My guess is that you have flown by commercial airliner at one point or another and likely recently and regularly.
And you have probably witnessed this scenario:
While you wait for a lesson on how to fasten a seatbelt buckle–just is case you have forgotten from the drive to the airport minutes ago– you can’t help but notice that husky gentleman in the aisle.
The one that is dripping with sweat from his run to catch the plane, from the TSA security check, because he is one of the last humans on earth who has not heard about unloading your pockets and the rest of the pre-metal detector procedures.
He grunts as he loads his over-sized carry-on bag into the overhead storage bin–and right on top of that $50 bottle of single malt scotch you just bought at the duty free shop.
You become nervous as he stares at this boarding pass and then glances at the seat numbers above the row of your window seat.
And yes, he has the middle seat next to you.
So you stare out the window just in time to see your bag get tossed a good six feet on to the conveyer belt going into the belly of the plane you are siting on–which is preferable to watching it get loaded into the plane next to yours that is headed for Hong Kong.
On more than one flight I have been captivated by the nonchalant behavior of a few baggage handlers, who appear to be in training for the Olympic shot put event, as they toss baggage across the tarmac towards a baggage carrier some distance away.
One bounce. Two bounces. Three bounces.
I find it infeasible that these luggage loaders have forgotten that the owners of those bags are sitting right there–right there next to them–in a plane the size of a two-story building–just watching them out of those little windows.
Are those bag-tossers oblivious to us staring at them in disbelief or are they possibly amused that us hapless passengers can do nothing more than lament that bottle of perfume we are taking to Aunt Bessy–that delicate bottle that we no longer can carry on the plane with us?
Won’t our business suit smell wonderful at that big sales meeting next day?
Oh well, I guess we should be happy our flight still even exists.
Nowadays, with airplane safety groundings and shuttered airline counters, a bent bag may be the least of our flying concerns.
[...] the heels of my expose’ disclosing airline baggage rough-handling–literally just under our noses–a report comes [...]
[...] I know that I prefer that my personal belongings accompany me, onboard, so that I might welcome them once I arrive at my destination, sans holes ripped in the bag, gashes in the plastic corners, and fresh oil stains on the material of my checked-in luggage—all of which I have experienced more than once, which includes any damage caused by the Baggage Handler Luggage Toss Olympics that I have previously reported on. [...]