Yesterday was the end of my vacation with Glacierbabe. 
To get home is 17 hours of traveling with layovers and plane changes. The first leg is a small plane with United into Houston where they take away your carryon before you step on the plane. You have no choice. Last time they told me hand it over or don't get on the plane. I arrive in Houston and they have a wheelchair there to take me to the next gate and the operator puts my carryon under the wheelchair as soon as it it brought up. When I got to my gate he pulls out my carryon and I see that the outside zipper is partway down and I can see the pink of my volt case. But my pink case goes in the middle so I knew there was a problem. I opened it up and my small purple Volt case is gone. Along with 8 batteries. Four 900s and four 78mm. The way the pocket opens there is no way it could've fallen out and I know it was zipped. It has material attached to the sides that comes up higher than the battery cases so even if I had left it unzipped 4 inches it would not have come out. It was unzipped just enough for someone to put their hand in and grab the first thing they could before passing it along.
I was already upset over leaving Glacierbabe's and then knowing that someone had intentionally gone into my bag plus 4 of the batteries were my absolute favorites I then did the most embarressing thing I could and cried. I reported it to the agents and since this was with US Airways in partnership with United they didn't care at all. They said I had to go back to the gate I had come in at to report it. I had 20 minutes until boarding to get there and back with no way to get there. I talked to the supervisor at baggage claim in Phoenix who was very nice but she said that she couldn't take the report either and that it wasn't going to do any good anyway since there was no way that United would reimburse me for any of it. But I want them to find the thief and make sure he is fired so she said I could report it when I got to Anchorage. But of course they were closed by the time I landed. Many, many thanks to Antonio who pushed my wheelchair around the Phoenix airport for 2 hours. Everyone in Phoenix was kind. Houston, not so much.
Next time I am putting locks on my carryon once I've gone through TSA.
To get home is 17 hours of traveling with layovers and plane changes. The first leg is a small plane with United into Houston where they take away your carryon before you step on the plane. You have no choice. Last time they told me hand it over or don't get on the plane. I arrive in Houston and they have a wheelchair there to take me to the next gate and the operator puts my carryon under the wheelchair as soon as it it brought up. When I got to my gate he pulls out my carryon and I see that the outside zipper is partway down and I can see the pink of my volt case. But my pink case goes in the middle so I knew there was a problem. I opened it up and my small purple Volt case is gone. Along with 8 batteries. Four 900s and four 78mm. The way the pocket opens there is no way it could've fallen out and I know it was zipped. It has material attached to the sides that comes up higher than the battery cases so even if I had left it unzipped 4 inches it would not have come out. It was unzipped just enough for someone to put their hand in and grab the first thing they could before passing it along.
I was already upset over leaving Glacierbabe's and then knowing that someone had intentionally gone into my bag plus 4 of the batteries were my absolute favorites I then did the most embarressing thing I could and cried. I reported it to the agents and since this was with US Airways in partnership with United they didn't care at all. They said I had to go back to the gate I had come in at to report it. I had 20 minutes until boarding to get there and back with no way to get there. I talked to the supervisor at baggage claim in Phoenix who was very nice but she said that she couldn't take the report either and that it wasn't going to do any good anyway since there was no way that United would reimburse me for any of it. But I want them to find the thief and make sure he is fired so she said I could report it when I got to Anchorage. But of course they were closed by the time I landed. Many, many thanks to Antonio who pushed my wheelchair around the Phoenix airport for 2 hours. Everyone in Phoenix was kind. Houston, not so much.
Next time I am putting locks on my carryon once I've gone through TSA.
What a horror scenario!
