Lenses stolen from baggage - British Airways say 'tough, not our problem'.

[Mark Whatmore]

I've just been on an amazing shoot in Kenya but when I came to unpack I discovered that my two Red zooms had been stolen from my checked baggage on the Nairobi to London flight. When I phoned British Airways they said that they don't cover 'high value items'. In effect if your underpants are stolen they'll compensate you. If your lenses are stolen they won't.

They suggested that all such items should be carried as hand luggage, which is hardly possible as the camera and batteries already need to be carried and the limits on hand baggage are getting tighter all the time.

I'm deeply pissed off - BA are supposed to be a premium airline and my feeling is that they should be responsible for baggage once it's handed over to them. Anyone have similar experiences with BA or others.

 

[SUNILPREM]

Sorry to hear that Mark...................Very Unfortunate.

 

[Ivan McCullough]

That sucks Mark.

If you need them back and can stomach it then offering a reward through a known company in Nairobi is probably your best bet.

Personally I would have problems doing something that way it just depends on where your pragmatisim starts and ends.

 

[Paul Russell]

I know that this is unhelpful at this late juncture, but I've found airlines to be very lenient with cinematographers and photographers when it comes to hand luggage allowances.
Do you have insurance?

 

[Mark Whatmore]

Thanks guys - I do have insurance, but claiming is expensive and sure to boost my future premiums. I'm just pissed off with British Airways, who seem so disinterested and very happy to wash they hands of the issue as swiftly as possible.

 

[Michael Tiemann]

Thanks guys - I do have insurance, but claiming is expensive and sure to boost my future premiums. I'm just pissed off with British Airways, who seem so disinterested and very happy to wash they hands of the issue as swiftly as possible.

If you make a claim, then the insurance company is able to go after BA. They, too, might not get anywhere, but they have a lot more time/money/resources to squeeze BA than you do.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

I'm sorry to hear that. It's a nightmare.

What is the law in regards of luggages handed over to an air carrier? Do they have any responsability in case of robbery, damages caused to the goods?

Thanks.

Pat

I had once a security check who dropped a lens...

 

[Mark Whatmore]

It seems that the 'small print' exempts them from any responsibility for 'high value' items. I'm not sure how that applies to damage, but in terms of items that are 'lost or stolen' all they feel obliged to do is say 'sorry'. You would think that a big and premium airline like British Airways would at least want to investigate the issue, or offer some gesture of goodwill, but apparently not.

 

[Dave Blackham]

Mark,

This is not good, sorry to hear. Lets catch up next week as this affects many of us.

Dave

 

[Zeb B]

If I owned an airline I wouldn't cover the insurance cost of high value professional equipment or jewelry. That is what insurance companies are for. Anyone who travels with RED related gear should have specific, itemized insurance that covers this gear. Do it today

 

[Ketch Rossi]

I've just been on an amazing shoot in Kenya but when I came to unpack I discovered that my two Red zooms had been stolen from my checked baggage on the Nairobi to London flight. When I phoned British Airways they said that they don't cover 'high value items'. In effect if your underpants are stolen they'll compensate you. If your lenses are stolen they won't.

They suggested that all such items should be carried as hand luggage, which is hardly possible as the camera and batteries already need to be carried and the limits on hand baggage are getting tighter all the time.

I'm deeply pissed off - BA are supposed to be a premium airline and my feeling is that they should be responsible for baggage once it's handed over to them. Anyone have similar experiences with BA or others.

Mark, sorry to hear...

FYI...

I have now been traveling across the glob for the past 25+ years with heavy Back Pack + A carry on...

Before was full of Still cameras and Still lenses...

For the past 3 years has been full of Red Epic cameras and Cine lenses...

The Back Pack usually has a weight of about 40 to 50LB and same goes for the Carry on... Which is either a 1510 style Peli case or the likes, or a Think Thank Airport wheeled Bag...


NO AIRLINE can forbid from taking on board a CAMERA BAG, no matter how heavy....

In all this years I only head about couple of incidents were they give me lots of SH*T and I called upon the head Host, and once even upon the Captain... Both times the Bag was allowed in...


Just so you know next time... Fil that Back Pack + a carry on as heavy as you won't NO ONE can say SH*T about it, and if they do now you know what to do...


There is still NO REGULATORY weight limit for a on board "CAMERA BAG"!!

 

[George Butterfield]

they should be responsible for baggage once it's handed over to them. Anyone have similar experiences with BA or others.

Stealing from passengers checked baggage has been a booming business for criminals for the past Fifty years.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

It would not make sense for airlines to cover high value items; anyone could claim anything at any time, fraud is already rampant in the insurance game, that would just encourage more.

There are shipping agents who reliably deal with such things when you exceed carry on limits, and an especially good idea when you must travel through places like Nairobbery, Thiefrow, and all the other ramp rat hotspots.

 

[Mike McEntire]

That blows. Sorry to hear that you got burned. Good luck getting everything resolved. Airlines are pretty hardcore with the baggage stuff. How about paying 100 dollars a surfboard and upon arrival the boards are broken beyond repair. NO COMPENSATION!!! Why did I pay extra? And so it goes...

 

[Zeb B]

Mark, sorry to hear...

FYI...

I have now been traveling across the glob for the past 25+ years with heavy Back Pack + A carry on...

Before was full of Still cameras and Still lenses...

For the past 3 years has been full of Red Epic cameras and Cine lenses...

The Back Pack usually has a weight of about 40 to 50LB and same goes for the Carry on... Which is either a 1510 style Peli case or the likes, or a Think Thank Airport wheeled Bag...


NO AIRLINE can forbid from taking on board a CAMERA BAG, no matter how heavy....

In all this years I only head about couple of incidents were they give me lots of SH*T and I called upon the head Host, and once even upon the Captain... Both times the Bag was allowed in...


Just so you know next time... Fil that Back Pack + a carry on as heavy as you won't NO ONE can say SH*T about it, and if they do now you know what to do...


There is still NO REGULATORY weight limit for a on board "CAMERA BAG"!!

Maybe in First Class but for us flying Coach I would not count on this. In Asia some airlines have dedicated staff and scales outside of the gate to weigh your carry-on to see if it exceeds . . . wait for it . . . 15LBS!!

The tiger women that run these scales don't care what you have in the bag or even speak English very well. If it's over the limit then it is checked at the gate. Period. Raising hell is a great way to miss your flight and get on a No Fly list. The 15lb logic is that the stewardesses on some of these Asian flights are 4' 8", weigh 83lbs so cannot be expected to assist with heavy overhead bags. Private airlines can, and do, set their own weight limits. Check their website before traveling and don't count on a loud voice changing their policy.

Better idea: Bring a safari photog vest that has a dozen pockets in it. There is no weight limit to what you can WEAR. Once on the plane . . . put the gear back into the camera bag. EZ PEEZY

Another gotcha: You fly out on Delta with a 70lb / 3 checked bag / 40lb carry on rule. They connect through a different Sister airline over in 3rd Worldville that has different rules. OK to fly in since they have to respect the rules of Delta (except for carry-ons). On your return trip, it is the Sister airline that sets the rules - not Delta. You are stuck and might have to ship equipment back. Check the rules of all airlines you will be on - not just the first leg. An obvious example of this would be traveling into Alaska or some other back country. You cannot expect to have a bush plane carry your Delta approved gear load.

 

[Mark Whatmore]

Thanks for all your sympathy - the carry on issue is also a constant struggle. I use a Thinktank Airport Addicted backpack as my carry on and have endless battles with airline staff about its size and weight - the rules shift all the time, some go on size, others on weight. I usually find that even after a bit of a battle I can get to take the backpack as hand baggage and load it with the camera body, 1 lense, matt box, 12 redvolts, a charger and basic sound kit. So it all else fails and my checked baggage doesn't make it then I can still shoot.

On this occasion I was on the way home, so put both my lenses in my checked baggage and lost them both.

It's not the end of the world as I am insured, but you would think the airline would show a little bit of interest.

 

[Sam Taylor]

So sorry to hear this. It is what would happen in my air travel nightmare. I wish airline approved locks could be reinstated in other areas of the world than the US. Plus ome kind of system where they authenticate your high-value items and if the bag vanishes, the lock is opened, or authenticated items are removed then they will pay you. Pipe dream I know!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Maybe in First Class but for us flying Coach I would not count on this. In Asia some airlines have dedicated staff and scales outside of the gate to weigh your carry-on to see if it exceeds . . . wait for it . . . 15LBS!!

Australia is a nightmare regarding bag weights.

 

[Les Dittert]

Nairobi : I landed there in November. That's the airport that burned down because they had no fire fighting gear, and the airport is now in temporary buildings. Our 747 was deplaned on the runway.
So I'm not surprised, and i'll bet you aren't either. What a busted ass country. I filmed in Tanzania and have no desire to return anytime soon. Sorry about the loss.

My carryon weighs 30 lbs. Never had an issue. Just tell them if they would like to be liable for $30,000 to be checked baggage, they let you carry on.

 

[paulherrin]

It's not the end of the world as I am insured, but you would think the airline would show a little bit of interest.

sorry for your misfortune, mark... you need to file a claim asap, your insurance company may see it being worth pressing the airline and/or local authorities. ask your agent whether you should contact those officials or if they will. you might want to post a reward or at least put the word out that the items are stolen. yeah, it sucks... but you're going to have to get the ball rolling with bigger guns if you want to rouse up any interest from the airline. they can't/don't care about you until it costs them something.