A Florida man was outraged after finding his prized golf bag burned and his clubs charred after a Delta Air Lines flight. He claimed his golf equipment was worth $4,000 and filed a compensation claim. Delta has now agreed to compensate for the loss. This was not the first time a man’s golf equipment had been damaged by the ground crew’s mishandling on a Delta flight this year. In May, Delta apologized for a Tennessee man’s golf equipment being damaged on another flight.

Delta to pay $4,000 in golf equipment damages

According to Alaska’s New Source, Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay compensation for a passenger’s golf equipment being burned on a flight. The claim was for $4,000 in damages; Delta initially denied the claim but has now informed Andre it will pay for the damage in full. Andre stated he received a call from the airline agreeing to award full compensation. Andre stated, “We got a phone call from Delta and miracle of miracles, they apologized, and they’re going to pay the claim in full.”

Photo: Delta Air Lines

Andre stated it was good to put the frustrating matter behind him. Delta has baggage policies that include compensation for damaged baggage (Delta is constantly ranked by Skytrax as one the best airlines in North America). Delta also offers some compensation if there are delays in collecting baggage at the carousel.

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock

Related

Delta Apologizes After Baggage Is Accidentally Sprayed With Fuel

Golf clubs burned and damaged on Delta flight

On October 20th, Andre flew back to his home in Florida from Atlanta and retrieved his broken golf bag from the Southwest Florida International Airport.

John Andre had taken to social media to complain about his damaged baggage. While showing off his ruined golf equipment he said “These have been dragged, and then they caught fire.” There are plenty of tips to consider when flying with golf clubs in the United States – although there’s only so much passengers can do to protect them if the ground staff drag and mishandle them so badly.

“And then I realized when it came around again… ‘Oh my god! These are my clubs! The freight guy said they dragged it. Of course, it wore through the protective covering, then they started to spark, and then it caught everything on fire.” –
John Andre

In response, Andre and his wife filed a claim with Delta detailing $4,000 in damages. He claimed the golf bag caught fire after being dragged. He previously stated, “We have to make it right. And in that case, that means writing a check for the value of the clubs. That’s all we’re asking for.”

Photo: Delta Air Lines

The rise of social media and the ability of people to film ground crew mishandling baggage may lead people to think damaged baggage is on the rise. According to data from SITA, the number of mishandled bags almost doubled between 2021 and 2022 (reaching 7.6 damaged bags per thousand passengers). It is plausible that the rate may not actually be rising; instead, social media make it easier for incidents to be recorded and to become widely known.