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United Airlines' customer-relations woes continue, this time with a musician attempting to board with her centuries-old violin and being assaulted by a UA employee and having her hand injured.
A professional musician says a United Airlines employee tried to wrestle away her violin after she insisted on carrying the valuable antique onto her flight.
Yennifer Correia wanted to keep the violin, which is hundreds of years old and worth tens of thousands of dollars, with her while flying Sunday from St. Louis to Houston for work, reported KPRC-TV.
Federal law requires airlines to allow musicians to bring their instruments aboard as carry-on luggage, under certain conditions, but Correia said a United supervisor insisted she pay $50 to check in her violin.
"She was rude from the beginning, saying these are the rules — all you can take with you are some personal items on the plane, and the instrument is too big and it's not going to fit," Correia said.
[...] "She proceeded to throw herself on top of my suitcase, so she could take the rest of the sticker from my suitcase," Correia said. "At this point, we're both struggling — pulling the suitcase — and I'm trying to get her not to take the sticker from me."
This comes immediately after an incident where a wheelchair-bound woman was dropped by a UA employee, causing permanent injuries.
(Score: 2) by Entropy on Friday June 09 2017, @06:57AM (12 children)
More nonsense in the name of security. The TSA and all the idiotic policies from it need to be abolished. As to the wheelchair lady being dropped that sounded like a genuine accident: She seems kind of large, and that is no doubt a challenge.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 09 2017, @11:17AM (11 children)
This incident doesn't seem to have anything to do with security. The alleged altercation was with airline staff and presumably on airside.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Friday June 09 2017, @02:18PM (10 children)
Disagree. The TSA is a petty, completely arbitrary and useless layer; airline cabin staff constantly see passengers being grievously pushed around, and it's a very safe bet that they are taking their cues from those behaviors.
Considerable blame lies at the airline's feet for not training their employees better; but the employees themselves never acted like this before. The thing that has changed is that the path to the aircraft is now filled with jackbooted thugs, minus only the jackboots. The no-longer-latent bullies and thugs and petty dictators among the airline employees want themselves a piece of that. These incidents are the immediately visible tip of the iceberg arising from diseased personalities who think their day to act out has arrived, as demonstrated to them every day at the airline "security" cattle run.
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<rant>
If you can, it's long past time to stop flying commercially. I have. I think of it as having put all that airline ticket money into a very nice ground vehicle. It's turned out to be a great decision. I get to actually see the country, I ride in style and comfort, I stop and sleep anywhere I want, I find all manner of great eateries, I listen to fabulous music in reasonably high fidelity, I've built two of my related hobbies into the vehicle (shortwave and ham radio), I can fire up a laptop or a tablet any time I feel like it, I'm not jammed in a seat apparently designed by a one-armed, one-legged engineer with people reclined halfway into my lap, I can bring pretty much any amount of luggage I want, etc., etc. The most significant cost is time, and I'm fortunate enough to have that. Monetarily speaking, it does cost a little more – it's a large, heavy vehicle – but I can manage the costs well enough.
There was a day when I really enjoyed flying, too. Not in this century, though. Between the government's terrorism scam and its associated passenger abuses, the enormously reduced standards for aircraft cabin personnel, and the airlines playing Russian Roulette with whether they will honor your ticket or throw you off the aircraft, I'd just as soon pump my own fuel.
</rant>
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Friday June 09 2017, @04:09PM (2 children)
This summer I will take my first flight since about 2002 or so. But rather than apprehensive, I'm really excited.
On August 21 there will be a total solar eclipse across N. Central Oregon. Every hotel in that region has been booked solid for quite some time. When I was figuring this out and contemplating sleeping in my car, it struck me - small plane charter. I found one other person to fill the third seat and so the morning of the eclipse, my wife and I along with my friend will fly down to Oregon in a four seat Cesna, land on a little strip about half an hour before the eclipse, tumble out of the plane to watch it and munch on whatever breakfast we bring, then fly back. Low altitude views of the Puget Sound and Cascades there and back, a total eclipse in between, and no bullshit. I'm pretty excited.
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Friday June 09 2017, @04:41PM (1 child)
Yes, if you can avoid commercial flying, it's still totally fun.
I'm kind of waiting for them to drop the other shoe here, but inasmuch as private aircraft tend to be part of the playground of the rich, perhaps that won't happen.
I'm lucky enough to be very near the eclipse footprint, so it's just a (relatively) short (and very scenic) drive for me, less than a day. Waiting on the weather to see if it's worth the candle. The SO and I love little jaunts like this. We'll probably arrange to do some rock-hunting, too, if we go. Lots of great sites out here.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Friday June 09 2017, @09:36PM
For me, the idea of driving north from Oly through Everett on a weekday post eclipse, sounds like an apocalypse.
The charter itself wasn't what I'd call super cheap -- about $1300 total (or $433 for each passenger) for the round trip, but it also isn't millionaire territory either. I figured it is probably the last time an eclipse is going to happen so close to me in my lifetime and I can just cut out something else frivolous for a while.
Actually though, I checked commercial flights. A round trip low price is $231. Except I'd have to go the day before, so add $100 for a hotel, $50 for dinner, and whatever it costs to rent a car and pay for fuel from Portland and back. For two of us that would 712 before the rental car and probably at least 800 with it. Plus all the sitting around and waiting in line. The charter looks like a great deal actually.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 09 2017, @06:59PM (3 children)
Best of luck driving to an overseas destination.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 09 2017, @07:30PM
Best of luck with your reading comprehension problem.
(Score: 4, Funny) by fyngyrz on Friday June 09 2017, @09:24PM (1 child)
Perhaps in your perusal of the scientific literature, you've heard of that new invention, the "ship"? The claims are so amazing... it is said they float, right on the water. According to the précis, they are equipped with huge engines and these devices called "rudders", and it is claimed that by using these in some sort of combination, they can move in specific directions, intentionally, as if they were... aimed! Unbelievable, isn't it??? Not only that, but it is rumored that you can put your vehicle on a ship [shipoverseas.com], and just drive it off at the destination!
The floating business... apparently these supposed "ships" are made from ducks, or perhaps the collected bottles of SOS letters thrown into the sea by the ignorant stranded on the islands of online discussion forums. I got lost when the science in the main body of the "It Floats!" paper went over my head, you see, so I can't be authoritative on this matter.
Perhaps these "ships" are merely rumor. I cannot be sure. There are so many scams. I may have dreamed that last trip to Europe, to be honest. After all, floating... who could possibly credit that???
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 10 2017, @01:58PM
Of course he has heard of a ship. He also has an IQ over 80, so he realizes that adding extra days to travel time means you have less time at the destination. I know, hard concept to grasp for someone without a real career who stretches a stupid sarcastic one-liner to 3 paragraphs. It's one of those things people like you do. You haven't traveled the world, seen other cultures, opened up your mind. This makes you a bland person with nothing to contribute, so you dilute what you can. contribute. Literal homeopathy I'll call it.
You enjoy your drives and that ship you've never been on. We have things to do.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Friday June 09 2017, @08:53PM (1 child)
I prefer train travel myself, for longer distances: It cuts the travel time a bit because I don't have to stop to sleep, and basically I get to lounge around for a couple of days while the country goes by the windows. Plus, if you like chatting with strangers, there are plenty on board that also have a lot of time to waste, and you can get into fun discussions (e.g. talking with an Aussie about the importance of the wombat for describing the behavior of young Aussie men: Eats, roots, and leaves).
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Tuesday June 13 2017, @04:36PM
I like trains as well – same reasons, basically – and use Amtrak a couple times a year to the coasts when I'm short on time. But it's beginning to look like train and air service to my community may be cut off, so that door may be closing.
(Score: -1, Troll) by fakefuck39 on Saturday June 10 2017, @01:42PM