Qantas theft from luggage

[cjv]

Flew Qantas from Bali to Sydney in Nov 23. To not go beyond hand luggage requirements, I checked in luggage and used a padded Lowepro back pack inside a hard-shell suit case which was secured inside by an internal zip then locked externally.



I held no concern for the items to be damaged as all items where better packed then when they were first transported from China or elsewhere by aircraft. What I didn't expect was that a Qantas employee would break the zip open (bag remained locked) then unzip the internal zipper to remove the Lowepro bag. The bag then at some time was put in a Qantas clear plastic bag.



I contacted Qantas and was told too bad. I was also told the damage to the suitcase was too bad. After a month of getting nowhere with Qantas I finally got a message which suggested they were listening. I then completed the further steps they wanted. I then received the too bad too sad email.



I had been asking Qantas where the suitcase had been put in the plastic bag so I could report to police. They would not provide or respond to that.



Qantas have said it does not matter that items have been stolen and have said they should not have been carried in the checked luggage. The Lowepro Camera Bag is considered by them as a photographic accessory so should have not been carried in checked luggage. The tripod is in the same boat. Binoculars and sunglasses taken by the Qantas employee are considered by them as valuable items and should not have been in the checked luggage.



I provided proof to Qantas of all items and photographed each stage of the opening of the damaged bag given it had been accessed. This was to no avail.



What I learnt from this is that doing the right thing with hand luggage by respecting weight and dimension limits may not be the best option. I have also learnt that theft appears to be acceptable by Qantas.

 

[offshore171]

A little hard to follow. You packed a bag within another bag? What luggage actually arrived in Sydney? Just the outer case?

Is the suggestion that baggage handlers in Bali broke into your bag and pinched a camera?

 

[dk4]

My advice is never padlock your international checked bags, it is a red cloth to all the bulls along its path between check in and reclaim, not the least of which are customs and security at South East Asian airports. They see a lock (once your bag is air-side) and will pull that bag for additional inspection more often than not. (Especially if it has an American approved TSA lock, for which they don't have a key... they seem to especially love cutting those off, even without inspecting the bag.)

IME - your best bet for any added security on international flights through South East Asia, is to plastic wrap the bag (without locking it) prior to check in.

 

[RichardMEL]

I agree that the story seems a bit hard to follow. I wasn't sure what was actually stolen to be honest what with zips being broken and bags placed in plastic bags and whatever....

However, I'd be a bit careful to directly accuse a QF employee (or even contractor in SYD) of this. It's probably DPS. Now sure, Sad stereotype, but probably more accurate than not. Yes, QF engage the airport bag handlers to load the aircraft and so on, but it could have been others within the baggage system at DPS before it even got to the team dealing with the QF flight. Where QF's actual responsibility or rather liability lies to me is somewhat vague in these situations. Easy enough to blame a nebulous third party (eg: DPS bag handling) without any real proof either way.

None of that really matters to the fact that your bag(s) were damaged and item(s) were stolen which directly affects you. Sadly airlines will do all they can to weasel out of paying for anything let alone admitting fault half the time (just this past year I had a struggle with a US major over a bag that had a grand old time around the system til it found me eight days later... but at least was undamaged).

Hopefully you had some insurance to cover the items lost and bag damage?

I also agree that having obvious locks (and expensive, designer luggage) is a clear sign hey there's something important in here and that's more likely to attract the worst kind of attention rather than an older nondescript bag that has clearly done the rounds. Not that I keep anything valuable in a checked bag myself - but If I did, I'd rather not make it that obvious that this is a bag that you want to rifle through. A bit like Indiana Jones and the cup - it wasn't the shiny gold one, but the plain one

Anyway a very disappointing situation for you and I'm sorry to read it happened and you've not gotten much joy out of QF.

 

[kpc]

I lock my checked bag not to prevent theft but to stop (OK make it harder) for someone to put a package in the bag!

 

[RichardMEL]

I lock my checked bag not to prevent theft but to stop (OK make it harder) for somrone to put a package in the bag!

That is a fair point. To that end I use the "TSA approved" combo lock that came with the bag I currently use. Hardly going to deter anyone aiming to get in of course(by cutting etc - but that would then show obvious signs of it).

Now wouldn't defeat someone with access to one of those TSA keys to open it to put something in for sure - and I'm sure they're out there of course. I'm not sure what one might do to defeat that level, short of the plastic wrasp solution described above. Not something I personally have bothered with, but could definitely see how that would solve a number of issues by doing that.

 

[TheInsider]

If your bag was put into a clear bag, then it would've been over packed and then burst open. If you lost an item, it's probaly lost due to the bag breaking.
With out going into too much detail, the baggage staff wouldn't have a clue what you packed into your bag. Why would they pick only yours?

 

[offshore171]

If your bag was put into a clear bag, then it would've been over packed and then burst open. If you lost an item, it's probaly lost due to the bag breaking.
With out going into too much detail, the baggage staff wouldn't have a clue what you packed into your bag. Why would they pick only

I wouldn’t discount the possibility that the bag was broken into by a thief working in the baggage handling areas. It’s much faster to break the zip than the lock. You can do it with a ballpoint pen.

“denpasar theft from luggage” brings back some relevant results in a quick Google search.

 

[Kerrodt]

My thoughts:
1. If you’ve packed items in checked in luggage that shouldn’t be there, including rechargeable batteries (that feature in most camera setups) then the baggage handlers, security, Qantas, and anyone else in the chain of control have every right to inspect and remove the offending items.

2. What did you end up having as carry on luggage? If you packed an expensive camera to put into checked luggage how expensive and how heavy were the items that you took onboard with you?

3. I’d like to see all of the communication exchanges you’ve had with Qantas. I’m sure they have said more than “too bad” to you.

4. What has your insurance company said to you about the prospects of a claim?

5. Profile created today. One single post. There is a pattern that I have seen many times in the past with threads like this. Let’s see if the pattern repeats here.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The law is very clear here, both Australia and Indonesia are signatories to the Montreal Convention on International Carriage by Air. This treaty is complicated but one of the things it provides is protection against lost and damaged bags up to $2100 USD. What you need to do is buy the items that were stolen and then file a claim with Qantas for reimbursement for those items under the Montreal Convention.

Some questions I have for you:

• When did you discover the damage and lost contents of the bag?
• How did you report this? Did you report it to baggage services at the airport or give Qantas a ring over the phone?

Qantas is correct that you should not pack valuable items in your luggage for the simple fact that it can get lost or stolen and Qantas will only have to pay you up to $2100 USD for such losses. Additionally a TSA-style lock would not have prevented the theft since someone with a BIC pen could force the zipper open or if they spent the $3 on eBay, bought a TSA 007 key which opens all of those locks.

-RooFlyer88

 

[muppet]

<snip>

Hopefully you had some insurance to cover the items lost and bag damage?

….

The ANZ Frequent Flyer Black insurance I relied on my last trip does not cover “valuables” checked in unless it was taken as carry on and the airline forced you to check without advance notice.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

If your bag was put into a clear bag, then it would've been over packed and then burst open.

Luggage can't be overpacked, c'mon man! These suitcases are engineered to handle being chucked around and the zipper won't close if you overpack a bag like that.

If you lost an item, it's probaly lost due to the bag breaking.
With out going into too much detail, the baggage staff wouldn't have a clue what you packed into your bag. Why would they pick only yours?

That may be. But once the agent accepts the bag at check-in they assume all liability for the bag. If they thought it was overpacked or was at risk of coming apart, they could have simply refused accepting it. That they accepted it seems to suggest that the bag was fine. In terms of how a bag could break there are many reasons but which may include baggage handlers being rough on the bag, the bag being placed incorrectly in the cargo hold causing it to shift around. The bag falling off the bag cart to/from the aircraft, an aircraft running over the bag. The reason doesn't matter though. What matters is the bag came back damage and missing its contents and that is on the airline per the terms of the Montreal Convention.

 

[mrsterryn]

Just curious if Bali to Sydney was coming home?
I tend to have the coming home with important stuff that would be an issue if lost. Going over totally different in my carry on.
You packed the same way from Sydney to Bali in checked ?

 

[TheInsider]

Luggage can't be overpacked, c'mon man! These suitcases are engineered to handle being chucked around and the zipper won't close if you overpack a bag like that.

Then clearly you haven't seen the cheap rubbish that's around then.

 

[clifford]

This is why I would never check anything and why I fly BA.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Packing valuable items in checked luggage is a non-sequitur. One should never take the risk. Just asking for trouble. Even packing medicine, cameras, phone chargers etc is a bad idea. Such items must be in hand luggage.

 

[clifford]

Packing valuable items in checked luggage is a non-sequitur. One should never take the risk. Just asking for trouble. Even packing medicine, cameras, phone chargers etc is a bad idea. Such items must be in hand luggage.

Packing medicines in checked baggage might be considered to be a death wish.

So be careful when Jetstar / Qantas force you to check your carry on.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

So be careful when Jetstar / Qantas force you to check your carry on.

One of the reasons why I have so many gadgets packed in my carry on since it makes it ineligible for gate check

 

[tdimdad]

Luggage can't be overpacked, c'mon man! These suitcases are engineered to handle being chucked around and the zipper won't close if you overpack a bag like that.

Yes it can. The photo is my trusty hard-shell which was unfortunate to carry a box of wine (6 bottles) and my clothes SYD-LHR. I had to muscle the bag closed at home. On receiving the bag at the other end, one of the locks had given in somewhere along the route. This bag has taken some beating over the past nearly 20 years (and is still doing well after some repairs) but even this one can't take it all.

Similar to @kpc, I lock the bag and use a strap around to slow down the opportunistic bypassers and also prevent the contents immediately spilling all over should the bag open for any reason (locks break, etc). A determined person will go through them but it'll be slower than a ballpoint pen on a zipper.

 

[Quickstatus]

@cjv
First of all welcome to AFF

Qantas employee would break the zip open (bag remained locked) then unzip the internal zipper to remove the Lowepro bag

This sounds like a bag with a zip to close - much like this one?
If so, Its very easy to open a zipped bag even if locked - just put a pen through the zip
I wonder though how do you know it was a Qantas employee.



I wonder though how do you know it was a Qantas employee.