[JMPeeler]

Following a Colorado ski trip I arrived at Canton/Akron airport via Frontier Airlines and encountered the following at Frontier's baggage claim office. My ski bag which had been securely zipped up and strapped at both ends arrived open with the skis completely exposed. While I appreciate airline security concerns and TSA baggage inspections,to avoid exposing my skis to possible damage in future flights I posed (2) questions to the (2) Frontier agents. When Frontier accepts suitable packed baggage at check-in,what is their policy for addressing baggage that has been opened in transit, and what are the agents names. The woman agent immediately became defensive and said she would not accept a claim for my ski damage. I replied that I made no such claim for damages and repeated my initial questions. The man agent said he would give his name and employee number. The woman agent said "no,you don't have to give him anything".They both then began a heated debate over Frontier policy on information disclosures. When I again repeated my questions they directed their tensions towards me and proclaimed I was"out of order" and they called security.Security responded immediately and after breifly conferring with the agents and then with me,advised that their presence in the airport is to address "crime" and that this was a "civil" issue and no need to file a report.
Security thereby confirmed the above incident, which occurred in the baggage claim office at !:15am after the airport was officially closed, to be unrelated to any Frontier Contract of Carriage Transport security or safety concerns.
I submitted a written complaint to Frontier requesting an answer to my initial question of baggage handling responsibilities and more important why their (2) agents responded so aggressively towards my quest for information. Frontier's Service Commitment states "we'll respond to written concerns and inquires within 30 days of receiving the correspondence". Frontier did not respond nor did I find answers in their Contract of Carriage. As such I contacted DOT,OCRC and CAK.
Finally after over 300 days (not 30) I received a letter from Frontier. With no reference to my question baggage handling responsibilities Frontier did acknowledge their agents had the option of deferring my questions/concerns to management without involving security and that I must "imagine" how their agents sometimes have difficulty in communicating. Further,without reference to a specfic policy, Frontier states their agents are sanctioned to respond to customer concerns based on how they personally "feel" with "subjective decision making"
Clearly we are all aware of the challenges involved in securing our nations airports while also addressing passenger concerns. However Frontier employees with stated communications difficulties in responding to passenger concerns are more likely to become empowered enforcers rather than enlightend informers. This raises the questions of a prudent use of law enforcement and consideration of the need to protect passengers from airline employees.
Regarding the unanswered question of my open ski bag. The answer came when I joined FlyersRights. More tha 80% of baggage theft cases are from airline/airport employees.