus anybody? this place is potentially worse). My bank charges me relatively high fees for ATM use and relatively high fees for transfers and debit card uses abroad. So I carry cash, sometimes lots of it (based on what some of you here think is lots).

Should my cash be stolen while I was on a major carrier (not that I would leave it unattended), I'd be pretty pissed. I'd be a bit miffed at the close-mindedness (is that a word) of some people too just because my cash arrangements fall into their "highly stupid and dangerous" bracket. Some people carry cash. What's the big deal? Wishing ill on them shows far more about your character than it does theirs.

VirginFlyer · Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:29 am

KTPAFlyer wrote:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/ ... ass-theft/

A.net's link shortening algorithm has given as a gem right there...

PatrickZ80 wrote:
Why on earth would anyone take that amount of cash with them on a plane anyway?

CARST wrote:
Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

It's probably worth checking out the story that was linked to http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=11886585

The pair had splurged on some expensive items in France and had just received their tourist tax refund when they left the country. The airport insisted on paying it in cash, rather than risk something going wrong with the credit card transaction.

V/F

Virtual737 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 9:40 am

VirginFlyer wrote:
KTPAFlyer wrote:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/ ... ass-theft/

Very good! Is nothing safe nowadays?

atcsundevil · Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:11 am

VirginFlyer wrote:
KTPAFlyer wrote:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/ ... ass-theft/

A.net's link shortening algorithm has given as a gem right there...

That's one bit of coding I can fully support :rotfl:

I know some people are astounded that someone can carry $4k in cash, but it really isn't that much money. I'm sure it is for some people, but not for everyone. I regularly carry about $2k in cash when I travel, sometimes more. US dollars are good anywhere. Travelers checks are a pain and some countries are less plastic-oriented than others, but usually cash is just a backup. I'm just smart about it and I keep the cash close to me — under the seat if I'm in Y or in a side bin if I'm in F/J. If you put unlocked items in an overhead bin, it's unfortunately vulnerable. A $5 lock would have prevented this.

xdlx · Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:32 am

As a WORLDWIDE Ferry Pilot, I can say sometimes we have no other option than to carry the CASH. AFRICA, INDIA, EAST ASIA are areas of the world where there is no other way to PAY for Services. Folks NOT EVERYONE TAKES a CC and CASH IS KING......
AFRICA wants NEW $100 bills for their payment. ONLY!!!!

Lentini2001 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 11:41 am

Well if the advert is anything to go by where you get back from your shower and small boy is playing on his own, unsupervised, in your private suite no wonder this happened.

Even their adverts give the impression its a free for all.

FriscoHeavy · Thu Jul 06, 2017 2:58 pm

This isn't stupid at all. When I travel internationally, I usually have $2,000-$3,000 in cash (American Dollars and/or Local Currency). Now, I don't flaunt it around and as soon as I get to my hotel, I lock it up. While physically traveling, I may keep a couple hundred in my pocket and the rest is very well hidden within the confines of my carry on luggage and it would cause quite a scene to try and get it out in a conspicuous manner.

mcogator · Thu Jul 06, 2017 3:06 pm

I've been robbed before after carrying large amounts of cash on an airplane, but I knew the assailant (s). Damn Vegas casinos...but in all seriousness, Chinese tourists are known to carry large amounts of cash, and they've been victims multiple times in Paris specifically.

vhtje · Thu Jul 06, 2017 3:10 pm

CARST wrote:
Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

Did you read the article? The cash came from a tax refund, which was issued by the French tax authorities at CDG, the point of departure. According to the article, the airport tax desk refused to process the refund to a credit card.

Assuming that is correct, what would you do in the same circumstance? You'd take the cash, of course. :roll:

However, I would not have left it - or anything valuable for that matter - in an overhead bin. I would have hidden it in the lining of my soft cabin bag, which I would keep with me after takeoff. At any rate, I would have taken more care with it.

One wonders if alcohol was a factor in this.

jomur · Thu Jul 06, 2017 3:56 pm

PatrickZ80 wrote:
Why on earth would anyone take that amount of cash with them on a plane anyway?

I've carried more than that on several times whilst going on holiday to the US...... and I'm not rich!

It's fairly common when going on holiday especially if you don't have credit cards or want to use your bank card when abroad.

ScrantonUSC · Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:14 pm

CARST wrote:
Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

I feel bad for you.

horsepowerchef · Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:22 pm

When I travel, there are 2 things that are never more than arms reach away...my wallet(cash/cards) and my phone, regardless of what class I'm flying in...

horsepowerchef · Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:26 pm

When I travel, there are 2 things that are never more than arms reach away...my wallet(cash/cards) and my phone, regardless of what class I'm flying in...

Flighty · Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:33 pm

If you have say 20 million + then carrying $4k is no big deal.

turjo101 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 4:43 pm

This is what happens when the airline you're flying on is subsidized by oil money. They should've flown Delta, if they were going to fly with "that much cash".

dfwjim1 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 5:29 pm

FriscoHeavy wrote:
This isn't stupid at all. When I travel internationally, I usually have $2,000-$3,000 in cash (American Dollars and/or Local Currency). Now, I don't flaunt it around and as soon as I get to my hotel, I lock it up. While physically traveling, I may keep a couple hundred in my pocket and the rest is very well hidden within the confines of my carry on luggage and it would cause quite a scene to try and get it out in a conspicuous manner.

I do pretty much the same thing, keeping x number of dollars in my wallet along with one credit card and the other cash and my debit card stashed inside my handbag along with my driver's license or passport. That way I have backup in case my wallet or handbag is lost or stolen.

Bricktop · Thu Jul 06, 2017 5:34 pm

turjo101 wrote:
This is what happens when the airline you're flying on is subsidized by oil money. They should've flown Delta, if they were going to fly with "that much cash".

CARST thanks you for bailing him out for douchiest comment in the thread. :lol:

alfa164 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:06 pm

horsepowerchef wrote:
When I travel, there are 2 things that are never more than arms reach away...my wallet(cash/cards) and my phone, regardless of what class I'm flying in...

I would add: "... and my passport."

berari · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:13 pm

He feels Emirates has treated the couple as if they had lost the money. “We didn’t drop it. It was taken. It was theft.”

“If they came back and said, ‘we’re not liable but we appreciate your business and we look forward to having you again – here’s a couple of grand worth of vouchers or an upgrade next time from business to first class’ – that would have been dandy,” he said.

“We would have said, ‘we really appreciate that and we look forward to seeing you again’. But now we’ve decided we’re not going to go back with them next year on principle.”

Here's a couple that has their unattended valuable stolen trying to recoup the lost money by getting EK to give them "a couple of grand worth of vouchers." Give me a break. What's next, every other Gold member is going to claim theft and get free vouchers?

People need to take responsibility for their own negligence.

timpdx · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:17 pm

I've carried close to that amount, too. I took a -Stans tour that required payment in cash. For the flight LAX-ICN and ICN-TAS you better believe that the cash was in my little bag under my feet and not in the overhead. I had a day and night in Seoul, too and didn't leave it in the hotel, either.

IPFreely · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:19 pm

turjo101 wrote:
This is what happens when the airline you're flying on is subsidized by oil money. They should've flown Delta, if they were going to fly with "that much cash".

Please explain how they could have flown Delta.

usflyer msp · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:27 pm

timpdx wrote:
I've carried close to that amount, too. I took a -Stans tour that required payment in cash. For the flight LAX-ICN and ICN-TAS you better believe that the cash was in my little bag under my feet and not in the overhead. I had a day and night in Seoul, too and didn't leave it in the hotel, either.

So have I, when I went to West Africa for 6 weeks. Carrying around large amounts of cash is a necessity in developing countries with low internet/credit card penetration. If you ever wonder why cash often smells like balls, that is where I kept most of mine during my journey...

RDUDDJI · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:40 pm

KTPAFlyer wrote:
Come on guys, read the article, it literally explains why they had $4000+ cash.

The pair had splurged on some expensive items in France and had just received their tourist tax refund when they left the country. The airport insisted on paying it in cash, rather than risk something going wrong with the credit card transaction.

So when they boarded their Paris-Dubai Emirates flight on June 30 they had €2674, worth $4168 in their carry-on baggage.

Not sure what dollar they're comparing it to, but at current conversion rates, it's only around $3053 (USD). Not sure if they were quoting in some other dollar amount.

tavong · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:47 pm

Redwood839 wrote:
Coal wrote:
Redwood839 wrote:
Nothing wrong with carrying a large a mount of cash depending on your circumstance. My wife and I carried 9.5K each (max 10k) when we moved to the UK to have cash while we opened up bank accounts here.

I don't get this. I have lived in 11 different countries of varying levels of development and I have never had the need to bring cash with me when I moved.

The UK has one of the hardest policies for opening bank accounts for non EU citizens (which I am not) and often require you to have utility bills and a rent contract to open up a bank account. I was relocated so I wasn't able to obtain either for at least 3 months. Considering I had to buy cars when I moved here and pay deposit fees and rental fees I prefered to bring cash rather than the outrageous conversion fee my bank back home would charge me for using my debit card. Additionally I could only withdraw £500 a day and could only only use my debit cards for up to £1,500 daily. I don't use credit cards and never have.

I'd imagine if I was from the EU or a major country it could have been easy. However, being from a tiny country that no one knows and thinks it's part of Mexico made it very difficult.

Imagine having a medical emergency and only being able to cost up £1,500 daily with limits or having to return home as an emergency and not being able to pay for the ticket? Again... circumstances.

Sorry, got me interested, which country, Belize?

Gus
SKBO

777GE90 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:48 pm

CARST wrote:
Carrying so much cash with you is highly stupid and dangerous. I hope he doesn't get a penny back...

Really? You would actually hope that he doesn't get his money back? What has he ever done to you? Do you know him? Is he your enemy? It's beggers belief hat you would hope that for someone you don't even know or have anything to do with.

Do you think it's right for a criminal to steal from someone because they are "stupid" for taking that amound of cash with them in the first place? If he has the money and wants to take it with him, why can't he? We live in a free world and I see no problem with him doing so.

TheDBCooper · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:16 pm

Some of the replies to this thread beggars belief.

It shouldn't matter who you are, or which airline you are flying there should be the expectation that you won't be robbed.

I can't say that any flight that I've got on that I ever gave a passing thought to be robbed, and I don't have $4,000 to carry as cash onto a flight. Even if I did, I still wouldn't expect to get robbed.

Shame on some members on A.net.

JAAlbert · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:16 pm

A few years back I watched a 60 minutes segment on Anna Wintour (editor of Vogue fashion magazine). At the end of the video, she was heading to JFK to fly out to Paris for some show. She asked her assistant something to the effect "Do you have the money?" Her assistant handed her a huge stack of money, in a bundle. Ms. Wintour dropped it into her designer handbag and walked out the door.

I think wealthy people with lots of cash on them while traveling is very common. Unfortunately, not for me.

turjo101 · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:19 pm

IPFreely wrote:
turjo101 wrote:
This is what happens when the airline you're flying on is subsidized by oil money. They should've flown Delta, if they were going to fly with "that much cash".

Please explain how they could have flown Delta.

that was supposed to be sarcasm in light of the anti-EK video Delta made where they blamed EK for pretty much all of the Western World's woes stopping short of Global warming. But I suppose it sounded too literal. And being a proper avgeek, you went straight to logic and logistics.

usflyer msp · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:33 pm

TheDBCooper wrote:
Some of the replies to this thread beggars belief.

It shouldn't matter who you are, or which airline you are flying there should be the expectation that you won't be robbed.

I can't say that any flight that I've got on that I ever gave a passing thought to be robbed, and I don't have $4,000 to carry as cash onto a flight. Even if I did, I still wouldn't expect to get robbed.

Shame on some members on A.net.

I completely disagree with you. It is your responsibility to take proper precautions to prevent theft on an airplane just like in any other public space.

berari · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:39 pm

turjo101 wrote:
This is what happens when the airline you're flying on is subsidized by oil money. They should've flown Delta, if they were going to fly with "that much cash".

If they were flying Delta, they wouldn't be carrying that much cash; they clearly can afford to fly better.

VirginFlyer · Thu Jul 06, 2017 7:44 pm

RDUDDJI wrote:
KTPAFlyer wrote:
Come on guys, read the article, it literally explains why they had $4000+ cash.

The pair had splurged on some expensive items in France and had just received their tourist tax refund when they left the country. The airport insisted on paying it in cash, rather than risk something going wrong with the credit card transaction.

So when they boarded their Paris-Dubai Emirates flight on June 30 they had €2674, worth $4168 in their carry-on baggage.

Not sure what dollar they're comparing it to, but at current conversion rates, it's only around $3053 (USD). Not sure if they were quoting in some other dollar amount.

The article quoted in the blog comes from the New Zealand Herald, published in New Zealand, where the currency is the New Zealand Dollar, which is worth approximately €0.64.

V/F

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