[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

just because you don't side with the passenger

Jetliner: It's not a question of always siding with the passenger. That's impossible in all cases. It's how the pro-airline people on here DON'T side with the passenger. There are posters on here, other than myself, who have noted posts, from pro-airline people, the content of which was not far removed from what one would hear from a borderline sociopathic gate agent or flight attendant. I'm talking about snotty comments for one thing. I can't remember anything openly abusive. But, if I looked I wouldn't be surprised if I found something.

Even those stupid form letters the airlines crank-out manage to be superficially polite while disagreeing with the passenger.

Jetliner, you and your airline friends and I have a basic difference in philosophy which is probably the source of a lot of the contention noted on this board. My basic position is that air travel, at least in the USA, is NOT customer friendly. That Contract of Carriage, for one thing, is NOT easy to read. If one were to give a mass reading comprehension test based on a contract of carriage for, say American Air, I think you'd have something close to 50% with failing grades. For someone to have a reasonable shot at a problem-free trip planning, at a level comparable to preparation for a filing of IRS Form 1040, with Schedule A, is required. There's the issue of how far in advance of your flight do you arrive at the airport. How does one have a problem-free experience with TSA? What do you say or do, or not say or do? Frankly I recommend citing one's 5th Amendment right to remain silent, and forgoe any cabin service, once the door to the aircraft is shut and/or there are no more routine questions to be asked.

With all the "hoops" an air traveller must jump through it's no surprise you get cases of people wanting to check their baggage 10 minutes prior to flight departure or someone who doesn't observe the time frame applicable to reporting delayed/lost baggage. The important thing is to be calm and polite with these people, not treat them as "the enemy," "self-loading cargo," or assume they were verbally, or physically, abusive before you've even heard the full story. Having even 70 years of airline experience does not give one a license to act like this.

An example of what I consider to be excellent behavior, by all concerned, can be seen at:

“Visa”

http://www.airlinecomplaints.org/showthread.php?t=5003

The posts were a bit repetitive but everyone was indeed polite, even though some might say the OP made a stupid mistake.