Damaged gear due to airlines....any luck?

[Fundive123]

You may want to raise a hairy eyebrow to your OW instructor. He need not beat the issue to death, but I would expect them to mention DAN in more than just passing.

This is perhaps one of the highlights of a low quality instructor vs a good one. In my opinion..

Agree. Finding a good instructor can sometimes be a challenge and is subjective. E.g. My instructor gave the entire class a presentation on different insurance companies and why it is worth considering getting insurance. He was also extremely safety minded and very detail oriented and thorough, and would tell you everything exactly like it is. I thought he was a wonderful teacher, whereas some others in the class felt that the instructor was too overbearing and serious.

It's surprising how many people aren't told about scuba insurance... I know several people who never heard of DAN when they were getting certified and getting into the sport. When I got certified, the instructor gave the presentation about diving insurance, and the shop automatically enrolled the entire class in DAN for the pool, and I believe the OW sessions, plus we got 6 months of Diver training Mag.

Welling, that is a major bummer that your gear got damaged, and hopefully they'll rectify the situation appropriately. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

 

[ajtoady]

Hindsight being what it is, you should have gotten the baggage agent at the luggage area and had all claims documented before leaving the airport. I have had good results in doing that. Good luck however!

 

[uncfnp]

On a recent trip one of our 2 checked bags had the large zipper about a third open and the cam band hanging out about half way. Not ripped but just unzipped. Another smaller pocket was also partly open. Lots of small items were in that bag but the only thing I know was missing was a weight pouch...not worth the hassle of filing a report but very concerning and not sure what I can do in the future to prevent this.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

This stuff is why I travel with a BPW and all my gear except wetsuit or drysuit goes in my roller carryon. I would never put my wing or regs in a checked bag. And if possible I ship oversize gear to a dive op at my destination. This only works in the US however.
I did one trip with a jacket style bc where I had to fly. It was my first trip to the keys to dive. It was also the last one with a bc that needed to be checked. Been to Boniare, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and a couple more keys trips. All of them my dive gear went on with me. I don't consider stuff like clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc to be necessities on a dive trip. That goes in checked or left at home. If you plan to travel to dive get travel friendly gear. Jacket bc's are not. No matter what your lds says.

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[fjpatrum]

Repair the BC, replace the bag, and move on... part of the cost of doing business/dive travel. (Yet one more reason for me to keep buying used gear rather than new.)

You would have actually been better off if it had been lost/stolen. Then you at least have some recourse, with damaged goods you'll wait forever and maybe get a check for 10% of the value of your damaged item, if you're lucky. Not worth your time and that's what the airlines hope for...

 

[diver 85]

2 problems that I see....(1)Think having DAN would be helping you right now....cuz(2) think the airlines only pay a maximum(???maybe 250 to 300 USD per bag)for contents.......I know when we had a bag damaged(destroyed) on a flight to Dominica, our trip insurance(thru DAN) paid for a new bag, no questions asked......Here's a pic of the damaged bag(the contents were all OK) that we emailed to insurance company & they paid VERY promptly..

 

[Damselfish]

Just to keep things in balance and not freak out new dive travelers that come across this thread - it's still a very small percentage of bags that have any sort of problem. (People tend to report problems more, not that everything was fine.) Maybe we're lucky, maybe we're good packers - in any event we've done dive trips 2-3 times per year for over 20 years and never had any damage to a checked bag beyond regular wear and tear, nothing left open or hanging out, no gear ever damaged, nothing ever missing beyond a few TSA locks in the distant past. A couple things we originally thought disappeared, we later found. We usually put regs/mask/computer in carry-on, but occasionally regs go in checked depending on trip and airline. Camera gear is usually in carry-on, very rarely checked. Batteries in carryon nowadays, but I would pay attention to the "common wisdom" for a destination. Everything else gets checked. We have traveled with a variety of BCs but not BP/W - so calling traditional BCs "unsuitable" for travel is ridiculous. People do it all the time just fine.

We've had luggage delayed once on the way someplace (when Barbados airport was under construction and a confused mess and we were flying LIAT, which I try to avoid.) And twice on the way home (because American Airlines through Miami is, well, American Airlines through Miami, which I also try to avoid.) 2 of the 3 times I was not surprised at all given the circumstances. Always got it back within a day.

Only damage we've had in travel was to camera gear, and that was by a careless bellhop in a nice hotel in Cairns. Fortunately I was there and saw it happen or it would have been impossible to know the hotel did it, or prove it. (My husband found a replacement locally and the hotel went and bought it and delivered it to him.) There is much to be said for dealing with anything on the spot if at all possible.

 

[Doctorfish]

It is inevitable that stuff will be damaged, lost or stolen in transit and airlines will not cover costs beyond what they have to based on IIAT regulations. For the OP, if you have homeowners insurance, that will usually cover travel baggage losses above the deductible. Buy DAN insurance for your next trip. I would not blame the instructor for lack if information, it's your own fault. DAN notices are in every dive store and also on the banner for this website.

Like Damselfish, I have had good luck in the past with minimal damage and no losses, but I still have DAN insurance, carry regs, prescription mask and camera gear in carry on. The rest I can rent at destination if I need to.

 

[fjpatrum]

Well said, damselfish. I've been flying for ~35 years, sometimes as many as 40 flights per year and I've had exactly one bag damaged, two delayed (one a 10 foot long surfboard--understandable it might not fit) and one went to the "wrong" airport because I switched flights (and destinations) because of a cancelled flight. In all cases my bags found me in less than 24 hours and in the case of the damaged bag, it was just an outside pocket with small-value items in it.

My wife has had a coach purse stolen out of her bag on an overseas trip, but theft is a different issue, in my opinion.

 

[diver 85]

Correct Damsel......What I'm talking about is close to 100 jet trips---@ 2 bags a trip--with only 1 'casualty'...so, way less than 1% damage rate......