Here goes...
a) The bags are both new Samsonites, at over $300 each. So I'm sure the material is of adequate quality. No PHXFlyer, I did not buy them at Walmart.
b) I fly at least two dozen times a year. I have seen airports all over the world. And I see baggage carts with tarps over the all the time. Or, they are enclosed with a metal roof, and a pull-down door or tarp on one side. But neither could have been the case here in Orlando for everyone's bags on our flight to get this drenched.
PHXFlyer: Do you really think it is acceptable for luggage to sit in the open air during a rainstorm? You can't seriously be defending that. And I don't think it is beyond reason to hope that someone on the staff might say, "Hey, maybe we should throw a tarp on our customers' luggage while its waiting to be loaded".
What they did was the equivalent of taking your car to a dealership to be fixed, and having the staff park it in the lot with the windows left down during a storm. In a word: Negligent.
c) As for the business paper, it was purchased online and printed at Kinkos (for a cost). Not confidential stuff, I just feel like lugging a 250 page printout with me. So I packed it. Big deal. I didn't foresee it getting destroyed by rain, so I guess shame on me.
Pattis: Thanks for the constructive idea to pack your suitcase contents in a hefty bag. I will do that going forward after these two Southwest experiences.
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