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Airline broke my skis!

G Hoodie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just got back from a great ski trip to CO. Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions on where to stay in Frisco!! :smile:

We flew out from Portland, OR on Delta. It tooks us an hour and a half to get our bags (things were busy - which was fine) and when we got our ski bag, it looked like a lawnmower had run over it.

It was a brand-spankin-new Solomon padded ski bag. Maiden voyage. They completely shredded the back (7-8 holes?) and punched a HOLE (3"x5") THROUGH THE BAG. :mad2: We had our skis packed in with some clothes and so we briefly took everything out in the airport, glanced at it quickly and it looked fine. We spent ANOTHER hour at the airport at the Delta baggage office setting up a claim for our ski bag. Then we drove to Frisco and went straight to bed, totally exhausted.

Got up early the next morning to ski at Abasin. Geared up and headed up on first chair! I got to the top of the run, took 2 turns and could NOT ski straight. Knew something was seriously wrong. Kicked off my skis and took a look. Topsheet was fine. Inside edge had separated from the topsheet and was BENT DOWN INTO THE SNOW. Of COURSE I couldn't steer straight. My edge was acting like a rudder. So had to snowplow all the way down and rent skis for the day.

We took my skis that night to a good ski shop in town and they took one glance at my skis and said "No Way." They could fix it, but it wouldn't last and my skis were done for.

We called Delta that night to add on to our bag claim and they just said "Submit your reciepts within 30 days." Will they totally cover new skis? We submitted for a replacement bag, demo skis all week and then the new skis (Black Pearls!) I bought as soon as I got home to Portland.

Has anyone else dealt with this before? Will Delta reimburse ALL the expenses, or only part?? :noidea: Ugh... what a mess.

Two GOOD things came out of this experience:
1. I got to demo skis all week! I'll review in another post!
2. I only had 1 good ski and 1 broken ski. Was skiing at Breckenridge and noticed their adaptive program and thought... I still have ONE good ski! :loco: SO - we donated my good ski to the program and they will turn it into a monoski for disabled athletes. Yay! :smile::smile: :smile:

and oh yeah... 3. I got new skis. This will only be good if I don't have to pay for them. It was supposed to be DH's year to buy new skis, since I got new S7s last year. :embarrassed:

No damage on the way home... DH's skis came out unscathed! Yay! But boy... what an experience!
 

Liquid Yellow

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What a pain! I wonder how the hell they managed to damage them so badly.

I hope you are fully reimbursed, but I suppose you'll only get market value for them. Your insurance should cover all this I would have thought.
 

Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great idea on donating the leftover ski to the adaptive program, and bummer about the airline messing up your skis but hopefully it gets sorted out!
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
I only had 1 good ski and 1 broken ski. Was skiing at Breckenridge and noticed their adaptive program and thought... I still have ONE good ski! :loco: SO - we donated my good ski to the program and they will turn it into a monoski for disabled athletes. Yay! :smile::smile: :smile:

Too bad this happened but what a great way to make lemonade!
 

segacs

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That sucks! From experience, it's unlikely that the airline's standard terms will cover you for the replacement value of the skis, but if you bought travel insurance, that probably will.

If you didn't spring for travel insurance, check your credit card (the one you used to book the flight) - some cards include travel insurance.

Sorry about the experience. I'm glad you were able to find the positives in the situation and that you didn't let it ruin your trip.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Oh brother. :doh: Delta.
Glad at least that your trip didn't get ruined from this.
Has anyone else dealt with this before? Will Delta reimburse ALL the expenses, or only part?? :noidea: Ugh... what a mess.
Not I, having giving up on the airlines for much accountability since around, oh, 2002. But someone I know :wink: had very good luck (eventually-it took time and creativity) with writing a song, creating a video and posting it on You Tube:
[YOUTUBE]5YGc4zOqozo[/YOUTUBE]
 

mustski

Angel Diva
I am extremely impressed by your attitude. I would love to believe that I could be that positive after that awful experience while on vacation. Kudos to you!:clap:
 

SkiNana

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great video . . . Hope you can sing, Hoodie! So sorry for your loss, and hope you get some satisfaction from them.
 

CarverJill

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Good thinking about the adaptive donation! I am constantly looking for single Volkl Mantra skis for my husband who is a mono skier.

I had United damage my ski bag after only 2 uses (both flights with them) and the check is supposedly coming after only a month of waiting! During this episode they damaged the top sheet of my husbands ski (cosmetic only) and they told no way would they reimburse me for the cost of a replacement since it was only cosmetic. Hopefully since the damage they caused could not be repaired they will cover the cost of your new skis.
 

volklgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sorry to hear about your tribulations!

I don't know WTH Delta is doing with skis, but they're the ones that turned one of my fully cambered Auras into a rockered version about 3 years before rockers were hip. Grrrr. At least you caught the damage right away. I didn't discover mine until the following winter as this happened on the return flight after our Mother's Day trip to A-Basin. :mad2:
 

gardenmary

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
If I am ever so fortunate as to be able to fly somewhere to go skiing, I am planning on demo-ing onsite. I'll bring my boots, but just don't trust the airlines with my skis. It sounds like your ski bag fell off the luggage tram and got run over by an airplane!
 

Violet

Certified Ski Diva
Unfortunately, I've gone through the lost/damaged bags claims procedure a few times. Ugh.

You'll probably get some compensation for the bag, maybe for the rental fees, but not for the full price of the new skis. They'll want original receipts for all of your damaged equipment and then they'll calculate the depreciated value. You should also take a look at your home or renters insurance policy if the airline denies your claims. Many policies do cover your belongings while you're traveling.
 

marge

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I agree that a SportTube is in order. They once told me that they would not guarantee my skis safe in a soft-sided bag. :( I'm glad you got some new skis and I hope they come through for you. :(
 

shima

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I agree that a SportTube is in order. They once told me that they would not guarantee my skis safe in a soft-sided bag. :( I'm glad you got some new skis and I hope they come through for you. :(

Yikes! Total bummer, hope they reimburse you.

If I ever fly with my skis, I'm definitely getting a sport tube. I've seen airlines damage my suit cases before, definitely wouldn't trust them with a soft case for skis.
 

abc

Banned
Yikes! Total bummer, hope they reimburse you.

If I ever fly with my skis, I'm definitely getting a sport tube. I've seen airlines damage my suit cases before, definitely wouldn't trust them with a soft case for skis.
Sportube is thinner than typical suitcase skin. So don't get your hope up too high!

Yes, I've had my suitcase punchered, even though the shell was a lot thicker than the ski of Sportube. Also, the base of the skis are facing the outside inside the tube, so if anything got through the tube skin it will reach the base right away!
 

shima

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sportube is thinner than typical suitcase skin. So don't get your hope up too high!

Yes, I've had my suitcase punchered, even though the shell was a lot thicker than the ski of Sportube. Also, the base of the skis are facing the outside inside the tube, so if anything got through the tube skin it will reach the base right away!

But it's still a hard case and not a soft case, so still better than padded soft case :smile:
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
As mentioned above, Sport Tube is not an iron-clad guarantee. There are people I know (some stories here) who have had hard tubes get cracked, damaged when disassembled for contents inspection - and reassembled incorrectly, with parts gone missing.

More and more people are seeming to opt for Fed Ex shipping, and I haven’t heard anywhere near the horror stories about this method versus airline baggage (although Fed Ex ships by air as well). At least there are alternatives?
 

G Hoodie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sorry to hear about your tribulations!

I don't know WTH Delta is doing with skis, but they're the ones that turned one of my fully cambered Auras into a rockered version about 3 years before rockers were hip. Grrrr. At least you caught the damage right away. I didn't discover mine until the following winter as this happened on the return flight after our Mother's Day trip to A-Basin. :mad2:
Bummmmmmmer! I'm so sorry MSL... that sucks! I DO think Delta ran over our bag or impaled it with a forklift or something crazy like that. *eyeroll*
 

G Hoodie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh brother. :doh: Delta.
Glad at least that your trip didn't get ruined from this.

Not I, having giving up on the airlines for much accountability since around, oh, 2002. But someone I know :wink: had very good luck (eventually-it took time and creativity) with writing a song, creating a video and posting it on You Tube:
[YOUTUBE]5YGc4zOqozo[/YOUTUBE]
ahahaha... best. video. EVER! Thanks for the share!!! LOLOLOL

I need to come up with a "Delta breaks skis" song now... hmm. anyone musically talented here who wants to sing? :smile:
 

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