Delta Airlines Destroys Bike and Refuses to Refund Anything

[my4thjeep]

http://www.bit.ly/bGo5XL

Delta Airlines recently destroyed a local triathelete’s bike during transit. Triathelete James Lawrence is doing 20 triathons in 30 weeks to raise money for drought relief in Kenya. While traveling back from a triathlon in Hawaii his expensive custom bike was destroyed by Delta Airlines after paying $200 to check it.

I think Delta should fix this customer service issue or at least donate to the cause.

 

[jpest]

Delta has THE worst customer sevice on the planet! I try to avoid Delta in my travels if at all possible. That said I don't think that any airline will cover damage to anything that you check. Its check at your own risk right?

The only airlines that are worth anything anymore are Southwest and Jet Blue IMO

 

[Stephen]

You know, I've started to really hate flying. Check baggage fees and then they don't even guarantee that the bag will arrive or be intact. Getting bumped from over booked flights, increasingly cramped seats in coach, rising costs, inept airport security... I could go on and on and on.
I now drive if I know I can make it there in one day or if I can justify it as part of the trip.

 

[Kevin B.]

They won't replace checked luggage that's been damaged due to their own negligence? Unbelievable.

I hate airlines.

 

[mbryson]

the airline industry sucks worse than any industry at the moment.... Flying used to be a decent experience. Now it just sucks. I did have a good experience on Continental in March. They even gave us a meal without charging us. I understand the airlines are having financial issues. PLEASE let me check ONE bag with my ticket without a surcharge. If I can't pack in one checked bag what I need, I'd be fine with paying. All the fees just suck.

Next time I get delayed on a flight, I think I'm going to bill the airline for my time. See what happens. (@ssholes and their fees)

sorry to hear about the bike. If I travel by air again (I'd assume I will), I'm seriously considering FedEx or UPS for my luggage. Have it delivered to my hotel at my destination.

 

[Stephen]

If I travel by air again (I'd assume I will), I'm seriously considering FedEx or UPS for my luggage. Have it delivered to my hotel at my destination.

Thats not a bad idea. Especially since the budget airlines are starting to charge for carry on luggage and we know that that will just trickle up soon enough.

 

[muddyjeep]

If I was him I would sue the hell out of Delta!! This is just like when United breaks Guitars! Same deal they refused to do anything about it! WTF!
I have made the choice not to fly anymore! Sick of all the BS!

 

[Cody]

That's lame. That's probably a 10k bike.

 

[Jesser04]

I'm sure that bike was between 5-10k. Who in there right mind puts a bike like that on a plane with out some kind of insurance to cover it? It's not like this is the first time anyone has ever heard of a delta losing or damaging anything. I'm not by any means defending delta. But seriously checking a bike like that isn't the smartest move. I wonder if he just bubble wrapped it?

 

[Tacoma]

The only airlines that are worth anything anymore are Southwest and Jet Blue IMO

Word! I love JetBlue.


1. I'd love to see how they destroyed a bike packed in a bike case-- they are damn tough and would almost take an intentional act to hurt the contents. The cheap-ass $300 Trico I used to use was damn near indestructible, and I know there are much nicer and tougher cases out there. So they're not going to cover that? Well, I hope the court sees it a different way, because that's flat-out fu.. screwy.

2. Airlines are responsible but usually they have enormous, wordy legal disclaimers, so hopefully he won't be SOL when it comes time to pay up. See #1-- I don't know that the damage we're talking about can even BE incurred in what would be reasonable, everyday-risky airline handling. You really have to work to mess up a decent bike case, and I'm sure a professional triathlete with a $5k+ bike is using at least a Trico. So $%$@%! the airlines.


EDIT: if he didn't have it in a case, then he's retarded and almost asked for it. Almost. Still, $@%#@ the airlines.

 

[Kevin B.]

Watch the video, it looks like it was in a softcase.

Doesn't matter - you'd have to run it over repeatedly to do enough damage to destroy a triathlon bike.

 

[wally]

And Delta just put 2 kids on the wrong planes. How does that happen. Dont they have tickets? I know when I had to send my daughter to see her mother I made sure her mom never bought a ticket where she had to have a layover. I know not the bike subject but it is about Delta again.

 

[my4thjeep]

I posted this mostly because its outrageous that a company can get away with this.

I agree with most of you in that he should have insured it etc etc but to be completely unsympathetic to the point that they won't even offer a refund of the shipping price is insane to me. I hope people choose the better airlines and Delta and those who fail to deliver a good product at a fair price suffer.

 

[Ogre Palowakski]

This is why I don't do triathlons.

 

[Tacoma]

This is why I don't do triathlons.

 

[Stacey]

sorry to hear about the bike. If I travel by air again (I'd assume I will), I'm seriously considering FedEx or UPS for my luggage. Have it delivered to my hotel at my destination.

I fly all the time and rarely check bags, usualy only take a small carry-on, it is pretty cheap to fed ex a box of clothes to your hotel, then fed ex the dirty laundry back home. My wife gets annoyed with me for doing this, but never complains about not having to wait in line for checked bags. Any of the decent hotels will fed ex right from the front desk and charge the shipping fee to your room.