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Tools: When you can't take your laptop on the plane (take II)
Subject:Tools: When you can't take your laptop on the plane (take II) From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:CEL <copyediting-l -at- listserv -dot- indiana -dot- edu>, Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- RIVERAINMEDICAL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:54:24 -0400
Dan Goldstein wondered: <<Sounds like the inestimable Woody hasn't
read the fine print on airplane tickets, airline Web sites, etc.
There are pre-defined liabilities for these situations. Why would an
employee offer to personally guarantee anything more?>>
Actually, it was me who said that, not Woody. Possibly my e-mail
software didn't translate the quote formatting properly. Apologies to
Woody for any misunderstanding.
My take on this: I recently talked to someone who refused to check
his laptop, and the airline staff backed down when he insisted that
they provide appropriate protection of his laptop. That was my first
reason for saying this: we should not surrender our rights without a
fight, and you won't know whether you're confronting a real
regulation or merely an intransigent airline employee if you don't try.
Second, this is a personal issue: I feel that if the airlines insist
on us relinquishing a previous freedom (bringing important and
fragile things onto the plane to protect them), then they should take
measures to protect these items on our behalf. Baggage handling does
not inevitably have to be a torture test for luggage, and it's long
past time the airlines solved this problem.
The first third of this message is an important clarification to the
original message (i.e., don't blame Woody for my opinions <g>); the
latter two-thirds is way off-topic for both CEL and techwr-l, so if
you want to debate the issue, please contact me privately, not on the
list.
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