If it’s not every traveler’s worst nightmare, it might be one of the most humiliating. The scene: it’s the end of a long travel day after languishing in a Lilliputian seat on an overcrowded airplane smelling vaguely of old sneakers and stale Biscoff cookies. Politeness and patience are running thin. And now, it’s time to end the journey, to slip into something clean, maybe eat a cannoli, and relax.
But wait: The pink suitcase that’s flung open on the baggage carousel looks vaguely familiar.
No, more than vaguely—this wide-open abomination is your own brokeback rollaboard.
Maybe this scenario seems overblown, but for Paige O’Neil, it was an exquisitely embarrassing reality.
In her recent TikTok, O’Neil (@paigeoneil) paired the video of her pink hard-shell suitcase trundling along into baggage claim with the song “JetBlue” by Jake Shane in the background.
“JetBlue, JetBlue, JetBlue. Where do I begin with you?” sings Shane in the clip as O’Neil heaves her property, which is in two halves, off the belt. She then tries to reclaim her luggage (and her dignity) by binding it shut with tape gifted to her by a fellow passenger.
Viewers are sympathetic
Reactions from viewers range from sympathetic: “That’s actually insane btw” to helpful: “file a damage claim” to pedantic: “The baggage handler don’t work for the airlines. But yeah, blame the airline.”
While going to bat for the airline might seem like a counterintuitive position to take, however, it is conditionally true: some airlines employ their own handlers and others outsource to a service.
Either way (outsourced or in-house), redress is available. According to JetBlue’s policies, if a bag arrives (or is delivered) damaged, the passenger should take photos and call the company’s Central Baggage Services within four hours to make a claim. According to AirAdvisor, a passenger has up to 21 days to file a claim. Further, the United States Department of Transportation states: “Airlines are responsible for repairing or reimbursing a passenger for damaged baggage and/or its contents when the damage occurs when the baggage is under the airline’s control during transportation (subject to maximum limits on liabilities).”
Do people like JetBlue?
Not everyone feels like JetBlue has great follow through as there’s an entire Facebook page dedicated to “JetBlue Customer Complaints.” With over 9,000 members, the public page is a little spicy and sometimes oddly specific, with in-fighting resulting from taunts about self-important and impatient travelers headed to Palm Beach, Florida.
While Shane’s song laments a suitcase lost “30,000 miles in the sky,” or possibly “in a [expletive] vent.” O’Neil’s ending was a happy one: in the first video she shared, she shouted the company out in the nicest possible way: “@Jetblue at least after breaking my luggage u guys got me a new one so there’s no beef ily.”
And if the views (over 4 million over three posts) plus commiseration weren’t enough balm for her travel-weary soul, in an earlier version of her video, it’s possible to see O’Neil’s travel buddies embracing her with love and so much laughter they can barely breathe.
The lesson? It’s impossible to ruin a great trip with a minor hiccup at the end. However, a budget-friendly way to avoid embarrassment could be luggage straps (about $10.00 on Amazon or at Walmart).
@paigeoneil this song is how I felt when this was happening @Jake Shane ♬ JetBlue – Jake Shane
The Mary Sue reached out to O’Neil for comment.
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