[DriesBessels]

On Saturday June 23rd I flew from Los Angeles to Atlanta on flight DL1754, a Delta flightnumber but they operated the flight for UA. I had been on a motorcycle tour across the US and had my helmet with me as carry-on luggage. A motorcycle helmet is a relatively delicate item which cannot stand big shocks as the inner shell which is supposed to work as a shock absorber during a fall will get damaged during such a shock. I have done this many times and this has up to now not been a problem with any airline.

However, the plane used on this flight was a relative small plane with small overhead lockers where my helmet did not fit in. As it also did not fit underneath the chair in front of me I decided to keep it in my lap. At the last minute one of the stewardesses decided this was not allowed and she insisted the helmet be put in the luggage hold. I told her I’d rather wear it during the flight than just put it unguarded in the hold but that was no option to her and she insisted I handed over the helmet which unfortunately was the only option open to me.

Upon arrival in Atlanta the helmet seemed to have disappeared and it took intervention of the pilot to finally retrieve it from the hold where it was found after most of the luggage was unloaded. Worse, it seemed to have been pretty mistreated, missing several parts and having many scratches, some of which seem quite serious. There are also remainders of some sort of glue on the outer which makes me worried about the chemical impact that has on the helmet. Because of that, it is questionable what the usability of the helmet in the current state is since the sun visor is beyond usage and it seems highly probably that the inner shell got damaged because of the maltreatment in the hold.

I went to the United Airlines office to file a damage claim but they denied any responsibility, stating that damage to a helmet that goes into the hold unprotected is not their problem. The fact that it was placed there on demand of their own staff did not seem to matter to them.

Since then I have been trying to get compensation from UA but to no avail. I have heard nothing but bad excuses and responsibility-avoiding behavior. It seems very much that UA will do everything to not have to treat their customers well, even though they created the problems for those customers.

I cannot say the flight was bad but I will say that United Airlines is an airline you should avoid! They insist on damaging your luggage and when that is done the refuse to help in any way. Be careful with United Airlines!

If for whatever reason you want more information about this case please do let me know via dries@bessels.org. The whole story including pictures is available for everybody who wants to see how bad United Airlines treats their customers!