BA lost baggage - customer service goes missing too

British Airways has a load of bags it can’t reunite with their owners – that comes as no surprise to me.

Unfortunately, I had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of BA’s lost luggage system last summer and it was absolutely diabolical.

My girlfriend and I flew BA from London to Geneva on a Friday night in late July (before any inkling of the hand luggage terror scare had emerged). Ominously, when we arrived in Geneva my girlfriend’s bag failed to appear. When she told the man at the baggage desk her name and flight number, he looked on his computer and said there was a message from the airline.

He said: ‘I have an apology. There was a mistake and your bag was not flown. It is still in London. It will be flown out on the first flight in the morning and if you leave us the address where you will be staying it will be couriered there by lunch time.’

Despite that promise, what followed was three days of buck passing and complete indifference from BA’s customer service centre.

The problem was that if you lose your bag, BA customer services can’t help, even if a message has immediately been sent apologising and promising it will be delivered asap.

Apparently, they have no way of contacting their baggage department, which is only accessible by customers on one phone number that repeatedly says: ‘We are experiencing a high level of calls, please call later.’ And then cuts you off.

It took more than three days before we got through to that number, at which point a nice man went and found the bag within minutes.

Here are some quotes from BA customer services:

BA customer services: ‘What do you expect me to do. We’re in a call centre – we can’t phone the baggage department, it’s got nothing to do with us.’

BA customer services: ‘Phone the number you were given – if you can’t get through it’s busy, you’re not the only one in this position.’

BA customer services manager: ‘No, I can’t tell you how much a day you can claim in compensation. We don’t supply that information. Claim on your travel insurance.’

So, it came as no surprise that BA has cocked up. After all, if it was losing so many bags that it couldn’t cope during normal operations, it’s no wonder the fog chaos left it stumped.

Perhaps if BA wants to keep up its façade of being a quality airline perhaps it should stop cutting costs, put customer services and the baggage centre in touch, get some more baggage staff, and treat customers with a little more respect. Until then I don’t see any point in choosing them over easyJet or Ryanair.

- Simon Lambert, This is Money

Get some travel insurance for when your airline lets you down

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Comments

[James Gardner]

I have also had very similar experiences with BA and baggage. On one flight, they failed to provide enough crews to simulatenously managed their departures and arrivals, and pleading the needs to get flights out before the Heathrow curfew, left us all in the baggage hall for 3.5 hours, with no information.

I complained using the online customer relations link. The first response was a canned messaged. The second was from a real person, but looked like a form letter. The third said they could do nothing. The fourth, when I demanded compensation and to deal with a manager, was a response giving me 3000 miles in my BA account.

I think it is worthwhile being a bit of a bother to them: in the end they do do something, however inadequate.

[G E Clark]

My bag has gone missing on 12 Jan.
Routing was Madrid (BA)- LGW -Jersey. I have good reason to believe Madrid has sent the bag to LHRW! If I am correct, will terminal 2 have the bag, or is it in a centralised place that I can go to?
I am passing through HEATHROW in 2 weeks time. With all correct tags, reports and passport, am I allowed to look for my bag myself?

[Allan Malcolm]

I have just returned to Malaysia from the UK and BA have lost my luggage on the outgoing leg - its been gone for so long i had to come back without it.

Call centre - what a laugh - Would you believe over and above what was posted previously:

1. The 0854/0870 numbers which put you on gold for hours - BA makes a profit on them!!!

2. They have a MAXIMUM of 5 - yes 5 people fielding all calls.

No wonder the air-crew are striking - it's a national disgrace

[Jo P]

We flew out of Cape Town to London on the 12th of December 2006 with British Airways. And we flew from London to Seattle, still with British Airways on Dec 13, 2006. Upon arrival in Seattle, one of my husband’s luggage never arrived. We found out at the Seattle luggage claim that night, through a BA attendant, that in fact it never left Heathrow. This bag has been lost/missing since Dec 13, 2006 despite several attempts we have made to have it researched or delivered.
Any clue how to reach the right person, department at BA to REALLY find our bag?????

[Ravi P]

I have also been at the receiving end of BA attitude despite the fact that THEY lost my bag.
What really needs to be done to BA is to form a united group of similar sufferers and really take BA to task with top class legal help. They are guilty of negligence, fraud, lies & misrepresentation. Tally Ho BA...you are really doing a great job as a NATIONAL airline !!!

[MJP]

BA Flight from Vancouver to Cape Town Feb 14/07. Flight departs 3 hrs late from Vancouver, so baggage doesn't make connection at Heathrow. Bags purportedly flown to Cape Town next day. One bag delivered to our hotel, one bag never shows up. Five days of "we'll get it to you tomorrow" until BA baggage in Cape Town finally admits it was stolen at the Cape Town airport.

The subsequent treatment from BA was atrocious. The only way to contact customer service is by website, and they've not responded in over a month. We are still waiting for our compensation payment - no sign of when or if that'll ever show up.

My experience - if you have to fly BA, don't EVER check a bag. If you do, consider it GONE, and don't expect any response from BA whatsoever.

[nikb]

The website http://www.saynoto0870.com/ is a useful place to go for alternative numbers. Amongst other numbers for British Airways, it gives you 0800 123111 which happens to be for the Executive Club and surprise, surprise you get a real person very quickly (don't select an option - just wait for answer).
Your luggage may still be lost but you get to talk to someone and they pay for the call if you're in the UK (or try othe rnumber lsited: 0191 490 7901)
My bag was found after 48 hours so sounds like I'm lucky.
Good luck with yours.

[Sunday Akpoduado]

Dear Sir,

I write to launch my complaint and to express my ordeal with the BA recently. I had a return flight from Khartoum to Houston on June 2. I flew on BA from Khartoum to Heathrow airport. On 3rd and in Heathrow airport I joined BA at 0850 due to take off ar 0910 hours. hours. I was informed, on enquiry, that one of my luggages was missing.The Officer advised me to make my complaint to BA in their luggage section in Houston. This missing bag was confirmed in Detroit where we had a stop over.
On getting to Houston, I made the complaint as directed. I was issued with BA File Reference Number and with a promise that my luggage will be united with me soonest. That was the beginning on a very long period of stress. I was new to the States and have nobody to provide me with clothes. All my essential documents and certificates, electronic equipment including my telephone set was in the missing luggage. BA never cared to contact me for days. When I eventually got across to them, all I heard was that they had no beneficial information about my missing baggage. This lated for 4 days. On the 5th day, I enquired if I could get any assistance since I was new to the town and had nothing to change my clothes and had no free access to call out. They directed me to get a few clothes for my inconvenience and put all my receipts across to a contact address for Customer Services elsewhere in New York. I wondered where such fund was coming from as I had no credit card on me or any bank account to draw from. On June 8, I made another call only to be told by a staff that my luggage was delivered a night before but the details have not been entered to update my records. In frustration, I tried to find my way to IAH to launch my grievance and disappointment with the management of BA.
On enquiry, after introducing myself they found my luggage close to the desk where travel tickets were being processed. My luggage was stacked amongst so many suspected to be missing luggages over the period. They explained that the luggage has just arrived on BA203. They requested me to take my luggae from the lot.
This is a summary of a long ordeal over 6 days. At this time my cell phone has been de-activated. I went to Cricket Office where I found out that it was more economical to purchase a new telephone line instead of re-activating the old line. I now have a new line. Consequently, my account has to be changed. I have forwarded the receipts of purchasing a new line ($75.78) to BA in their NY office believing that someone is there to examine this horrible experience and re-act promptly for the sake of good Customer relations. As I narrated my story to friends, the comments I get about BA was distasteful. They had got their own bad version of ill-treatment from BA management in the past.
I do not know how to get this my message sunk into the BA system, but I strongly feel that there is an urgent need for over-hauling the system with a view to reviewing their procedures. I have lost monumentally, with the failures points occasioned by BA. If they want to keep their good Customers, something evidential should be seen to have been done not too late.

[Mandy]

I had a similar experience. I was looking for a way to track my baggage and came across http://www.globalbagtag.com I LOVE them! They're inexpensive and can be used on everything, not just luggage. Your information is stored on their database. So if someone finds your lost item, they can go to www.globalbagtag.com, punch in the ID from your tag and their contact information. So easy and convenient!

[David Fleming]

Its amazing when you actually delve deep in to the world of lost baggage how many people have lost luggage through British Airways. And what is even more surprising is that the responses everyone is getting from BA customer services is as shocking as my experience.
''Lost baggage sir?
''Not a problem, take this little bit of paper which shows an astronomically charged phone number which takes eons to get through on and a tracing website which doesn't even work...and track your bag yourself''?????????
(not quite that bad but you get my drift)...
Anyway i have flown BA 4 times in the last twelve months and on 3 of these occassions they have misplaced my luggage.....now I'm not mathematician but that to me is a 75% hit rate!!! wow...im putting a wager on that this time next year they will be at 100%. Shocking.
It would be so bad if it wasn't for their rude, snotty customer service agents who really don't care and are just sitting in a call centre answering generic calls.....
Anyway.. i am now flying everyone else apart from our BA friends as quite frankly i have had enough. Adios BA, hello Emirates.

And don’t think it stops here…I’m currently printing off thousands of letters to bombard their customer services dept……maybe one will get through…

Wish me luck..

[David Townsend]

My bag went missing 6 days ago when I travelled from Shanghai to Geneva via Heathrow. The agent in Geneva told me that my bag would be delivered the next day, but nothing happened. I then tried to call up BA, but as one blogger mentioned earlier, just got a message saying they have high volume on their hotline, and promptly cut me off. No one has called me and it seems there is no way that you can actually contact the airline.
I find this quite incredible. In the meantime, still waiting....

[Richard Peck]

Ha, you should see the mess at the moment. Terminal One was in chaos the evening of 2 July 2007 and today I am told that there are some 20,000 bags stuck in Heathrow. No one was around to get the planes onto the jetway (some six at least were affected that night alone), the baggage screens just went blank and the planes were not even unloaded. That was now 3 days' ago and no word of explanation was given.

I am still awaiting my bag but after three days of repeatedly calling the tracking service-I go through at 7.00am eventually-I now am the proud owner of a file reference number so I can track my bag...though so far it says..."still tracing".

Tomorrow I am going shopping for shirts, contact lenses glasses gym kit-about £700 in all. Then I shall claim. I suggest everyone does the same

[Aniche Jones]

After a security scare not only did BA cancel my flight, they also failed to return my bag. The baggage hall was like a refugee camp with not one member of BA management appearing and explaining why literally thousands of passangers had neither their luggage, a hotel or a flight. There was one member of staff on the lost luggage counter and the queue was nearly a mile long. Once seen I was told to reschedule and the case will make it onto the new flight. So I rescheduled for the following day and just as I was boarding checked at the gate the case was loaded - and surprise surprise - it was not! Why BA staff seem to think telling me they have a backlog of 26000 cases is supposed to make things better is beyond me! Anyhow I have had to cancel that trip to Beijing as all my work equipment is in the case. I did stress to them I had another trip to take a week later to Bangkok, and surprise surprise - I still don't have my case, so I am flying today without it.

The thing that bothers me the most is that the system means you are unable to talk to anyone at all. The 0845 number says it is busy and then cuts you off, and the website just remains static - saying the "tracing continues".

This is a national disgrace, and I for one will go for Virgin anytime my work gives me a choice between the two - and I will make sure I tell everyone flying by BA to be prepared!!

[sid]

Hello,
I'm still waiting for my two bags that did not make it on London-Detroit flight on July 3, '07. Could any of you comment on whether we can get reimbursed for purchases ensuing from the delayed baggage (NOT lost baggage)? I am a US resident as well and perhaps the policy is different?

Thanks,
Sid

[Les Murkitt]

My wife & I flew Manchester England to New York July 2nd via London Heathrow. On arrival JFK no bags. We moved onto Niagara until July 9th then onto our Condo in Orlando Florida. One bag has been found so far delivered July 11th. Soaking wet clothes moulding. Our other bag has not appeared we have 6 months NHS precription medication in the bags. No one knows what they are doing, the information given on wordtracer.com is incorrect no matter how many times I have emailed, called to correct it. They are a total waste of time.I don't yet know what they will do about the medication because here in US it will cost around $400.00 per month & my medical Insurance does not cover prescription meds. All they can do is say sorry, problem today is that is everyone's answer but truly the couldn't care less it's about time that they did.

[Lisa]

Still waiting for my luggage from 18th June 2007... I am travelling for six weeks with work and BA have no idea where my luggage is....started my Journey from Manchester UK via Heathrow to Madrid, missed my connecting flight due to flight being delayed for 3 three hours out of Manchester, BA put me in a hotel for the night with A shaving pack and an enormous t-shirt as was told I could not have my luggage to go to the hotel with as it was in flight connections, the next day I went to the boarding gate and asked if they were on...they were not and the rude BA staff member at the gate could not have given a damn... she was so rude and I was so stressed about getting to work I actually burst in to tears, not like me usually but just could not comprehend her attitiude... anyway I have become used to this now as when I do get through to someone in the baggage tracer service ...which has been twice in a month... their manner is a disgrace to the airline.... BA should spend more of their revenue on training the staff they employ on empathy or at least train them to at least pretend they care, and on manpower. I will never fly BA again... and have used easyjet a couple of times since and they were great, avoiding BA and Heathrow like the plague.... 'The worlds favorite airline' is the slogan isn't it? LIVE UP TO IT and employ more and train more in customer service.

[Robert Sherwin]

My wife and I just returned from our nightmare with BA. We left Los Angeles on AA, 6/28 going thru Heahthrow, connecting on BA to Copenhagen where we were to start a cruise on 6/31 Princess. We missed our connecting flight in Heathrow and when we did arrive in Copenhagen, BA already had a typed letter stating our bags (all 3) were back in Heathrow and would be delivered within a day. We are now done with our cruse and we went for 13 days without any luggage. Try crusing without clothes, toiletries, etc. Upon arriving home, one bag appeared with some of our clothes missing and the others wet and smelling of mold. Trying to communicate with BA is worthless and we are simply told there are 21000 bags "misplaced". Princess gave us a letter stating our bags are "probably" with a baggage handler in Milan, Italy. We've been unable to reach that company. I have no belief our other two bags will ever surface. While we do have trip insurance and we will file a claim with BA (for whatever it is worth), the inconvenience we went through and our missing clothes, medication, etc., cannot be compensated for. I will never ever fly BA again and if possible, I will avoid Heathrow at all costs.

[Daniel Steele]

Like many others, I'm still waiting for luggage that British Airways lost on June 28th on my Seattle to Rome via Heathrow flight. Apparently (if one is to believe the cryptic comments they've entered on their nearly useless worldtracer service), the bags lingered for 4 days at Heathrow and then were shipped on trucks? from Heathrow to Milan Italy. Once in Milan, reportedly someone decided to send the bags back to the states via 72 hour courier. 10 days later, I still don't have my luggage and BA hasn't a clue where it might be. After spending 2 weeks in Italy without any baggage and after experiencing the non-responsiveness of BA via fax, telephone, email etc., count me among the thousands who will never do business with British Airways again. Their overall incompetence and lack of technological sophistication is staggering

[Kimberly Chidester]

My bag is STILL missing since June 13 when I took a dream vacation for being a cancer survivor from PHL to LHR and then on to NBO (Nairobi). I was left in the African plains for over 10 days with nothing but what I had on and BA reps were not only nasty from the get go but thru out the process could have cared less what impact my lost bag on my life! As of TODAY I too have yet to hear from BA, much less received my bag or an apology. I re-read the above blogs and wonder where has customer service gone? Has anyone from BA ever been in the same situation? Does BA not conduct a customer based quality program where they actually tell BA staff to not roll their eyes when they have a weeping customer in front of them? How about teaching them the statement “ I am sorry?” How about learning to say what can I do for you instead of directing/telling the customers there is nothing they can do for them. What about compassion and integrity? I find it hard to believe that an airline that states they are high-tech and focuses on supposedly customer centricity not push some form of customer service outside of a robot pressing buttons. The answers I have received from BA were far worse than that of a teddy bear that you pull the string to hear a voice response. SHAME ON YOU BA! And oh...can you find my bag now?

[Tifaine Hedgecock]

BA lost my bag on 2 July and I am still waiting for it despite their tracer website saying it should be delivered within 48 hours (8 days ago). My husband eventually got through to a human using his Gold Card number and the woman complained, 'The trouble is there are an awful lot of bags around at airports...'

[andrew wood]

Arrived from New Zealand via Heathrow 19 July, luggage still not arrived. Was told scanned in at heathrow 20 July, and would be put on One of the next three planes to Glasgow. Some staff try to be helpful, but others simply don't know what to do.
Why don't they use private carriers to deliver the hundreds of cases etc lying in BA hanger within Glasgow Airport. I`m sure some firms would like the work.

[Robert Parker]

I flew to Azerbaijan on Sunday 1st of July on flight No 6133 and will not be leaving untill 30th September,

I received my bags 15 days later which had been tampered with and contents removed (see photo).

This is a good leather case. I attempted to tear the opposite corner without success the conclusion being
to gain access you would require a sharp item and cut the stitching.

My case must had been in water for a long period as my cloths in the bottom were destroyed as the dye from my case had soak into them and the remaining items soaked,

Passengers in the same predicament received 180azm me 60azm,

Items missing,

Digital camera still in box……………………………...100 Sterling
Mobile phone Nokie N70………………………...…….180
MP3 player still in box………………………………….91
Dress Jacket…………………………………………….89
Shirts……………………………………………………..50
Suit Case………………………………………………..40

I have forward this e mail a total 4 times telephoned several times kept on hold for 20 30 mins with no success,

[Caroline]

Oh dear - reading the above, should I be complaining after one week of mislaid luggage for a simple trip between Glasgow and Heathrow, despite having alerted them that important medication in now lost.
I have a day job to do as per most people, but have now spent hours hanging on the tracing number 'phone, calling baggage handling numbers in Glasgow who answer eventually and immediately drop the 'phone down, getting no-where with the useless on-line non updated tracking system and writing letters of complaint to airport managers and the security folk, as how come any unattended bags are not Iimmediately scanned in this age of heightened security? And to wait 45 days until all is classified as 'lost' equates to a whopping two months! BA are no longer the air line of my choice.

[Gary Zielke]

I am yet another passenger, frustrated and disappointed with the total lack of anything resembling customer service during the June/July 2007 baggage fiascos. BA lost my bags on June 20, 2007 on a trip from Vancouver to Amsterdam. They were amongst the bags that got sent by lorrie from Heathrow to Milan and were supposedly sent by courier from there to the final destination. Mine never arrived and the sorry excuse for a tracking website showed that they would be delivered within 48 hours for several weeks before my claim on the website just disappeared. I submitted a written claim to BA to which I got no response and when I finally got through to a lost baggage claims agent in North America I was asked to FAX my claim to New York. I did that and on August 13, 2007 I received a cheque from BA for the amount that they are required to compensate people under the Montreal Convention. Needless to say it did not cover the cost of my business clothing which I had to replace. I would have thought that I might at least get a letter of apology or some other token acknowledgment of their total incompetence in dealing with this situation but even that did not happen. It seems that the only kind of customer service BA is prepared to invest in is a web site. The amount of time I have wasted trying to follow up on this claim has been significant and my attitude has gone from understanding, to frustration, to cynicism. Please do not believe anything BA says about how valuable you are to them as a customer. When the chips are down they couldn’t care less and there lack of service proves it.

[Odalys Ibrahim]

BA lost my bag twice during a recent trip to Europe. Once from London to Venice and the other from London to Miami. Who knows the number to call at London Heathrow airport baggage person who can locate my bag. The bag belongs to my elderly mother who had packed in that suitcase all of the rolls of films that she took during her only trip outside of the US. Her dream of going to the Vatican and being able to show her girlfriend has been shattered. The bag was lost on the 29th of July. I will pay a reward to anyone that can find the bag...please help if you know what I can do.

[geoff creese]

I flew from Heathrow to salonika on the 6th of august. on arrival my bag containing clothes, binoculars and camera was missing, as I'd gone on a birdwatching holiday this was inconvenient to say the least. I was on a tight budget so was unable to to replace these articles. my holiday was ruined. I have made a claim on-line but have been unable to contact anyone at B.A. Don't they care that people who work hard all year to be able to afford a holiday get really upset when things like this happened? They should hang their heads in shame.

[Alan]

Bag lost in Heathrow on 1 June 2007. 20 or so calls later. 2 letters (one in which they lost the original receipts) and I still have no real results.

[John Andrews]

Another lost bag and an onboard entertainment system that did not work, busses to the termial, (only 2 sent) for a 747, Spanish crewmember who spoke little English And I hear crew are thnking of balloting ..............Joke..
WHY do I book BA.......?

11 October 07

[Lorraine Collins]

We travelled from Melbourne Victoria via Hong Kong(with Cathay Pacific) onto Heathrow then finally with BA to Manchester. On arrival at Manchester I never received my case (BA Heathrow had lost it)that was on 21st Feb 2008. The customer service desk is absolutely useless. I'm sure they have a script to read as I get the same answers each time I ring. They haven't got a clue what they are doing. They use a call centre in Newcastle that is a non based airport office........they cannot help at all. They always say they'll send an email requesting my case be put on the next available flight!!!!! What a joke!
BA need to get this sorted out as I personally will neverfly with them again. BA should stand for Bloody Atrocious!!!!!
Anyone planning to fly with BA - BEWARE!
Cathay Pacific - Fantastic! Probably as it's nothing to do with UK!
I finally got through to an agent based in Heathrow and was very quickly transferred back through to the Newcastle cal centre. Arghhhhhhhhh! :-(

[debraose]

Well done B.A. lost my baggage Heathrow to Larnaca Cyprus reported it lost and told will be delivered to home address in Paphos p.m next day and the driver would phone 30 mins before he arrived and he did! It arrived on time and undamaged. How's that for service, great pity it went missing, but satisfied customer.

[sonia]

I have the same terrible experience as you all did, I lost my luggage on Mar 14, my husband and i were supposed to be on a honeymood trip to europe from Hong Kong to Rome transit in London heathrow. we both had no luggage with us for the whole trip and i got my luggage back on the Mar 25th while my husband one is still unfound. What an airline, we will never fly with BA again, we didn't realize this airline is having the baggage problem all along, gosh, this certainly ruins our honeymood. What else can i say more as BA is not responding!

[Lorraine Collins]

Follow up from my post 11th March. Still not had my case returned - it's 45 days tomorrow!
Now my case has been put with all the new lost cases in Terminal 5 - 'never to be seen again'
:-( Bad news!!!!!

[Robert Newby]

I also had a horrible experience with BA this week. I was on the flight which diverted via Shannon on Saturday due to losing hydraulics, and then found out we had no luggage aboard the flight before being shipped around 3 different hotels looking for a room.

We are now in San Francisco, minus luggage, 6 days later. Tomorrow we return home, with or without luggage.

I am considering suing for the way I have been treated, ignored, and the way my work and holiday has been ruined for the week. During my investigations I found this guy - Chris Elliott (www.elliott.org), the travel troubleshooter and he's already been great for me. He's full of advice on how to take them on, and has 'several more tricks up his sleeve' in case they put up a fight.

I encourage everyone to take BA as far as they can, claim everything back, go to the papers, go to the news, tell your friends, your enemies and everyone you speak to in every country you visit. BA should suffer for this, they have to learn they can't treat people like this and get away with it.

I'm thinking of starting a vendetta - who's with me?

[Mark Blundell]

This is an email to Simon Lambert as a followup to his 09 January 2007 editorial about BA lost baggage. I hope you can use it someway to decry the plight of thousands.

Like the old song says, "it's all happened again and again and again and again...".

Last week I travelled to Britain with just one checked bag full of my own expensive cold-weather hiking gear and presents for friends and relatives. I knew there had been problems with baggage at Heathrow so I asked to pickup my bag so I could carry to my connector to Manchester. I was told "There's no need..."

The famous last words.

In Manchester, I was told my bag did not leave Heathrow but not to worry as it will make the evening flight and be delivered before noon the next day. Here's a phone and website address if you wish to track it.

The bag didn't arrive.

The phone number I was given is not being answered due to the high volume of calls.

The website was only created, containing incorrect information, and not updated for five days.

Via BA's Customer Services I got through to its baggage department twice but only after hours of being on hold. The first time I was told my bag was in a warehouse in Manchester and would be delivered in two to three days. The second time the bag, apparently, was "lost".

I was told to claim for immediate needs through travel insurance that I do not have. BA may pay for immediate needs but I was not told what that included.

Will it include the cancelled hiking vacation in the Lake District?

Now a service company has my bag for delivery. But since BA have not updated the incorrect information on the tracking website, despite several calls and emails, where will the tracking company send it to? Speaking with the BA customer services again, they update the tracking website but little else! They cannot contact the delivery company and so I cannot call them, meet them or pickup my bag myself.

To complete my perception of BA, they cannot guarantee that my bag will arrive in Canada when I travel back on Sunday. Will my new beloved Bolton Wanderers shirt and new gifts be lost in BA's black hole along with the thousands of other bags?

Like Coronation Street this saga never seems to end. Unlike Coronation Street, this saga brings pleasure to no one. Maybe it's time that British Airways closed shop and left travel to more reliable and empathetic companies.

My vacation, as that of thousands of other trusting people, is ruined.

Yours truly,

Mark Blundell, PGeo, CCEP.

[Mark Blundell]

I sent my comment above to The Bolton News. One the paper's reporters interviewed then interviewd me and did a nice spread in the paper. Cherry, the reporter, also contacted BA for comment.

Shortly after this, a BA executive assistant called promising to resolve my problem. It took a couple of days but I did get my back one day before returning to Canada. The bag was broken but the contents were in tact and I was able to distribute the gifts I had brought from Canada.

I guess BA can help individuals but you need to raise the profile first. I'm glad I got my bag but I am still disappointed that an upset such as this could happen to a British "establishment" and that they should ignore the needs of their customers when it does happen. My vacation was still ruined.

Thank you to Cherry Thomas and the Bolton News.

[acuteaccent]

Worst case scenario is having the baggage lost when at your destination abroad. The telephone numbers of partner airline of British Airways for lost baggage are inevitably useless.

My advise is to claim your compensation directly to British Airways in London. Write a letter and fax quickly, don't even wait to your arrival back home. Make sure that you send it registered or signed for. For a standard template of claim, you may download one from http://acuteaccent.com/british-airways-baggage-claim-and-compensation-for-lost-or-mishandled-luggage/ or Which? site.

Good luck!

[jacqueline]

I just recently lost my luggage thru continental airline. Please contact me with your name and email address. I'm starting a petition against continental airlines. It's not fair that corporation can get away from treating customers as they are nothing. Apologies will not do. People have the need to have their possession's secured. We pay an enormous amount of money to be treated as though' it's okay. The only way to get attention from corporation is to come together.

Please contact me: j.q.07@hotmail.com

http://www.mYSPACE.com/jqueline07

[Simon C]

What we need is an independant company that can provide an active locator+identification tag, and the people who can go and retrieve the bag, knowing where it is, and able to positively identify it.

I for one would pay for such a service - an added component to travel insurance if you like. Better to get your bag back, and quickly, than have to go through all the invonvenience and claims procedure.

[Meeta Lavania]

As i was flying with Cathay pacific from Cairns to Delhi by CX 102 on 23 august and checked in my 3 baggages and all baggages has booked from Cairns to Delhi. But when i reached to bangkok that i came to know that my one baggaged has been missed by cathay pacific. I have not recieved my baggaged CX274699. After 6 days or my arrival i have not recieve my baggages.
Please look after the matter.

It cairres my all original documents as i was their for my presentation in International conference ISME 12TH. As i am scientist in The Energy Resources Institute, Delhi, India.

I will appriciate if you could please trace my baggage and send it me.

[michael chance]

Further to my letter dated 7/11 reporting my lost bag which I recovered by returning to MIA at great cost, further on my return journey from Sicily BA lost my wine, value £30. Cheque please, you have my address in my letter.
Regards,
Michael.

[Chris Dixon]

On 20 November 2008 flew business class from Appleton WI to Chicago then on to London with BA (the dreaded terminal 5) followed by a flight to Cairo again with BA. I am a frequent flyer however this is the first time I have had an air line lose luggage and the first time I have ever flown BA. I arrived in Cairo however my baggage did not. The BA representative in Cairo could not even be bothered to come down and speak to me in person and left the local people to deal with it. 5 hours after my arrival and the on line tracking system still can’t find my bags. My advice, if you can find an alternate airline use it.

[Gary Davis]

Wow, BA don't appear to have got any better in 18 months, is it institutional apathy? We travelled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming from Manchester, via Heathrow & Dallas Fort Worth. When we reached DFW we were told our skis (2pr) and my wife's bag had not made the flight at Heathrow, but they be with us the next day.
We got to Jackson Hole to find that my bag had not made the Americam Airways flight but, yes would be with us the next day! The skis & my bag turned up just over 48hrs late and my wife's bag 48hrs late. I'll never fly BA again and why build another runway at Heathrow when they clearly can't cope with what they have!

[MARIO GRIMAb]

I HAD MY LUGGAGE DELAYED FOR 37 HOURS AND HAD TO BUY SOME PERSONAL THINGS. COULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO CLAIM. REGARDS AND THANKS