A TikToker experienced something no airline passenger wants to see when they’re aboard a flight. No, it’s not as bad as the popular Twilight Zone episode, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” but it could be depending on how much one values the treatment of their luggage.
User @zoeabates called out an Air Canada employee for the way luggage she had labeled as “fragile” was handled, and she witnessed the whole thing through the window of her plane, right from her seat.
@zoeabates Live Laugh Love i guess
♬ Bye Bye Bye – *NSYNC
“When you make sure to label your very fragile bag fragile on both sides then see this out the window. Thank you Air Canada,” she wrote in the caption.
In the clip, an air baggage handler can be seen tossing suitcases onto a conveyor belt leading up to the storage area of the plane.
@zoeabates spots her bag, a silver luggage with two stickers appended on opposite sides, get tossed onto the belt by the employee who turns away before ensuring it was placed flat onto the belt. After he turns away from the luggage, it tumbles onto the ground. He then picks up it and places it back on the belt, and then the video cuts out.
According to Global News, Air Canada has attained a “below average” customer satisfaction score as per J.D. Power and Associates metrics. The average economy class score of an airline sat at a score of 782 out of 1,000. Air Canada clocked in a 765, as per the 2023 piece.
One couple who flew Air Canada said that the company told them their luggage was lost, however, upon checking on the location status of the AirTags they placed in their luggage, they discovered that Air Canada opted instead to simply donate their luggage to charity.
Simple Flying writes that Nikita Rees-Wilson flew with her husband to and from Greece using Air Canada and on their return flight, their bags went missing. Rees-Wilson says that for four months the couple did their due diligence and tracked their bags and when they finally noticed their location was moving closer to their location, they ultimately just sat dormant for three months in the same spot.
Rees-Wilson and her husband ultimately had to get the police involved until they went to the location of where the bags were taken to, a local charity that had a contract with Air Canada to deal with lost bags.
Folks who watched @zoeabates video thought that the airline employee looks like they went out of their way to throw her bag around, speculating that they did so upon seeing the fragile stickers: “I’m convinced they throw it if they see fragile,” someone wrote.
“it looked like he was gentler with the other bags then purposely did it aggressive to urs,” another wrote.
‘bro did that on purpose,” someone else echoed.
Conde Naste Traveler penned a piece in which they interviewed a baggage handler asking if fragile stickers actually work and some of the best practices jet setters can follow to ensure that handlers are giving a bit of extra car to their luggage, especially if they’ve got fragile stickers on them.
The employee said that it’s important to ensure that the bag doesn’t have an overabundance of stickers on them from previous trips/flights. If they’re rocking numerous tags, they may just assume that some of the tags/stickers are old and may ignore all of them entirely.
He added that if folks are truly worried about their belongings, then they should definitely invest in hard shell case luggage for multiple reasons: perception is reality. If someone’s baggage looks like they’re actively trying to protect something fragile inside, then those items are going to be treated with a bit more consideration.
Additional handles located on various sides of the bag is also a good idea: The more options to grab the bag and control/manipulate it means there’s a mitigated chance it’s going to get tossed around haphazardly.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @zoeabates via TikTok comment and Air Canada via email for further information.
