[jakemon82]

This is a recounting of the experience my wife and I went through on our flight from Boston’s Logan Airport to Shanghai’s Pudong Airport on January 3-5, 2012. It is a trip that normally takes a little over 17 hours from take-off to touchdown, however, this time it took over 50 hours.

7:30am January 3: Board flight CO1158 for Newark – At the gate we are told there is no room left in the overhead compartments and we should check our two carryon bags through to Shanghai. This is not a major hassle, so we agree to it.

~9:00am: Arrive at Newark
10:30am: Board flight CO87 for Pudong, Shanghai

11:00am: Our flight from Newark to Pudong, Shanghai left on-time. Roughly 6 hours into the flight the lavatories start to backup so we must do a u-turn to the nearest airport; after 2 hours we make an “emergency landing” in Goose Bay, Canada. After 1 hour on the tarmac there, the pilot announces that no mechanics have yet come to fix the problem. We are finally able to takeoff from Goose Bay after 2 hours, but are informed that the flight crew would not be able to continue on to Shanghai and therefore we must return to Newark, 14 hours after having departed. We arrived at about 1:00am January 4; the plane is restocked and by 3:00am we are on our way again.

Or so we thought.

4:00am: The pilot announces they are having difficulty uploading the navigational flight plan to the plane (mind you this is the same plane that just made the same journey).
5:00am: The pilot announces the jet-way is having mechanical difficulties and cannot back away from the plane.
6:00am: The pilot announces there is a medical emergency, "do we have any doctors on board?" a passenger is removed.
6:30am: the flight is cancelled, for good this time.

We are left standing around the gate for 3 more hours with no one seemingly in charge from the airline. First we’re offered hotel accommodation, then it is retracted. Next we’re offered meal vouchers, then they don’t have them. The roughly 50% of passengers are at an even greater loss as there is no one on hand to explain in Chinese what is happening.
9:30am: Around 24 hours after we first arrived in Newark, they announce a hotel has been found about 20 minutes away from the airport for us to rest in and we will be re-boarding at 8:00pm. We ask about our checked luggage, including the carryon bags that we were unable to carry on, but are told a United representative will be staying with all the bags at all times so no need to worry and it would take some time to retrieve them, so we go rest until our next flight.
8:00pm: The next flight, now CO1756, goes off without any problems and we arrive in Shanghai around 12:00pm Boston time, January 5 (after midnight in Shanghai).

Upon arriving at the luggage carousel, my wife discovers someone has gone through our bags and stolen an Iphone 4S, Coach watch, and Burberry bag worth a total of over $1,500. These were all in a bag that was originally a carry-on, but had been told in Boston at the gate there was no room for and must check. We file a report with the local United representative and are told we will be contact the next day. Five days later, no one had contacted us and we file a formal report online.

We both lost 1 day of work as well as 1 vacation day, which is especially painful coming in early January of the year. After 7 weeks, countless emails, and more than 6 hours of international phone calls with mostly with India and the Philippines, but finally with someone in the US, we've been offered 30,000 miles OR a 500 USD flight voucher good only within the US (we both live in China) and a partial refund of the flight (they value a flight from Newark to Shanghai at USD 330). Hopefully the investigation into our missing goods is ongoing, but I’ve not heard from anyone in 4 weeks.

I would encourage anyone reading this never to fly with United again. The sad part is that over the last 5 years I’ve flown exclusively with Continental on this flight and never had a slip up. United should be ashamed of their customer service offerings and lack of empathy with customers in general.

[jakemon82]

In addition, we have not been credited with the 30,000 miles offered, two weeks after our last conversation with a miles representative.

[jimworcs]

First, make a police report, the thieving airline employees will not be able to blame the TSA, which is their usual claim. Your bag went through security with you present. If it was gate checked into the hold, presumably it remained in the control of United. You absolutely should report it to the police, explaining the full circumstances.

They will deny liability for your valuables, citing their Terms and Conditions. In fact, you followed their advice and kept the items with you. They removed them from you...and should be responsible for the thieves that they employ.

Then, gather together the receipts for your stolen items. File a claim with the airline, which includes copies of your receipts and copy this claim to the DOT. There is a link to the DOT on the "quick links" on this site. In your claim, point out that you kept these items in your possession and it was United who took them off you and made you gate check them.

I would not accept feeble excuses and token gestures. Hold out for cash compensation not miles. Do not accept compensation in this form for the items stolen by their thieving employees... they are responsible for the thieves they employ. Be prepared to file a small claims court claim....I think any reasonable court would find that you took all reasonable measures to protect your possessions. United took away your ability to do so by making you check the bag with the valuables that you were seeking to protect from their thieving employees.

[jakemon82]

Thanks for the tips. I live in China so have not filed a report in the US, but have filed one with United and they say they are processing it, but it's been 4 weeks since the baggage people have contacted me. We sent them all the receipts and the report we filed with a United rep at Pudong, Shanghai airport. The miles are what we are asking as compensation for the 50 hour flight. If we do not receive compensation for the stolen goods, we will file in the US, though again, this will be difficult as I live in China.
The worst part is that the customer service people have been blowing us off for the past several weeks. The stewardesses / captain / employees at the gate were all fairly friendly and accommodating, it has been the after-flight services that have been terrible.