Orphaned bags sit on the tarmac at Denver International Airport on Jan. 6, 2015. (Special to The Denver Post)
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United Airlines' baggage-handling issues at Denver International Airport have gotten so out of hand that airport CEO Kim Day has personally reached out to the airline to offer assistance.
"She asked if there was anything the airport can do," airport spokesman Heath Montgomery said. "The offer has been extended. We are confident United is doing everything they can."
United's troubles with lost luggage, delayed flights and a chaotic baggage-claim area, with bags tossed everywhere, have gone on for weeks and are extending beyond the airline to color travelers' perceptions of the airport as a whole.
Several passengers say they will try never to travel through Denver again, including tourist Jonathan Huckabay, whose luggage went missing when he connected through DIA on Saturday.
He was returning home to Edmonton, Alberta, from a vacation in Mexico when his flight was delayed for more than an hour because of issues getting luggage loaded onto the plane in Denver.
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"I will definitely avoid going through Denver if I can help it," he said. "I was looking forward to seeing the airport and perhaps visiting the city as I hadn't passed through that hub before, but the experience has soured me on this particular city's airport."
Huckabay still did not have his bag Tuesday.
Many have pointed fingers at new contractor Simplicity Ground Services, the company that on Dec. 4 took over the below-wing baggage service contract for the majority of United Express daily regional flights at DIA. SkyWest Airlines had held the contract for nine years.
But the problem can't be pinned solely on Simplicity. Luggage handling at DIA is a duty shared by Simplicity and United Airlines employees, depending on the flight and bag destination.
According to an internal e-mail to SkyWest employees dated Oct. 15, United took over many of SkyWest's bag transfer responsibilities Oct. 19.
United baggage handlers also are responsible for delivering bags in a timely matter for United Express and United mainline flights, according to employees who asked not to be identified because of fears of disciplinary action, including termination.
Simplicity is responsible for guiding United Express flights to the gate, unloading and loading baggage. It also is responsible for what are called "city bag transfers" — bags on United Express flights that land in Denver as a final destination and would be sent up to baggage claim.
In theory, the bags come off the plane and are on the luggage-claim carousels by the time passengers travel from their gates — or soon after.
But United and Simplicity workers have shared photos and stories of bags piling up in holding areas with no semblance of organization. And United workers on Tuesday were notified they are on mandatory extra shifts and required to work on their days off.
Travelers have reported waiting for their bags for up to two hours before being told to go home and wait for them to be delivered.
Denver customer Adrienne Rodgers has been waiting for her two lost bags for three days.
She's been told her bags made it from Houston to DIA, but the airline won't let her pick them up. A delivery driver who showed up at her house Tuesday had only one of the bags in a van packed solid with lost luggage.
The driver told her it took him more than three hours to locate the bags he was scheduled to deliver — a task that normally takes no more than an hour.
"He said it's so disorganized — a huge swamp of bags," she said. "I wouldn't sign for my one bag because if I sign, that's saying that I'm OK with all of this. And I'm not. I want my other bag."
Frequent flyer Wendy Mark of Cleveland lost an entire day of skiing due to lost luggage and botched delivery by United.
"I totally blamed it on the ground crew in Denver ... I assumed they were employed by DIA," she said. "Unfortunately, we do not have a choice of where we fly into if we want to ski in that area. I would love to use another airline, but flying out of Cleveland our options are quite limited."
United remains tight-lipped about the situation, saying again Tuesday it is "putting every available resource into this to help support our vendor."
DIA, meanwhile, is left with disgruntled customers and a somewhat-tarnished reputation.
"This is a unique and unfortunate situation, and we don't want anyone to be discouraged about choosing to fly though DIA as this is not the normal level of service provided by our airlines," DIA spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said.
Laura Keeney: 303-954-1337, lkeeney@denverpost.com or http://ift.tt/1veBSJs
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