I Was Cheated by United Airlines!

in a checked bag?

While I don't see how you can prove that the watch was stolen, I just
really can't get my head around why the watch was in the bag and not
with you on your wrist?

As for the seating, I have to agree with the others, you took a gamble
and lost. You did have a seat and you didn't have to give it up. If
you didn't ask about what exactly it was you would be giving up before
you said yes, that is not United's fault. They have to assume that if
you say yes, you understand the risk.

Guess it's good you find these things out now if you're going to be
travelling 80% of the time for your job!

You were not cheated. You took a risk by accepting a voluntary bump
and it turned out they did not need you so you had to settle for
whatever seat was available. Seat assignments are not guaranteed
anyway.

You should never put valuables in your checked luggage and there are
signs all over telling you this. It's not only UA personnel that
handle your luggage, it's also the TSA. What does the NTSB have to do
with this at all? They investigate plane crashes.

You got exactly what you paid for. Transportation from point A to
point B. The loss of your watch is partially your fault and none of
this warrants a free ticket, premier status or $500.

Would you please explain how "anti anxiety" spray works? Thanks.

Regarding your missing watch...they have an online service to report
missing or lost baggage/items so you did have a way to report this
within the time frame. Maybe you could do this now and see if they
will accept it.
http://www.united.com/page/genericpage/1,,51692,00.html?navSource=Cont
actUnited&linkTitle=Baggage+services

As for the over booking...we all know they do this all the time but
whenever I have flown they announce this over the PA system while we
are sitting waiting to board. I have never known them to ask an
individual passenger, evidently they do as this happened to you.

This is the result of us giving up our rights for "national security".
Allowing jazzed up government security guards to search our personal
belongings every time we get on an airplane will undoubtedly result in
theft at some point. Not everybody is honest. It sounds like you are
the victim of a dishonest TSA agent. I seriously doubt it was an
airline employees as they would have no business in your bag, and
likely would not have the time.

Secondly, I think your complaint about the seat you were put in is not
valid due to the fact that you at first gave up your seat in exchange
for a ticket, and then they attempted to accommodate you based upon
availability. You could have very well declined if you had reserved an
aisle or exit seat in advance.

And since you travel a lot, I would suggest voting with your wallet if
you are not satisfied. There are a lot of other airlines that could
use your money, and you will likely get a premiere status with them in
no time at all.

If you're going to be traveling 80% of the time in the future I would
suggest that you get a better handle on how the airline industry
operates. You willingly gave up your seat so have nothing to complain
about as far as the seat you finally ended up with. And as far as
your watch in concerned - - rule number one in airline travel is to
never ever put anything of value in checked baggage.

1. Don't put valuables in checked luggage. Not only will airline
employees steal things, so will the government-hired TSA employees.
Jerks.

2. You gave up your seat. I don't understand why you are so
surprised by what happened.

why didn't you just wesr your watch?

There was a very similar letter here in the past two weeks. A
traveler *gave up* his seat, only to find at the last minute there was
a seat available, and he was placed in that seat (and was unhappy).
This is the chance *you* take when you *give up* your seat; in the
last few minutes there may be no-shows that result in seats being
available.

I happen to be 6'4-1/2" tall, and know what you mean about airline
seats. However, you took the risk, and the fact you ended up in a
seat location you could no longer control was a result of your own
action.

If I fly with a $500 watch, I put it in a small case inside my
carry-on. I don't want it to get damaged in transit (on my wrist) and
I don't want my checked bag going missing. You are at the mercy of
the airline's policy, and it took you 15 days to realize this valuable
item was missing.

The airline does not have a reason to give you any ticket at all, or
Premier status. You took a gamble, and lost. As far as the watch, I
think you are out of luck.

This letter focused on the ticket and obtaining Premier status, which
seems odd. I would have been much more upset about the watch, but
everyone is different.

Lesson learned -- don't put valuables in your luggage. It sucks, but
they're probably going to get stolen.