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Anyone who flys today knows that EVERY flight is overbooked and the overhead space runs out. You have $$$ gear, best be planning ahead and using a Pelican/Storm/Etc type case.
And second, while it sucks to have broken gear, that's what insurance is for. It's not the fault of Delta that they try to offer the cheapest seats possible and want to accommodate everyone. And by doing that, they often run out of overhead bin storage. File it with your insurance (mine are covered under homeowners, and like my jewelry and guns, have a $0 deductible), get replacements and move on... hopefully learning not to do the same thing twice.
You want to Completely avoid no overhead space? Pay for first class (or business class, or whatever the top tier of ticket is), you'll board first and have a whole plane worth of overhead space.
Write-ups like this do nothing but irritate me at the ignorance of the writer.
Anyone who flys today knows that EVERY flight is overbooked and the overhead space runs out. You have $$$ gear, best be planning ahead and using a Pelican/Storm/Etc type case.
And second, while it sucks to have broken gear, that's what insurance is for. It's not the fault of Delta that they try to offer the cheapest seats possible and want to accommodate everyone. And by doing that, they often run out of overhead bin storage. File it with your insurance (mine are covered under homeowners, and like my jewelry and guns, have a $0 deductible), get replacements and move on... hopefully learning not to do the same thing twice.
You want to Completely avoid no overhead space? Pay for first class (or business class, or whatever the top tier of ticket is), you'll board first and have a whole plane worth of overhead space.
Write-ups like this do nothing but irritate me at the ignorance of the writer.
Agree with you Brian,
First: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. He should know to use a hard sided camera bag, typically a Think Tank roller or Pelican case, because there is always a chance than any large item will be tagged to be put in checked baggage.
Second: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. He should know to separate any large lens from the camera body and put it in a separate case or vice versa. That way, if the large lens should be damaged, his camera is still usable. With a seven-pound 500mm lens hanging on the camera, the most fragile point is the lens mount. The article does not detail what, if any, damage was incurred on the lens, just the lens mount. If this is the case, Mr. Mosher could have picked up a new camera body and continued with his photo expedition.
Third: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. Stuff happens. Anyone in the business knows this and plans accordingly. This may not include insurance, as it is actually very expensive for professionals who have in excess of $25,000-50,000 worth of gear (home owners insurance will not cover professional gear), but will include a repair/replacement fund. Additionally, if Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer he should have joined NPS, Nikon Professional Services, who could have provided a replacement loaner lens and body within one day.
Fourth: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. His gear at risk is worth approximately $13,000. If he is worried that his gear would be damaged in checked baggage (a reasonable worry) and he couldn't get satisfaction, he should have just walked off the flight which probably cost less than $1000 and rebooked.
Fifth: One wonders if Mr. Mosher is really a professional photographer. We (Professional Photographers) all know that any photo gear on a plane is not covered by the airlines.
You want to Completely avoid no overhead space? Pay for first class (or business class, or whatever the top tier of ticket is), you'll board first and have a whole plane worth of overhead space.
Or get the airline credit card for the airlines you fly most frequently. For $100/year per airline card, you'll get to board just after First Class and any elites flying Economy Class, and there will be plenty of bin space left.
One catch; watch out for regional jets, because many of them have overhead bins too small to accommodate a standard 9x14x22" carryon. If you're going to be on a regional jet, either pack your gear in a bag that is small enough to go under the seat, or pack it in a carryon-sized hard-sided Pelican-style case which you will lock with a TSA-approved lock and gate-check. The latter approach doesn't 100% guarantee that nothing bad will happen to your gear, but it greatly increases the odds in your favor.
EDITED TO ADD; One of the reasons I switched over to a mirrorless sytem is that I can pack two camera bodies and 3 or 4 lenses plus a small flash and assorted chargers, cables, etc. in a bag that's small enough to fit under the seat on any plane. Regional jets are the mainstay at my local airport, and I don't like to take chances with expensive gear.
I never check my photography equipment, and I carry it in a Pelican. If I'm not in First Class, I'll check the Pelican at the gate, so that I know it's on the plane with me.
first: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. He should know to use a hard sided camera bag, typically a think tank roller or pelican case, because there is always a chance than any large item will be tagged to be put in checked baggage.
Second: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. He should know to separate any large lens from the camera body and put it in a separate case or vice versa. That way, if the large lens should be damaged, his camera is still usable. With a seven-pound 500mm lens hanging on the camera, the most fragile point is the lens mount. The article does not detail what, if any, damage was incurred on the lens, just the lens mount. If this is the case, mr. Mosher could have picked up a new camera body and continued with his photo expedition.
Third: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. Stuff happens. Anyone in the business knows this and plans accordingly. This may not include insurance, as it is actually very expensive for professionals who have in excess of $25,000-50,000 worth of gear (home owners insurance will not cover professional gear), but will include a repair/replacement fund. Additionally, if mr. Mosher is a professional photographer he should have joined nps, nikon professional services, who could have provided a replacement loaner lens and body within one day.
Fourth: Mr. Mosher is a professional photographer. His gear at risk is worth approximately $13,000. If he is worried that his gear would be damaged in checked baggage (a reasonable worry) and he couldn't get satisfaction, he should have just walked off the flight which probably cost less than $1000 and rebooked.
Fifth: One wonders if mr. Mosher is really a professional photographer. We (professional photographers) all know that any photo gear on a plane is not covered by the airlines.
From the article: "I’m a Silver Medallion flyer on Delta (which means basically I’ve spent a lot of money on their flights)."
LOL...Silver Medallion is the lowest realm of their frequent flyer level. That's embarassing he even mentions that. You get that probably with one flight a year. Tell him to mention his status when he gets at least Platinum because even my Gold Medallion and million miler status on Delta mean nothing. I imagine his outburst "Do you know who I am! I am a SILVER MEDALLION!" must have gotten a laugh at Delta.
No, the guy is an idiot. And creating a blog of THEE SOCIAL INJUSTICE of it all to create the obligatory social storm makes him look like even more of an idiot. Luggage reimbursement limits for damage and loss is clearly stated in your airline agreement is readily available on the internet. Even then, it's common sense and common knowledge that you don't check in luggage any items of any excess monetary or personal value, if it is that valuable you either hand carry it or ship it to your destination beforehand with insurance.
Luggage reimbursement limits for damage and loss is clearly stated in your airline agreement is readily available on the internet. Even then, it's common sense and common knowledge that you don't check in luggage any items of any excess monetary or personal value, if it is that valuable you either hand carry it or ship it to your destination beforehand with insurance.
Given that the airlines tell passengers they are allowed one full-sized carryon and one personal item even though they know full well they can't accommodate a large carryon for every passenger (there's only enough bin space for about 65% of the passengers to have a large carryon), and that regional jets can't accommodate a standard carryon at all, I do think the luggage reimbursement limits are set far too low. Fed-Exing gear to the passenger's end destination is expensive, and sometimes it's not possible at all. And if the threatened electronics ban ever goes through, carrying on camera gear won't be possible any more. (Fortunately it's looking less and less likely that a total electronics ban will be implemented.)
The airlines shouldn't be able to force passengers to check items they were told they would be able to carry aboard at the time they bought their ticket, and then escape all liability for damaging those items.
Given that the airlines tell passengers they are allowed one full-sized carryon and one personal item even though they know full well they can't accommodate a large carryon for every passenger (there's only enough bin space for about 65% of the passengers to have a large carryon), and that regional jets can't accommodate a standard carryon at all, I do think the luggage reimbursement limits are set far too low. Fed-Exing gear to the passenger's end destination is expensive, and sometimes it's not possible at all. And if the threatened electronics ban ever goes through, carrying on camera gear won't be possible any more. (Fortunately it's looking less and less likely that a total electronics ban will be implemented.)
The airlines shouldn't be able to force passengers to check items they were told they would be able to carry aboard at the time they bought their ticket, and then escape all liability for damaging those items.
No. The airlines shouldn't be forced to pay for the idiot that failed to prepare for the lack of overhead space, failed to put his camera in a hard case, and failed to consider other options like shipping his camera (and then of course that cost would be passed on to me, the responsible consumer).
At least the idiot could have bought camera equipment insurance, which would cover one at both home and on the road. There is no excuse for the idiot here.
Given that the airlines tell passengers they are allowed one full-sized carryon and one personal item even though they know full well they can't accommodate a large carryon for every passenger (there's only enough bin space for about 65% of the passengers to have a large carryon), and that regional jets can't accommodate a standard carryon at all, I do think the luggage reimbursement limits are set far too low. Fed-Exing gear to the passenger's end destination is expensive, and sometimes it's not possible at all. And if the threatened electronics ban ever goes through, carrying on camera gear won't be possible any more. (Fortunately it's looking less and less likely that a total electronics ban will be implemented.)
The airlines shouldn't be able to force passengers to check items they were told they would be able to carry aboard at the time they bought their ticket, and then escape all liability for damaging those items.
As you can see, most of us don't agree with you on this matter. One has to be quite dumb to put expensive cameras and lenses in the overhead luggage compartment, or under the seat, unless the equipment is inside a Pelican or another case designed for that purpose.
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