Disaster in Banff... or is it???!! Hand-holding my Chamonix 4x5...

[BrianShaw]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the airlines. Somewhere is Georgia is a warehouse full of "lost, misplaced, and unclaimed" luggage that gets auctioned off by the pallet-load for pennies-on-the-dollar. I hope your gear doesn't end up there!

I have had luggage lost a couple of times, and it always caught up with me eventually... but always long after I needed the clean clothing and toiletries. At least I got my stuff back, though. Maybe you'll be fortunate like that too.

[deldridg]

Are you travelling on business????

Indeed, choosing to spend my jet-lag adjustment days in Banff before heading to Calgary on business. If I was paying, instead of spending 9 weeks in the Sheraton - I'd sleep on a bench somewhere and spend the savings on more gear!

Cheers,
David

[deldridg]

Well, it's Sunday now and I can report that my bags finally turned up during yesterday. Unfortunately there was little time and lighting available to take the shots I was really after but at least I don't now have to go shop for clothes. :-)

Thank you to all who offered their support - it was not really a huge deal in the scheme of things but it was certainly a frustrating one.

Cheers,
David

[Greg Y]

Well David, Good to hear. You're only an hour from Banff during your stay in Calgary....& this is an interesting change of seasons time....even closer to Highwood Pass on Highway 40 ...many spectacular views. Best of Luck

[Fred L]

wow that's great news David ! too bad about the photography end of it but I imagine you're pretty attached to your biking gear hope in your three months there you get to take a break and visit other parts of the province or Canada.

[Eric Rose]

If you need the use of a darkroom in Calgary email me, eric at ericrose dot com

[eddie]

Hi George,

the problem was that I was given bad advice in Sydney. The lady at Qantas (Sydney) check-in told me she was checking my bags through LAX to Calgary and that they'd be in Calgary without me needing to do anything. I've done this route many times and this was the first time someone had told me this so I specifically queried her and received assurance that they were going straight through automatically. I assumed that Qantas had made some arrangement with the TSA and Air Canada and thought nothing more of it other than it was nice to finally not have to do the carousel thing and the 400m drag between Tom Bradley and T2.

So it was an easy mistake for someone to make but in this case, sadly one with fairly significant consequences for me. At least Qantas showed concern in trying to expedite the tracking but I don't have high hopes. Fingers crossed...

Cheers,
David

uuummm? not sure what to tell you......BUT the airlines make numerous announcements on NON domestic flights arriving into the USA that say you MUST clear USA customs WITH your bags. no matter what.

now you know. the check in person should know that as well.......

buy a cheap tripod from wally world

[cowanw]

Except that there seem to be sufficient exemptions (either foreign airports (possibly in Canada and Ireland eg) or airlines) to make one confused.

[deldridg]

Well David, Good to hear. You're only an hour from Banff during your stay in Calgary....& this is an interesting change of seasons time....even closer to Highwood Pass on Highway 40 ...many spectacular views. Best of Luck

Hi Greg - I'll ask around about Highwood Pass - sounds interesting. Being able to operate my camera wearing a ton of clothing and 3 inch thick gloves could pose a challenge for an Aussie who has just come from mid 30s!

Cheers,
David

[deldridg]

wow that's great news David ! too bad about the photography end of it but I imagine you're pretty attached to your biking gear hope in your three months there you get to take a break and visit other parts of the province or Canada.

Hi Fred - yes, the bike gear is certainly not something I'd like to lose. However, I'm not sure how effective it will be at some of the temperatures around here and with random icing beginning soon, I'm not entirely sure we'll be heading out this trip. However, the idea of riding around these parts has great appeal, though I'm not sure how much of my camera gear I'd fit into a Ducati pannier system!

Cheers,
David