[Leica] Hand Baggage - Three Questions

[TTAbrahams at aol.com (TTAbrahams@aol.com)]

I  never check in luggage so  have not had any experience with baggage  
handlers in terminals around the world. When travelling I use only  
carry-on-luggage. IF I would have to check in  bags I would  want to have 
assurance (and 
insurance) from whatever Airport Authority that  deals with it that it is 
treated 
in such a manner that my stuff is intact at the  other end. 
Losing  luggage is usually not the airlines fault; it is the departure or 
arrivals  airport that screws it up. Theft from checked luggage occurs at 
the 
luggage  handling end of the business. It is not that easy to steal 
something 
while it is  in the hold of an aircraft. One way of ensuring that they treat 
the 
stuff well  is to present the check-in guys with a detailed list of 
equipment 
to be  checked; serial numbers, and type of equipment and cost of 
replacement 
and have  them sign it. This would force the airline to put pressure on the 
relevant  Airport Authority to handle it in a responsible manner and also 
hold 
them liable  for theft or damage to the full extent of the value! You can 
put 
anything on a  ticket limiting liability but in the end they are responsible 
for both you and  your luggage! The ticket constitutes a contract between 
the 
carrier, the airport  and you to deliver you to the assigned destination in 
a 
safe manner within the  parameters stated on the travel document. 
The  biggest problem will be the heavy dose of x-ray that checked luggage is 
subject  to. It will fog film and packing the film in lead-bags only 
increases 
the chance  of the handlers opening the bag to inspect the 'blobs" that show 
on the  screen - or boosting the level of x-ray used. I carry my film in 
clear 
plastic  Zip-loc bags, no paper-boxes and no plastic containers - just the 
film. Until  now I have never had a problem with this and if the travel does 
not 
involve  multiple airports I have not had any fogging of my Tri-X. 
Yes,  we  all want to travel safely but  also want both airlines and 
airports 
to  treat us decently. Without us they would not have jobs and they are a 
service  industry after all. As passengers we have rights and 
responsibilities  
too and if we co-operate with each other travel should be possible in a  
smooth 
manner. Make theft from checked in luggage a federal offence with a  minimum 
sentence in jail of at least 3 years and have IATA apply this to every  
airport that they control and in case of unwillingness to comply - remove 
them  from 
the air transport network. 
Air  travel always involved a bit of hassle and discomfort, but it is 
getting 
to the  point where one weighs the necessities of it with "is it worth the 
bother and  expense" and stay home instead. If enough of us do that there 
will 
be fewer  airlines, fewer airports and far more incentive to treat 
passengers 
as paying  customers rather than inconvenient interruptions to their work! 
Tom  A 
------------------------- 
Tom  Abrahamsson 
Vancouver, BC 
Canada 
_www.rapidwinder.com_ (http://www.rapidwinder.com/)