Has anyone lost their guns on SAA?
Does anyone know someone of authority that I can speak to on this matter?

Condensed Story.
I returned from a hunt in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls on the 29 of July.
Flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta was canceled. Was rerouted through Washington Dulles. No luggage made it.
Filed a claim in Charleston, WV.
Duffel bag made it a week later.
Was getting nothing from airline so 12 days later I contacted Susan Hill at Gracy Travel.
She in turn contacted her contacts.
Louis at the Afton House found the gun case in Johannesburg on the 11 of August. It was to be put on the next flight out.
On the 15 of August still no gun case.
Search Again. Gun case was being held at Securicore at JNB for insufficient paperwork.
Cleared paperwork. Case was retagged, RUSH TAG and was to go out the 18 of August on flight SA209.
August 22, no gun case so I called baggage claims again. Was told that the flight had been canceled and rebooked and they have no idea where my guns are.

Any help? Thanks in advance.

James

Sorry to hear about the trouble. Since you actually found the location of the case there may still be hope. It is good to know that there are people able and willing to help when a problem like this arises.

next trip insure the hell out of them and buy others!

If the guns are still at JNB, Louis at Afton is your best bet.

Regards,

Terry

get ahold of louis again. If they were that close to coming back I'm sure he will find them. This man in phenominal. My son was missing one and louis had it found before the airlines even had a trace on it.

Two years ago SAA lost my rifle on the return trip to JFK from Joberg. When it didn't arrive I immediately went to the SAA/Delta claims office. They located the rifle immediately and promised that it would be delived to my house. Two days later a driver arrived at the door with my "golf clubs" in the tuffpac case with no worse for wear. In my case they followed through and delivered as promised.The folks at Afton House are very good and I'm sure they'll help if they can.

Just last month I took two nice rifles to Tanzania, one English double and a semi-custom). The KLM staff at Dar es Salaam were funky folks, but when they accepted the Dutch permits, I quit worrying. I should have know better.

I had to go to the transfer desk at Amsterdam to get a boarding pass to Detroit. Out of the blue, the agent asked me if I had "found" my lost luggage. I hadn't even reported it lost as I "saw" the TuffPac and the soft bag on the trolley headed for the plane. I about dropped a brink in my drawers, but what the heck could I do.

Sure enough, when I got to Detroit, no baggage (and guns) arrived on my plane to herd through customs.

I made a claim when I finally got to Jacksonville and before I got to work the next day, both bags (and firearms) had been delivered to my office.

Like Ray Atkinson, I love old (and unreplaceable) guns, but I don't want to go through that angst again. My Searcy can be replaced... It goes hereafter.

So the question begs, how do all these "missing" guns show up at your doorstep without going through US Customs.

I asked the question, of course, at Detroit. They took my customs declaration (with nothing but $50 worth of cheap imports). I showed them my 4457 forms, but they kind of glanced at them and made no copies... then they told me that the airline would "bond" the baggage and get them to me, not to worry, what ever "bonding" meant. There wasn't a darn think I could do, so I went on to Jacksonville, and the luggage/guns showed up.

BTW, has the missing SAA stuff appeared. I didn't see it in the above posts. Is it still missing?

Hi Judge,

Bonding is just a process by which an import can be moved/stored within a country without it actually having cleared customs. It's a really a way that goods can be stored whie in transit without getting taxed at every leg along the journey from start to finish.

It also means that your guns were still "In transit" until the mailroom at your office signed for them, atr which point they were legally in the country.

Or at least that's how it works inmy experience, may be different in the states.

regards,
FB

Everybody, thank you for your comments.

JudgeG,
Nothing is definite yet but they think the guns left Johannesburg and are in Atlanta. No one in the airlines or customs will give them any answers. Susan at Gracy Travel is at her wits end.

James

Gun finally made it home on 9/2/05 after 35 days.
After leaving Victoria Falls it has been on
Air Zimbabwe, South African Air, Lufthansa Air to Germany, U S Air and Delta air.
It has been in two customs holding facility's before arriving in Atlanta and going to Atlanta custom Brokers.
From there it was shipped to me by UPS. During that time it was delayed because it was left in one of there holding facility in Doraville, GA.
In all of it's travel the lock had not been cut off and the case had not been opened.
Everything was there as I had packed it.

James

I'm very glad to hear that you got your guns back.

Mr. Bennett,

I am greatly relieved and pleased that you're rifles have been returned to you. This is the sort of thing that cause nightmares!!!

Your whole saga shows that there are:

Some folks who will bust their buns for you, even if they have nothing to do with the original fubar, and

There are some incredibly stupid people in this world, and

There are some amazingly lazy minions out there, and,

Most folks are not thieves, and

Those tapes with the lazer code are (finally) worth their weight in gold (or fine rifles... take your pick).

Great on getting your rifles back. As I said earlier, I won't take an irreplacable rifle to Africa again.. the angst just isn't worth it. I knew there was a reason I bought a Searcy (besides accuracy, dependability, price and quality)... Butch, just die after I quit going on safari, please.