United Airlines Passenger Checks A Bottle Of Whiskey, Gets It Back One

Aug 18, 2023

by Gary Leff on March 28, 2023

For anyone who ever thought, "I’d like my whiskey to smell like cake," Glenmorangie makes a $100 single malt aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in a Tokaji dessert wine cask.

Christopher Ambler packed a bottle in his checked luggage and entrusted it to United. Then, he says, it was returned to him one-third empty.

Hey @united – bottle of expensive scotch in checked bag. Arrived opened and a third gone. No leakage. It was sealed new when packed and seal broken by opening. Your baggage handlers are thieves. pic.twitter.com/UHzTLzF4Eu

— Though it be not written down, I am an ass. (@TheDogberry) March 28, 2023

When you check a bag with an airline, the airline is responsible for it though they aren't necessarily the only one that touches it. You may have seen the slips that TSA sometimes sticks into bags saying that they’ve opened and inspected it, for instance. And when there is more than one airline on your itinerary, it's the last airline before your destination that is responsible for it even if they aren't the one that loses it.

There are plenty of stories I’ve seen about items being taken out of checked luggage, or entire bags being stolen (sometimes at baggage claim by another passenger – again, not the airline!). But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a claim of a baggage handler drinking on the job between the time a bag is checked and when it is loaded onto the aircraft, or between the time it is unloaded and brought to baggage claim.

I’m not even sure when they would do it? Is there someone sitting, hiding, inside the baggage conveyance system of the airport, pulling checked bags off the belt knowing there's alcohol inside… downing one third of the bottle, zipping the bag back up and sending it on its way?

Why on earth would someone be taking one third of a bottle of scotch, instead of just taking the bottle of scotch? I have questions.

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