My wife and I flew to Togo, West Africa via Paris on Air France to visit our daughter serving in the Peace Corps over the Christmas Holiday.

As any Peace Corps parent can tell you, gifts for co-workers, villagers and neighbors are part of the protocol when visiting. We had assembled a selection of inexpensive gifts that we packed into a bag that we checked. Much to our disappointment we found that a digital watch and a pair of silver earrings were missing from our bag. Again the items were not expensive but the fact remains that these items were selected for theft.

What happened on our return flight is a whole other story. As we were preparing to board the plane, our carry on bag was subjected to a visual search. The bag had been x-rayed twice and tagged for carry-on. This occurred at 10:30 pm on the tarmac at the foot of the stairs leading up to the plane. Our bag contained my digital camera, two souvenir clay bowls, and some Togolese coins. We were forced to check our bag on the premise that it was “too heavy” to carry on. The bag was literally taken from us.

We received our bag the day after we arrived home. To our outrage we found one of the clay bowls broken, the coins and the camera missing.

I have written two letters to Air France Customer Relations and have been told that they are sorry, there is nothing they can do but please make Air France my carrier of preference. My letter to Pierre-Henri Gourgeon President of Air France has not been answered.

I have resolved to avoid Air France at all costs. This includes flights operated by Air France for their partners: Aeromexico, KLM, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, CSA, Delta, Korean Air and NWA.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I wish I had read this a few hours ago. I just booked with Delta but the flight is operated by Air France. I will pay extra attention to how I pack, and I will avoid them in the future. Again, sorry for your loss.

Sounds like more an airport problem than an Air France problem. Or maybe I should say it's a specific Air France at Togo problem. Sometimes that's the price you pay going to some developing countries.

Sorry this happened to you. This does sound more like an airport issue than anything else, although Air France should be made aware of it (they probably already know but it doesn't hurt to 'remind' them of any ongoing problems).

ssp,
Theft from checked baggage can happen with any airline. I don't think flying Air France puts you more at risk than any other carrier so I wouldn't worry too much. Paying extra attention to how you pack is always a good idea. I made the mistake of throwing a leatherman into an unsecured outside pocket of a duffle bag at the last minute flying from Baltra to Quito last year and by the time I collected the bag at Quito airport, it was gone. I wasn't too surprised. At least it wasn't anything of great value but could have easily been prevented if I'd been less careless.

SSchneider,
Sorry for your loss. Very frustrating esp since you took precautions to carry your valuables with you.

Just a reminder to inexperienced travelers: never pack anything valuable in your checked luggage (no jewelry, cameras, money, etc). They may be gone when you retrieve your luggage. Many airlines may not allow you to lock your luggage (though TSA says we're allowed to). And a small lock will not prevent determined thieves anyway. Bags are x-rayed so the contents can be seen. This can happen anywhere. overseas or the US. Always keep valuables (and medications)in your carry-on. Unfortunately nothing you can do if the airline takes your carry-on from you.

I always try to make sure my carry-on complies with the weight/dimension limits of the airline. And if my carry-on is taken from me (like it has been on small planes with minimal storage space), I always keep the most valuable things (money, ipod, camera, etc) in a smaller bag in my carry-on that I can easily remove before my carry-on is taken from me.

There have been many complaints about things disappearing from bags at US airports. And the TSA and airlines are pointing the finger at each other. So it can be difficult to file a claim because of this. Also remember that though the airlinse are required to reimburse you for your lost luggage if they are responsible for the loss, cameras, jewelry, money, among other things are NOT COVERED. You may have to go through your home owner's (which may increase your premiums).

Thanks to all responders. You know what they say: hindsight is 20-20. Remembering the person searching my bag seeing the camera, feeling around in the bag and then declaring it too heavy just makes my blood boil. It is an Air France problem and it's so blatantly a scam at the Togo airport. My daughter says she has heard complaints from other Peace Corps Volunteers about Air France taking items from their bags too. What really worries me is, if the ethics of the employee is worth only $20(the earrings) who's to say that they wouldn't be convinced to place something into a bag for $21?

You should have removed the valuables from the bag the instant before it was taken from you.

This appli3s to any gate chd=ck situation.

Travel tips;
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

Hint: If the F/A or gate agent simply seizes your bag and refuse to let you take your valuables out, you can say is an act of theft right then and there.

sschneider, sorry to hear that happened to you. I'm sure it's pretty intimidating to be in such a foreign environment and have this happen to you.

You are quite right about bribery and terrorists. I believe it's thought that is what happened with those Russian airliners brought down by Chechnyan women terrorists on board.

I think I can only reitterate what some other people have said. It is not really an Air France problem, but more of a Togo/Africa/Developing country problem.

Any airline flying to countries like Togo has these problems and, as an American (and I assume white) tourist, you were probably targeted the second you walked into the airport. And no airline would compensate you for sticking a digital camera in your luggage. The scammers at Togo took advantage of you and caught you cold. It's a very sorry and upsetting situation but AF are blameless.

When you travel to these sorts of countries, you are also responsible for making sure you and your belongings get home safely. The scammers in Togo are no doubt poverty stricken (this is not an excuse for their actions) so maybe take comfort in the fact that they sold your camera and had some dinner.

And as for your boycott of Skyteam, well, this is rather ridiculous.

Will you boycot Star Alliance if your bags are pilfered when on a SAA flight in Congo? And Oneworld when you discover that a change fee to your ticket in Lagos involves 'one Rolex watch?'

Just very unfortunate and the reason why everyone should have travel insurance.