Baggage Handling - American Airlines

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My wife and I flew commercially on American last Saturday out of ORD. As we were waiting to taxi and push off from the gate, she tapped my shoulder and had me look out the window. The baggage handlers were tossing the bags onto the tarmac (I mean slamming them at times). We took a video with the iPhone. I noted the tail number as well. Should I even bother to let American Airlines know? I tried to call customer service but they really couldn't care less.
 
When you have a set amount time to unload a plane and load it back up with 200 300, 400 bags. Some that are heavy as hell, there isn't really any thought into placing bags gently. I did that work for years.
 
Post it on youtube and let them handle the PR nightmare if it goes viral. I would say try to talk to the company first but you already tried that. Every company has incidents, its how its handled that matters.
 
Knowing the TSA and baggage handling people are going to be messing with my stuff, I just try not to put anything valuable into a checked bag. I put anything liquid in ziplock bags in case the container leaks and if I must carry anything breakable I wrap it up in clothes and pray the TSA goon doesn't unwrap my stuff.

Or... as I told my wife... now that I have my own airplane unless we absolutely have to, no more commercial flights. I hate dealing with the TSA and their goofy rules, the airline baggage rules, the cattle chute experience going through the airport, and the crowds in general.
 
The TSA goons regularly CUT resealable plastic bags on me. My wife put a stack of handouts (maybe a 100 half sheets of paper ) in a zip lock, they CUT it. I packed wine in wine skins (you just unpeel the base of it, it's obvious). They cut it. My wife packed a oily vacuum pump in a clear plastic bag with a note and a roll of duct tape and asked if the TSA if they were going to open the bag, could they at least reseal it.

If you don't pack your bag such that it can be thrown you're a fool. Even if the ramp rats don't chuck it to the tarmac, the mechanized processing isn't the most gentle device. The fun ones to watch are the "rollers" where a bag that's more or less round can't make it up a conveyor and just sits there and rolls incessantly until someone kicks it.
 
It can't be worse than DIA on opening day….

I flew into DIA on opening day. Had to go on a business trip from Denver to Pennsylvania. Flew out from Stapleton, but flew back into DIA.

I vaguely remember somebody commenting after the plane landed (crewmember over the intercom maybe?) something about our plane was part of the first simultaneous three plane instrument landing in the US...or something like that.

With all the baggage system problems that airport had, I just knew it was going to take forever on opening day to get them. After fighting through all the crowds, and reporters, and taking the tram to baggage pickup, I was amazed bags were already there waiting on us.

After flying through DIA many many times in the years I lived in Colorado, I grew to really like DIA. Except for the distance from Denver proper, and my car getting broken into once in the parking garage, I think it's a great airport.
 
If your stuff is.going to get broken its most likely going to be the giant medal arms that kick it from one conveyer belt to the next in the bag room. Especially at ord. Those things will take your head off
 
I rarely travel on commercial airlines any more, but if I do, I send my bags first. Either by USPS or Fedex. Then I carry on a laptop case. They make great overnight bags.
 
I spent 35 years loading baggage, supervising people loading baggage, and managing people supervising people loading baggage.

I was never able to stop people from throwing, dropping, or otherwise launching baggage in a trajectory. The best I could do was convince them to not do it within sight of the customers.

Send your video to the airline's Customer Relations department, post it online.
 
When the bag crew isn't throwing,dropping your bags ,they are looting them. Not much you can do . It's not a priority with the airlines. Most people don't complain,if they get their bag when they de plane.
 
Dare I use the "U" word here?
 
Now a days I just fill up a carry on bag. If that's not enough, I buy what I need when I get to the destination, or go without. Usually the latter.

It's amazing how little you REALLY need when you are on the road.
 
I flew into DIA on opening day. Had to go on a business trip from Denver to Pennsylvania. Flew out from Stapleton, but flew back into DIA.

I vaguely remember somebody commenting after the plane landed (crewmember over the intercom maybe?) something about our plane was part of the first simultaneous three plane instrument landing in the US...or something like that.

With all the baggage system problems that airport had, I just knew it was going to take forever on opening day to get them. After fighting through all the crowds, and reporters, and taking the tram to baggage pickup, I was amazed bags were already there waiting on us.

After flying through DIA many many times in the years I lived in Colorado, I grew to really like DIA. Except for the distance from Denver proper, and my car getting broken into once in the parking garage, I think it's a great airport.


That automated German system was destroying stuff during testing and was mostly gutted and replaced with humans by opening day.

They also have a LOT of time to get to the carousel while you're riding the train in DEN.

And for the record, I definitely threw bags ... Hard ... Numerous times when I was in the biz. We just weren't dumb enough to do it right outside the windows where all the people were watching.

You can't possibly do a quick turn on an MD-80, with three guys, without throwing stuff. Ask me how I know.

Pro tip: Load the dead bodies with their heads forward, or else they leak.
 
It's not just bags that get thrown around (literally). Go out on a cargo ramp sometime and see the stuff that goes on.
 
Pro tip: Load the dead bodies with their heads forward, or else they leak.

Air Force loading policy, 1969 (Ton Son Nhut):

Higher ranks on top of lower ranks, heads to the front, females on top of males.


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Nearly 20 years ago, I joined an aerospace shipment at a remote site (in the US). The shipment had a pair of Environmental Data Recorders (EDRs) attached to it. These recorded data from accelerometers, thermometers, and hygrometers. I was to carry the EDRs back, on my return home.

The trip back included flying on a commuterliner as well as on a common twin-engine jet airliner. Like any engineer, I couldn't resist the temptation: I activated the EDRs for the trip home.

I carried tthe EDRs in my checked suitcase, a large hard-sided older model American Tourister. One was in a metal foam-lined case specifically designed for the job; the other was placed between layers of clothing (isolated from the sides of the suitcase). I'm going to use the results of the loose EDR as more representative of ordinary belongings inside the suitcase.

Axial orientation was as follows: Imagine the suitcase lying flat. The EDR Y-Axis was parallel to the hinge line of the suitcase, and the X axis was parallel to the ground from the back to the front of the suitcase. The Z-Axis was "up" in this orientation, in the direction the top would open.
Note the axial directions change while the suitcase is carried: The Y axis is in the direction of travel, the X axis is "up", and the Z axis points to the side.

The EDR stored the 70 highest impacts. The threshold was set to 1G, but enough events occurred to fill the buffer, at which point the lower impacts were rewritten by the higher.

The EDR was activated at 7:03 AM. A near-continuous series of 23 shocks is recorded from 07:13:04 to 07:13:32. X axis predominated, ranging from 1.85 to 3.75 Gs. During this period, the suitcase was being towed on its wheels over a rough asphalt parking lot. In this attitude, X axis was vertical. A look at the event spectrum revealed that the environment was quite sine-wave like, rather than a series of individual impacts. Frequency was approximately 25 Hz.

40 seconds after the cessation of the series, a single impact was detected, with the Z axis predominating (2.24Gs Z, 1.85Gs X, 1.05Y). At this time, I had opened the car trunk and hoisted the suitcase inside. I loaded it flat, hence the primary shock in the Z axis.

After completing some other business, I arrived at the airport at 09:09. Here, another series of X-axis shocks occur as I tow the bag into the terminal. These are lower than the first set; the airport sidewalks were smoother than the earlier parking lot.

Nothing occurred until about ten minutes prior to departure of the small turboprop commuterliner. Then seven shocks with different axes predominating, maximum 5.6G... obviously when the baggage was being loaded onto the aircraft.

No shocks are recorded from that time until the plane arrived at the hub airport... this arrival time was approximately 90 minutes prior to departure of the major carrier for the next leg. Twenty shocks occur in this period, with 14 of them over one five-minute period (probably transhipment from one baggage carrier to another). Various axes, maximum 5.26Gs, most in the 2-3G range.

I suspect the last shock of this series (~45 min prior to scheduled departure) was the suitcase being loaded on the aircraft, as no shocks were recorded until after takeoff. It gets interesting about a half-hour after the plane got airborne. Three shocks, a minute or so apart, with maximum values of 10.1, 9.13, and 5.429Gs! I recall nothing but ordinary turbulence in that period. Luggage shifting in the bay, I suspect. The 10.1 G event lasted about 0.1 seconds with a short period of damping afterwards.

Other than that... two ~3.5G hits during descent (undoubtedly baggage shifting again) and a 6.167G impact at landing (rough landing). There didn't seem to be any destination-airport baggage-handling events, just another Z-axis hit when I dropped the suitcase into the trunk of my own car.

For the entire travel period, the maximum G level was:
X = 6.167
Y = 6.889
Z = 10.10

These sound high, but remember, most of them are short-lived events with not much energy in them. It should be noted that I carried a china teapot in the same suitcase as the EDR (wrapped in bubble wrap); it arrived unbroken.

Ron Wanttaja
 
I pack so you can basically chuck my bag off the terminal roof at the plane and as long as it stays closed, no worries.
 
For the entire travel period, the maximum G level was:
X = 6.167
Y = 6.889
Z = 10.10

These sound high, but remember, most of them are short-lived events with not much energy in them. It should be noted that I carried a china teapot in the same suitcase as the EDR (wrapped in bubble wrap); it arrived unbroken.

Ron Wanttaja


Okay....you've set a record for most analytical approach to baggage handling surveillance in recorded history!
 
Okay....you've set a record for most analytical approach to baggage handling surveillance in recorded history!
I'm a Space Systems Engineer by profession. This means I stay up late at night, wondering whether "Anal Retentive" should be hyphenated... :)

Ron Wanttaja
 
I'm a Space Systems Engineer by profession. This means I stay up late at night, wondering whether "Anal Retentive" should be hyphenated... :)

Ron Wanttaja

:lol: When people ask me about getting into the yacht industry I as them, "Are you an OCD personality, a neat freak, and are you comfy living in a prison cell?" If the answer is 'No' I tell them forget it, they'll hate life.:rofl:
 
Post it on youtube and let them handle the PR nightmare if it goes viral. I would say try to talk to the company first but you already tried that. Every company has incidents, its how its handled that matters.

It is American. They could care less. When management treats their employees like crap, that is the kind of service you can expect.
 
It is American. They could care less. When management treats their employees like crap, that is the kind of service you can expect.

Exactly!

I recently had the displeasure to fly on AA. It was a fairly new 737-800 and the outside looked like hell, one of the filthiest airplanes I've seen in a while.

The interior was packed tight with minimal leg room seating, a drab interior that was just as filthy.

The FA's were all older than me, and had the "I could give a **** less attitude".
 
Exactly!

I recently had the displeasure to fly on AA. It was a fairly new 737-800 and the outside looked like hell, one of the filthiest airplanes I've seen in a while.

The interior was packed tight with minimal leg room seating, a drab interior that was just as filthy.

The FA's were all older than me, and had the "I could give a **** less attitude".


You find cracks and corrosion on filth-less airplanes, they don't want to see that stuff.
 
Recently came home on AA without my North Face Rolling Thunder bag. Several days later, AA called my phone, which I had written on the side of the bag. The AA baggage folks had torn ALL tags, even their flight# and destination tag off my bag. Unbelievable they are allowed to subject checked bags to this level of abuse.
 
Recently came home on AA without my North Face Rolling Thunder bag. Several days later, AA called my phone, which I had written on the side of the bag. The AA baggage folks had torn ALL tags, even their flight# and destination tag off my bag. Unbelievable they are allowed to subject checked bags to this level of abuse.

Not to make excuses, but I've seen tags totally destroyed by conveyor systems. Not necessarily by an act of a handler.
 
Exactly!

I recently had the displeasure to fly on AA. It was a fairly new 737-800 and the outside looked like hell, one of the filthiest airplanes I've seen in a while.

The interior was packed tight with minimal leg room seating, a drab interior that was just as filthy.

The FA's were all older than me, and had the "I could give a **** less attitude".

American and United are in close competition for no leg room. The other day an AMR flight from Miami to somewhere in Europe had to land at Boston because the Air Marshals had to break up a fight over some 61 year old man getting hostile with the guy in front of him for reclining his seat.

I had a United flight from Sydney to LA on a 747 the had me chewing on my kneecaps the whole way. I'll never fly either again until the rest of the airlines catch up in the race to the bottom of customer service and comfort.

Oh yeah, United and American are competing for second place, Spirit has a significant lead in discomfort with all non reclining seats.
 
I guess I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would fly commercially from CHI to STL when it's only a four hour drive. Sure it was Labor Day weekend but, still...

I just can't imagine that it was quicker to fly even if one adds an hour or two for holiday weekend traffic. And the hassles...why?

After 9/11, and when I was still working for others, if I could get somewhere in 8 hours or less then I gave absolutely no consideration to flying commercially. Check out a company vehicle and go.

This was especially true since our airport wasn't a hub and direct flights were rare.
 
American and United are in close competition for no leg room. The other day an AMR flight from Miami to somewhere in Europe had to land at Boston because the Air Marshals had to break up a fight over some 61 year old man getting hostile with the guy in front of him for reclining his seat.

I had a United flight from Sydney to LA on a 747 the had me chewing on my kneecaps the whole way. I'll never fly either again until the rest of the airlines catch up in the race to the bottom of customer service and comfort.

Oh yeah, United and American are competing for second place, Spirit has a significant lead in discomfort with all non reclining seats.
I flew LA to Sydney in Delta 777. It actually wasn't too bad up until the 13th hour. Those seats up front sure looked nice.
 
I flew LA to Sydney in Delta 777. It actually wasn't too bad up until the 13th hour. Those seats up front sure looked nice.

When I was working in Aus and Indonesia, it was in my contract to fly business class. I used to fly Virgin Australia in their new 777s, really good service and the most comfortable full flat lay down seats. Cathay Pacific is another favorite of mine, I used to fly them into Jakarta.
 
When I was working in Aus and Indonesia, it was in my contract to fly business class. I used to fly Virgin Australia in their new 777s, really good service and the most comfortable full flat lay down seats. Cathay Pacific is another favorite of mine, I used to fly them into Jakarta.
I hear international airlines have awesome first/business class seats. I only really fly Delta though and their seats aren't bad.
 
I hear international airlines have awesome first/business class seats. I only really fly Delta though and their seats aren't bad.

The older 747s like United has, the business class seats suck. Yes, they stretch out fully, but end up sloping down to the footwell steep enough that you slide down it and it's tough to get good sleep in it.
 
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