[ml/nj]

What insanity!

Besides everything else, I guess I wonder why the Airline wouldn't charge the guy ten bucks and mail his dangerous cargo wherever he wanted it mailed. Treating customers like that is a sure path to bankruptcy.

ML/NJ

[Reelect President Dubya]

This sort of thing never happens if you boycott the airlines' airport/POW camps.

Bankruptcy tends to clarify things for people.

[Centurion2000]

Pretty interesting considering that a freight forwarder could send this over the counter on AMERICAN Airlines or anyone else and send them with no problems.

[BlazingArizona]

Besides everything else, I guess I wonder why the Airline wouldn't charge the guy ten bucks and mail his dangerous cargo wherever he wanted it mailed. Treating customers like that is a sure path to bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, treating customers like that is standard procedure, the Airline Attitude. No wonder everybody has stopped flying unless they absolutely, positively have to go somewhere they can't drive. No wonder that the major carriers are going broke. Good riddance - unless Congress makes us subsidize them.

[tahiti]

"Couldn't you just give me the lighters back?" I asked politely.

"I am unauthorized to do that, and I could be fined if I did so,"

The implication of this exchanges is the AA employee is concerned about some government regulation or law.

That being the case, the rights of the passenger were violated in two ways:

Amendment IV

"...warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

The AA employee had no warrant, fulfilling the requirements of the 4th amendment.

Amdnement V

"... nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

It is for the public use that his property was taken.

If the AA employee was not acting as a deputized federal agent, but as a private citizen employed by AA, acting on AA's private property regulation, then she should be charged with theft.

[Redcloak]

I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly rest easier at night knowing that if the next Mohammed Atta has a stogie clenched in his teeth as he's crashing an airliner into a building, it won't be lit.

[Militiaman7]

Don't feel to bad last year they took my toenail clippers. But they let me check my wifes rifle (gift from father-in-law) with no problems. Go figure......

[Political Junkie Too]

I was actually at the gate waiting for the flight when my name was called over the loudspeaker. "Sir, they have found two cigarette lighters in your bag and they need to be destroyed," said a woman who was working the check-in desk, rather officiously. "Those two lighters are worth about $300," I said. "You can't just destroy them." "I suggest you go and speak to the American Airlines employee who checked you in, but I think that you might miss your flight," she said

Here's another aspect: I don't know how it is at the John Wayne airport, but I recently departed from the Omaha airport on United, and over there they physically searched all the checked bags PRIOR to the customer checking in the luggage, and they were TSA checkers not United employees. Presumably, if something were found it would be returned to the owner as this was still a public unsecure area and nothing had been turned over to the airlines yet.

Apparently, at John Wayne airport, the bags are checked in first and then an American Airlines employee goes through the bags, confiscating what they don't like and refusing to return the property as it has already been passed through security.

I guess the lesson is that it is less of an airline policy and more of an airport policy, depending on which side of the security line that the bag is searched.

-PJ

[Xenalyte]

Why the hell does anyone fly anymore?

[paul51]

A Screwdriver has helped take off the edge

I'm surprised they took the lighters and let him keep the screwdriver.

[NittanyLion]

Seems strange that they didn't simply give him his lighters back outside the security area. Why couldn't he present a valid ID and have the luggage returned to him?

[verity]

Smoking does have negative consequences. har har.

[MissL]

I hate to dispute but the average price of most "reasonable" DuPont lighters are $300 each and vintage and better far and above.