A judge in the Philippines has ordered Dutch airline KLM to pay a fine of EUR 200,000 for losing a suitcase more than seven years ago. Dr José Tiongco was travelling with KLM as an envoy of the Philippine authorities in November 1998. He was scheduled to give a lecture at a conference held by the World Health Organisation in Kazakhstan.He flew from Amsterdam to Frankfurt with KLM but his suitcase did not follow him. This meant he had give his lecture in jeans, t-shirt and sneakers — something that damaged his credibility, the judge agreed. KLM is appealing the decision.
I guess the guy never visited an ICT conference. It's good to see I'm not the only one taking myself too serious sometimes..
7 comments:
oh my.. amazing story, and yet not so amazing. Amazing in the "oh my god someone needs to relax and not take himself so seriously" kind of way.
Not so amazing in the "have seen it a hundred times before" kind of way.
I'm glad I'm just a strange, doorloving buddhist girl...
I had luggage lost once. On my honeymoon... and since my Hubby helped me pack for the trip, he threw my birth control pills in the suitcase... the suitcase which happened to get lost. Thankfully it turned up 2 days later, but let's just say that w/out that VERY important item on hand... the honeymoon was not quite what we had hoped for, but I certainly didn't think of suing... hmm, maybe now I can.
Oh yeah Dimitri... the Dutch guy in the Austin Powers' movie was the character called Goldmember. You're thinking of Dr. Evil and Mini-Me... Dr. Evil was raised by Belgians.
While I sympathize with this gentleman, he violated some travel basics.
1. Never check your bags.
2. If you check your bags, make sure you arrive early enough at your destination so you can buy a new suit for your speech if your bags get lost.
3. If you check your bags and you are traveling to Kazakhstan, where they are unlikely to have a suit that fits, wear something presentable on the plane in case your bags get lost.
A small part of the 2006 PR advertising budget for KLM.
Best wishes
That is indeed an amazing story!
Holding an airline accountable for its actions is a rare feat!
Jeez... some time ago I lost a bag on my way to Paris from New York - it showed up 2 weeks later but I had to go to a first meeting in wrinkled and casual clothing.
I'm still suffering great pain because of that - any lawyers out there want to help me? I'd say it's worth $50,000 at least (for the therapy alone)!
Hehe..yes you are a stange birthday girl Guro :-)
At least the strippers get paid Ruben.
Birth control pills getting lost on your honeymoon is a special omen Tina. Not sure good or bad.Dr. Evil raised by Belgians?..duh.
Don't the guys over at Kazachstan weir dresses that always fit JD?
And so much media attention in return Lindsay:-)
You would expect that only in the USA Barbara..
I'm not a lawyer but can start studying now Gary..
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