Dr. Savage,
Talking of the baggage lost with guns for special forces for Israeli PM, which ended up empty in another airport, you should stop to be surprised. The way it's handled until this day of advanced electronic surveillance, is unnerving, but very common. There are no cameras where whose things are being handled. Maybe they even hiring illegals to work there. Who knows?
I want to share my experience to take a lesson from. I believe that smart people learn from their mistakes and smarter people learn from other peoples' mistakes.
After 1998 crash of Swiss Air International flight 111 in Atlantic with 229 victims, I didn't want to use that airline whatsoever forever, because I found out that I had a far relative in that flight. He was a young, educated man who was going to Geneva to visit her mother's grave on 1st anniversary of her death. Although I didn't yet had a chance to meet with him, but met her aunt, who was a writer and wrote very heart-wrenching articles after that accident. I've gone to Switzerland in 2000, but on American plane.
I prefer to give business to American airlines and I flew Continental at that time to Zurich.
In 2007 I was going second time back to France and my travel agent said that it would be cheaper and much more flexible to go through Geneva, then take a train to South France. What's the rush? I should enjoy French country side and save money. Right? Right! He said that he had a "special" offer for Swiss Air International.
My answer was "no, no, no, I don't want to hear about that airline." He explained that the doomed one bankrupt the company, the new one owned by new people, the accident happened already 9 years ago and I should get over with my feelings and start a new day. That it didn't look like me to have an unfounded emotional "issue" like that. I didn't know what to say, maybe I'd write about beautiful French country side? My mind should have been momentarily distracted when I said "OK."
I usually travel with a handbag and a carry on suitcase. I've got into airport, saw cute stuffed animals, couldn't resist not to buy couple of them for gift. Although they were small and in a gift bag, they told me that it's a third piece and I should check my carry on luggage. I had it locked, I asked if I can open it to try to fit toys in, also I had my French cell phone in suitcase that I should take out (because I wasn't using it in America I just left it there).
It had all the French contacts that my American phone didn't have. They said "no, no time, don't worry, you can't open it now, leave it here, let it go" and rushed me out of there. Although couple of young guys smiled to me while picking it up, this was the second bad feeling I had after I said "OK" to that ticket conformation.
I've got on the plain and "surprise" would not be the right word. I was shocked and unnerved. This was something I have not seen. Inside of that aircraft looked like it was thrown away to junkyard, than picked it up to fly one more time on "special" offer. Old rotten sits, torn carpet that you could see the floor, everything was so old and worn out, it was scary. Next to me was a Swiss couple, nice looking, neat, dressed up. We were looking around and looking to each other exchanging nodding heads left and right. Sometimes keeping palms on our mouths, stretching lips, we kept quiet. In the middle of the flight was getting too cold. They brought some blankets and started trying to tape them on the walls. They brought the food. It looked like garbage and smelled like real trash. We were disgusted, looked at each other and returned the food. Stuff had scary faces, you wouldn't want to converse with them. We took only cop of coffee or tea. I had candies which I shared with that couple. That's all we ate for 8 hours.
I flew all my life from my childhood, every year on Aeroflot on all sort of small ones for short flights, big ones for longer flights, I flew Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Air France, Lufthansa, Sabina (on which I came to America). In the US I flew almost every national and international, TWA. British Airways, Continental, Delta, Virgin Atlantic, AA, United, you name it. I haven't seen anything remotely this atrocious. Inconveniences I have had; delays, waiting on tarmac, bad food, etc., but fear of feeling that screeching floor underneath of flying machine might opened up at any minute - I never had. Nothing you wanted to ask from that nasty crew. We were nervously keeping calm. Finally we landed. Door was stuck, it wasn't opening. 10, 20, 30 minutes without ventilation, people were getting irritated and becoming loud. Couple of men started swearing. I've got loud too. I said that my 3rd cousin died in doomed 111 flight and I never should take this s..t! That my stupid agent convinced me to do this stupidity, I should go with my gut feeling.
Everybody remembered that doomed flight and joined the screaming in agreement.
All the Swiss including the couple next to me said that the whole thing is in a hands of the same group of people. They declared bankruptcy under one friend's name and registered under another. It's a small place and the same people involved in the same industry. After 40 minutes, finally they opened the emergency door and we finally walked out in huge relieve. Between arrival and my train to France, which was ones a day, I should still have time to catch it. Freed from the hellish place I ran to pick up my baggage. No luck! No baggage! I'm running around asking what should I do. People are so obnoxious they look at you like their enemy who tries to give them a problem. Problem is the work, they don't like to work. Finally the forth person tells me where to go. I go there, they say "file a paper," if it comes tomorrow on the same flight we'll send to your address in Nice, otherwise it would be lost. I filed a paper, wrote that there was a phone and ran to train station. You CAN NOT possibly make this up; trains are not running. French railroad is on strike. I have to go to hotel, no choice. Costs me $100 the cheapest. I'm starving, grabbed some McDonald's on the way, ran into shower, got in bed, no TV, thanked God that I'm safe and went to sleep. Next day waiting for the same flight to arrive. It comes. People who handle this matter called me: "your baggage is here." I'm so emotionally drained that it's hard to believe in any good news. I go inside the baggage room with a woman, see fat, big, ugly alone man working there looking at me with discontent. The first thing instinctively I noticed that there is no camera on the ceiling or anywhere on the walls. We get around, and there it is - mine with broken Swiss lock and the zipper on the side where exactly the phone was. I opened it up and, of course, it's not there. It requires a SPECIAL tool and lots of force of a strong man to cut that lock's thick metal. My take was that they had it previous day, x-rayed it, saw the phone and kept it back to "tune it up."
And freak show face of that pig man working there was saying "take what you've got and go away, don't ask questions." Oh, well, I'm coming out, woman tells me I have to file out paper again with what's missing. She said broken or lost considered the same and should be compensated. I don't have time to go through everything I had there, just put a phone, got a complain number. Ran to train station. No luck, no trains. Got back to the same hotel, paid for another day, had no desire to go to see the city (I had been in Geneva before). Pushed myself to go for a walk at least, talk to people. It's not a social environment. Just kill the day to go back to sleep. The next day, thanks to Goodness Gracious, Frenchmen decided to move their butts. More than 7 hours train ride from from Mid East of France to South to Blue Coast didn't yield anything worth seeing. It's just nothing there. Only when you get to sea shore it gets green and somewhat interesting, if it's the first time, but when you come out of train station you walk right into dog s..t.
I emailed the company, they rejected any reimbursement. I mean nothing. They said they are not responsible and that's it. Which is not true. I found out a law, the name of the law and they are. My neighbor, who was a French teacher at school, helped me to write a letter to Railroad to ask to compensate for 2 days hotel cost, he said if they want, they would do that. They didn't. No matter how harsh I was with Swiss Air International on my emails (I kept those to show one day to the entire world), they couldn't care less.
I said that I promise that all my life I never will fly their planes. I said I don't want to use the half of the ticket on the way back, that I'll sue them, I'll put their name all over the world. No kidding! Who cares? Not them.
If they at least would honor the return of half of the ticket, I probably wouldn't bother writing this to you and ask to read it out loud to your audience. This should be my pay back and I'll never fly that stupid airline called "SWISS AIR INTERNATIONAL" again. Another important lessen to be learned the hard way is that you should ALWAYS go with your gut feeling. For me it has been proven over and over time after time.
My point for writing this to you is this: there are no cameras in baggage handling places, which is criminal. People you pay to service you are the ones victimizing you and there is no recourse. In Nice Airport you never should have someone to help you, rent a car or even get a taxi. Anything you have should be always in your hands without putting down, handing out, getting in any car. Keep everything in your hands, get on the bus with public, save money and be safe.
Their local newspaper called Nice Matin (Nice Morning) periodically was writing about burglaries in airport. Average 7-10 with the car, luggage and everything you possibly have. Especially now with cell phones thieves are going around pretending that they're passengers like you. Next thing you know you're by yourself on the side walk. Police will help you as much as the meditation can help the dead. I remember one advertisement on Monaco radio pleading to return $100.000 euro worth of professional TV camera for $10.000 euro reword - no questions asked. They came to film a big project and their equipment was stolen in Nice airport. THERE ARE NO CAMERAS. Plus, airports have no policy to check their handlers when they're leaving their jobs. So, they can go inside with tools, a truck, laud it up, drive it out or walk out with everything. The problem was so huge, that there were discussions to sell the airport to private company.
So, don't be surprised that the sealed bags checked in with machine-guns inside for Israeli PM ends up in Sahara desert riding on the becks of snakes and scorpions.
I didn't have a problem in USA so far, because I traveled light. But apparently, though might not as severe, the problem exists in here too.
So long.
