You would think these guys would know they’re in plain view after all the previous videos.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/08/1 ... round.html

They know...but just don’t care .
And that is not a JFK, USA or North America problem. As a frequent flyer I know my bags will be punished no matter where I’m going to, and will not last more than a year, maybe two if I got luck. In the last two decades I went from flexible leatherish material to various types of rigid and polymer materials and, despite the brands I tried ( some of them more expensive than others ), in the long term the result is always the same.
My wife has the same problem, so now we just add the bags item to our travel budget.

I've personally seen this as well at T4 at JFK, a bag falling off the belt to the ground.

It's a piece of luggage. It's designed to take abuse.
But then, this is DL...

That's just a very poorly designed bag chute. Every bag has to be lifted up over the railing. I blame the employee much less than whoever decided that design was a good idea.

While I know this happens, I'm all for shaming the airlines that allow this until the issues are fixed.

Lightsaber

Pay peanuts, get monkeys

Aesma wrote:

Pay peanuts, get monkeys

I was a ramper and got paid minimum wage in Florida but I never mistreated a bag. I don't think wage makes someone act like an animal.

I wonder if it would be prudent just to have an F/A or gate agent wait by where the bag handlers would usually do that work and just supervise passengers putting their bags down the chute so you remove liability of passengers capturing this for example. Of course I have seen some terrible treatment for bags (early this month I saw a bag sitting in the middle of a gate at LGA departing for CMH for example) but I would say this is sadly par for the course unless you start having more public showcase of baggage handlers as if you work not in front of customers you don't act professionally especially as these sort of jobs are so plentiful.

727200 wrote:

It's a piece of luggage. It's designed to take abuse.
But then, this is DL...

You’re right and wrong, Samsonite and Rimowa design baggage that withstand abuse.
Baby stroller manufacturers don’t . The stroller on the video fell from a good height, probably suffering damage.

From just reading comments, you’d think that the baggage handler was intentionally trying to damage the bags but the video says otherwise. The stroller falling was an accident and he clearly showed remorse that it happened since you see him stop

CaptPizzaPants wrote:

Aesma wrote:

Pay peanuts, get monkeys

I was a ramper and got paid minimum wage in Florida but I never mistreated a bag. I don't think wage makes someone act like an animal.

Did you do that job for years ?

lightsaber wrote:

While I know this happens, I'm all for shaming the airlines that allow this until the issues are fixed.

Lightsaber

100% AGREE.

Insertnamehere wrote:

I wonder if it would be prudent just to have an F/A or gate agent wait by where the bag handlers would usually do that work and just supervise passengers putting their bags down the chute so you remove liability of passengers capturing this for example. Of course I have seen some terrible treatment for bags (early this month I saw a bag sitting in the middle of a gate at LGA departing for CMH for example) but I would say this is sadly par for the course unless you start having more public showcase of baggage handlers as if you work not in front of customers you don't act professionally especially as these sort of jobs are so plentiful.

Regulate and oversee, and make more rules and more and more and more rules to cover those rules. No just train or retrain and show that this behavior when caught will have negative consequences. Employees and Companies are/should be on the same team moving bags quick is good but with care. It happens to often id imagine due to the extreme pressure to get flights and bags out on time. Care for bags is JUST has important has treating the customers like people and not like cattle.

Gonzalo wrote:

They know...but just don’t care .
And that is not a JFK, USA or North America problem. As a frequent flyer I know my bags will be punished no matter where I’m going to, and will not last more than a year, maybe two if I got luck. In the last two decades I went from flexible leatherish material to various types of rigid and polymer materials and, despite the brands I tried ( some of them more expensive than others ), in the long term the result is always the same.
My wife has the same problem, so now we just add the bags item to our travel budget.

I even found the Samsonite, Tumi and Hartmann failing in a year or two.

Pelican has a new light weight case based on their shipping cases. Does not have the soft touches, but I’ll give that a try next.

I’ve only ever have my bag damaged twice, and that was of course in the US. The airline involved didn’t give shit and told me to go pound sand. Anyway, many 100s of flights later with Rimowa bags and not even the gorilla baggage handlers in the US have managed to break my bags!

Just out of curiousity, is there a higher chance of luggage damage if bags are bulk loaded vs containerized?

Rookie87 wrote:

From just reading comments, you’d think that the baggage handler was intentionally trying to damage the bags but the video says otherwise. The stroller falling was an accident and he clearly showed remorse that it happened since you see him stop

HE didn't stop .. the video did!

He;s a jive turkey.

Not surprised to see something like this again. There is no respect and recognition that these are other people's belongings.

bgm wrote:

I’ve only ever have my bag damaged twice, and that was of course in the US. The airline involved didn’t give shit and told me to go pound sand. Anyway, many 100s of flights later with Rimowa bags and not even the gorilla baggage handlers in the US have managed to break my bags!

Just out of curiousity, is there a higher chance of luggage damage if bags are bulk loaded vs containerized?

From my experience, the highest chance will be with bulk loading. Bags will be handled at least 4 times(loading trolley -> loading plane, getting off plane -> loaded on arrival belts) as well as getting thrown around more. Whereas in containers they are just touched twice when loaded and unloaded. In containers they will also more or less guaranteed be out of the elements. Rampers are not always so good at covering the trolleys!

It's precious the traveling public thinks their bags are treated like a piece of fine crystal. It's a suitcase it's designed to take the abuse. The baggage system swats the bag onto the right belt. The jetway baggage slide is poorly designed. Bags will pile up and fall off. Sometimes bags will just bounce off. You have to lift the bag over the railing and basically throw it on the slide.

This is not new !! Go to any airport in America you will see the exact same thing. Granted there's no excuse for it but it's the airlines who are letting agents get away with it. The only reason it's brought to light now is the invention of the smartphone

They don't care for your bags etc, there on a time limit etc. The proper way is just to slide the stroller down the slide, vs throwing it etc recklessly. Luckily i never seen on any flight I flown that I could observe. I have seen such incidents for other flights, I also seen UA agent left a bag on the pushback tug, and they realized it while pushing the plane back, opened the cargo door, and put the bag in there.

Unbelievable, this guy did it in PLANE view.

The way the DL ramp worker is throwing the bags is obvious. Nowadays, every one has an iPhone camera and recorder. Management at all airlines need to tell all employees, if you act carelessly with our customer's bags, and also with any aspect of customer contact, it will likely be recorded. And if you are wrong, you are gone. I never loaded bags, but I loaded lots of freight into containers.
I never threw any boxes or freight like that bag was thrown and there was no way for anyone to have ever watched what I was doing.

Gonzalo wrote:

You’re right and wrong, Samsonite and Rimowa design baggage that withstand abuse.
Baby stroller manufacturers don’t . The stroller on the video fell from a good height, probably suffering damage.

So wrong on so many levels. I used a Samsonite hard case stroller for 10+ years on 4 or 5 Europe to Asia trips every year. When my Samsonite case finally gave up (because it was beaten to crap), I went to the Samsonite shop to buy a new one.

There they tried to sell me cases that you could stamp on until they were flat and they would magically spring back to their original shape. When I mentioned to the sales person "ok, so the case went from flat to not flat, but what about the contents?.... they had no response.

So, next time I want to check an empty case that will be the same shape as it was when I checked it, I will spend $500 on a Samsonite. When I want to buy a case that protects my personal belongings that I put inside the case.... I have no clue what to do.

F27500 wrote:

Rookie87 wrote:

From just reading comments, you’d think that the baggage handler was intentionally trying to damage the bags but the video says otherwise. The stroller falling was an accident and he clearly showed remorse that it happened since you see him stop

HE didn't stop .. the video did!

He;s a jive turkey.

So I guess him stopping and looking over the rail after it fell doesn’t constitute him stopping ...

Same thing as any job these days:
Management cover their butt by telling employee to bend down at the knees, pick up, don't twist, bend knees to place bag on chute, if heavy get assistance. They then tell employee to speed up or they will be replaced. Employee options: place bags gently and quickly, ruin their back in a month and get no compo as management told them to bend at the knees, do this proper way slowly and get replaced and find themselves unemployed, or do what this guy did and risk getting sacked from someone filming it without realizing the impossibility of the expectations these corporations put on employees. Not a ramper by the way.

Rookie87 wrote:

So I guess him stopping and looking over the rail after it fell doesn’t constitute him stopping ...

The video is 12 seconds long and it stops less than a second after the stroller hit the deck. How can you possibly state that he stopped what he was doing? The care needed for the stroller was due BEFORE it hit the deck, not remorse after. A day late and a dollar short.

To the airlines.... do you realise why people do not want their cabin luggage checked at the gate? Treat my baggage like crap when I can't see it and I might not be bothered to pull you up on it. Do it in plain view of the world and forgive me for asking........ WTF?

As was stated in an earlier post. You want to see bag abuse? Check out the bag sorting systems underneath the airport. When you hand your luggage to the check in agent and they place the bag behind them on the belt, that bag is in for a ride before it gets to whatever pier is building carts or cans for that flight.
The area down below is dirty, the conveyors are dirty, the conveyors have arms that swing out to guide bags to different conveyors. There are also bars or “battering rams” that punch the bag as it goes by onto another conveyor.
The bags are then stacked in carts to be pulled out of the carts again being handled. Your bag is then stacked, depending on the size of the bin, about 4-5 bags high. You might have a heavy tagged bag on your bag. It’s a game of Tetris, we stack what we get off the belt loader and try to look a few bags down to get an idea. All of this is done time critical. We try to stack “Fragile” tagged bags on top but there are quite a few “Fragile” tagged bags with “Heavy” tags as well... You have one, maybe two bags with you. I’ll deal with probably close to 800 per day, I try to handle the bags the best I can but sometimes sheet happens. They fall off the loader or out of the bin. Transfer drivers may lose one out of the cart and not realize it.

To think we would enjoy damaging your bag is absurd. But I do have an idea for you. Quit shoving 100 pounds of stuff into a bag that should hold maybe half of that and then complain because the handle broke or ripped off. A cardboard box is not suitcase, neither is a garbage bag with duct tape, see it everyday.

PDX88 wrote:

That's just a very poorly designed bag chute. Every bag has to be lifted up over the railing. I blame the employee much less than whoever decided that design was a good idea.

Exactly. It’s a horrible work environment too with heavy bags and a need to turn and lift in a very unergonomical way.

nwadeicer wrote:

As was stated in an earlier post. You want to see bag abuse? Check out the bag sorting systems underneath the airport. When you hand your luggage to the check in agent and they place the bag behind them on the belt, that bag is in for a ride before it gets to whatever pier is building carts or cans for that flight.
The area down below is dirty, the conveyors are dirty, the conveyors have arms that swing out to guide bags to different conveyors. There are also bars or “battering rams” that punch the bag as it goes by onto another conveyor.
The bags are then stacked in carts to be pulled out of the carts again being handled. Your bag is then stacked, depending on the size of the bin, about 4-5 bags high. You might have a heavy tagged bag on your bag. It’s a game of Tetris, we stack what we get off the belt loader and try to look a few bags down to get an idea. All of this is done time critical. We try to stack “Fragile” tagged bags on top but there are quite a few “Fragile” tagged bags with “Heavy” tags as well... You have one, maybe two bags with you. I’ll deal with probably close to 800 per day, I try to handle the bags the best I can but sometimes sheet happens. They fall off the loader or out of the bin. Transfer drivers may lose one out of the cart and not realize it.

To think we would enjoy damaging your bag is absurd. But I do have an idea for you. Quit shoving 100 pounds of stuff into a bag that should hold maybe half of that and then complain because the handle broke or ripped off. A cardboard box is not suitcase, neither is a garbage bag with duct tape, see it everyday.

100 lBs of stuff in a case that cannot weight more than 32kg max? (forgive the European here). How on earth does all of that explain lobbing a stroller 15ft to the ground? It might have been a mistake, but it is a mistake that happens 100s of times every day. In other words, nobody but the owner of the stroller gives a damn.

A few years ago Etihad managed to transport my piano from the UK, via Abu Dhabi and Bangkok, to Phnom Penh. It arrived in perfect condition. Should I feel grateful that it turned out this way rather than having the expectation that someone might treat my belongings as their own?

As I have mentioned before, take a little pride in your job or, as soon as you feel you are not paid well enough to do it properly, find another.

FredrikHAD wrote:

PDX88 wrote:

That's just a very poorly designed bag chute. Every bag has to be lifted up over the railing. I blame the employee much less than whoever decided that design was a good idea.

Exactly. It’s a horrible work environment too with heavy bags and a need to turn and lift in a very unergonomical way.

One of two ways, either on your knees sitting on the heels of your feet and stacking that way. Or sitting “indian style” and placing the bag on your knees while pushing it up to get leverage then twisting and lifting the bag up at the same time to about shoulder level if not a little bit higher and stacking it. Scootch (sp) down as you complete a row. Or if you’re in a bin with the magic carpet, hit the switch to move the bags down little by little.

What grinds my gear is that if your bag returns damaged, the airlines assumes no liability for it and calls it "normal wear and tear". Flying with Southwest, a bag that was less than a year old came out with a broken front pocket. When I inquired for compensation, the luggage agent said it's "regular wear and tear" and the airline would not be responsible. When I called the company, they said that it's up to the luggage agent to decide what is compensated and what isn't.

So if any of these bags returned worn/damaged, it's not the airline's fault even with evidence to the contrary.

nwadeicer wrote:

FredrikHAD wrote:

PDX88 wrote:

That's just a very poorly designed bag chute. Every bag has to be lifted up over the railing. I blame the employee much less than whoever decided that design was a good idea.

Exactly. It’s a horrible work environment too with heavy bags and a need to turn and lift in a very unergonomical way.

One of two ways, either on your knees sitting on the heels of your feet and stacking that way. Or sitting “indian style” and placing the bag on your knees while pushing it up to get leverage then twisting and lifting the bag up at the same time to about shoulder level if not a little bit higher and stacking it. Scootch (sp) down as you complete a row. Or if you’re in a bin with the magic carpet, hit the switch to move the bags down little by little.

Sure, in the bag compartment it’s hard to get an ergonomical work position, but here, the lifting could easily be avioded with a non-ancient design of the bag chute. From the Hawaiian bag throwing incident in May:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1395491&start=50#p20450955

/Fredrik

The biggest issue with bag damage .is passengers are packing their bags way too heavy to avoid paying for another bag. I work in the bins in the Delta Fleet everyday 9 put of 10 bag damage are due to over weight bags. Not puting them down the jet way slide you don't want your bags destroyed start packing normally .when you buy a suitcase they do tell you the weight limit that you can put in the suitcase.normaly 55 lbs or less .

nwadeicer wrote:

As was stated in an earlier post. You want to see bag abuse? Check out the bag sorting systems underneath the airport. When you hand your luggage to the check in agent and they place the bag behind them on the belt, that bag is in for a ride before it gets to whatever pier is building carts or cans for that flight.
The area down below is dirty, the conveyors are dirty, the conveyors have arms that swing out to guide bags to different conveyors. There are also bars or “battering rams” that punch the bag as it goes by onto another conveyor.

Tell me about it... my 6 month old poly-something case got punched (or in my case, stabbed) in Munch. Ground handler took one look at it, said no way can this be repaired, then got approval from TG to replace it.

It would help if everything wasn't made of cheap plastic these days. I've had a hard time even finding luggage with metal zippers.

I'd be more concerned about luggage theft, and theft of items in checked luggage when flying through NYC airports. Twice I've been a victim. Most recently had a digital camera stolen out of a gate checked bag with DL at LGA when I forgot to remove it in moment of haste boarding the plane.

The first time, I had an entire bag go missing while in Jetblues possession at JFK. It missed my original flight and arrived on the next flight after my connection. JetBlue confirmed it had been located at JFK. The next day it just dissapeared. Never to be seen again. As well as $1000 of brand new clothing that I'd bought in cash with no record of the purchases. I got royally screwed on that one!

I can deal with a damaged bag. Just don't steal my stuff, or the entire bag! NYC airports have a big problem with this. And when it happens, the airlines won't do crap. Youre lucky to get back 1/4 of the value of your stuff.

We just had a thread about this, different handler, different angle, exact same subject.

So what, I expect bags to handled like this, Samsonite was advertising with this kind of treatment 50+ years ago.

Wow....the comments section on that article are truly a cancerous tumor on the internet.

I keep misreading the thread title as "...video of JFK bug smasher".

LH658 wrote:

They don't care for your bags etc, there on a time limit etc. The proper way is just to slide the stroller down the slide, vs throwing it etc recklessly. Luckily i never seen on any flight I flown that I could observe. I have seen such incidents for other flights, I also seen UA agent left a bag on the pushback tug, and they realized it while pushing the plane back, opened the cargo door, and put the bag in there.

The proper way would be to walk the stroller down the stairs

This isn't really on topic, but I wish I knew what luggage brand and model takes abuse. I had a heavy Samsonite that grew old and broken but lasted 20 years... replaced by the newer ones that get broken all the time. Outside and inside fabrics and features. Expensive ones, but don't last at all. Anyone know anything better?

You'd probably be better forgetting about specific brands and instead looking at what companies use to ship delicate items by air. For example, cases that meet ATA Specification 300 which are specifically tested for drops onto concrete. Or the even tougher STANAG 4280.

Careless employees and sloppiness performing a task in any business, industry, or job should not be tolerated or accepted.

It's that simple.

It's not OK, not because it isn't common for baggage to be mistreated or handled roughly by some rampers or other employees, but rather because it is crap job performance. It isn't needed or necessary for the job at hand.

Tugg

Insertnamehere wrote:

I wonder if it would be prudent just to have an F/A or gate agent wait by where the bag handlers would usually do that work and just supervise passengers putting their bags down the chute so you remove liability of passengers capturing this for example. Of course I have seen some terrible treatment for bags (early this month I saw a bag sitting in the middle of a gate at LGA departing for CMH for example) but I would say this is sadly par for the course unless you start having more public showcase of baggage handlers as if you work not in front of customers you don't act professionally especially as these sort of jobs are so plentiful.

Flight Attendants are required to remain onboard.

A ramp agent generally have two choices: Do it by the book and delay the aircraft, or do it as quickly as possible and break your back and passenger luggage.

The problem is the environment in which they work, where airlines on one hand discourage passengers from checking in luggage, thereby creating a large number of gate checks, the limited time available to complete the task, whilst handling companies ensure there's perpetual understaffing, lack of support from management and a general air of 'punctuality is everything, until it's not, and then we'll fire your ass'.

I would like to invite any and all of the more sanctimonious pricks on this thread to work for just a week on the ramp or in the baggage sorting facilities, just to see how long they last before they start employing the same practices as we frequently see on video. My guess is half a day ...

sorry but that's got to got to stop did anyone report it or not

The video has been pulled.

Not sure if this is a US issue.

I have flown mostly in Europe.

Many years ago, I had a ripped case, which I spotted when I got home. That clearly must have been the machinery.

Since buying hard shell case, I have not any problems.

Chriswebb775 wrote:

The biggest issue with bag damage .is passengers are packing their bags way too heavy to avoid paying for another bag. I work in the bins in the Delta Fleet everyday 9 put of 10 bag damage are due to over weight bags. Not puting them down the jet way slide you don't want your bags destroyed start packing normally .when you buy a suitcase they do tell you the weight limit that you can put in the suitcase.normaly 55 lbs or less .

Did you read the article or watch the video?

People packing too much stuff in bags did not cause the clown in the video to drop a STROLLER 15 feet onto the tarmac.