I reported earlier that British Airways had not mailed the promised check to reimburse us for the clothes we had to buy in Israel when they lost our luggage.
In fact, as noted here, they mailed the check a little over a week after they sent the letter promising it, and it was delayed in the mail because the USPS failed to properly handle a simple vacation mail hold.
http://www.my3cents.com/companyReview.cgi?compid=15&subcat=14
British Airways – Lost luggage complaints and reviews…
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Complete Incompetence, No End In Sight…
4/21/2008 heathrow
We also had the misfortune of traveling thru T5 on March 27th (Boston to Manchester). 2 bags didn’t make it to my final destination of Manchester. Our return flight on the 31st was cancelled so that BA could deal with all the luggage. They eventually forwarded one bag to my home in Boston (FEDEX dumped it at my back door, no notification, no signature). The other bag was dumped at the door of my parents house in England (the original address we gave when we were informed the bags would “probably be couriered tonight or, at the latest, tomorrow”). Only problem, they never called to see if there was anyone there to receive the bag, it sat outside for a week until some kind person in the building brought it in. BA not really dealing with it despite me spending at least an hour per day on the phone with BA reps, who state they can’t do anything because the “file is closed, the bags were delivered”.
No sign of compensation, I have been hung up on (literally). NEVER have I been so disgusted in my life from bad customer relations. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL.
Horrible No Service, Incompetence, Not At All Caring, No End In Sight
4/13/2008
On March 27 I had the great misfortune of being the 3rd flight to arrive at T5 from Johannesburg on BA #56. With all the great fanfare at the departure gate in Joberg, i.e champagne for all, quartet of live music etc.
To date 3 weeks later, I have still not received my luggage. To call BA is a total waste of time, as they do not pick up the phones at all.emailing, I got an answer from the manager in Tel Aviv, that he will forward my email to customer service. Of course, I never heard from them.
I flew on a round the world, very expensive ticket in first and business class.No distinction was made whatsoever. was made by them. You might as well have been seated in their toilet, and would probably have gotten better service!
In my opinion, BA has no will, or care to return lost luggage to their rightful owners.They will not help anyone unlucky enough to have flown them. Mind you, I am an emerald member, the top tier on One world, which is their alliance.
The emotional distress equals or is greater than temporary loss of baggage.No compensation, words of encouragement, or a offer of help by the stuck up people in BA is being offered. There is simply no one to talk to there.It is 3 weeks and no end in sight to my, or anyone else’s plight.
In the age of Fedex, DHL, TNT and others where you can get packages sent and received anywhere in this small world in 24 Hrs. yo would think they would make the slightest effort to return the bags.
NO, ALL THIS VENTING DOESN’T MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER, It just makes me more upset.
I do hope that many people will sue their asses off for the discomforted and mishandling of the situation. I will join any class action suit against BA and hope the thousands of other passengers will do so as well.
They (BA) don’t deserve to be called an airline!
If there is anyone who could help out in this dire situation, it would be greatly appreciated.
BA Terminal 5 – Dishonesty Incompetence Total Lack of Service
4/6/2008 London
I flew Business Class on Sat 5th April from their new Terminal 5.Prior to check-in they said that bthe problems were behind them and everything was working normally. This was the first lie. I left the security to try to go in the lounge to wait for departure. The door is beside security manned by two BA people. Despite being entitled to access I was told that BA/ BAA insisted that I walk past all the shops and go down a floor and up again to get in.
With my flight time approaching I inquired with staff in the lounge. I was advised that there were no delays and to proceed via the transit to the departure gate. Second lie.
Do not leave the lounge or get the transit until you are sure your flight is on time. You can’t get back to the lounge. Sure enough I arrive at the gate and the flight is delayed for 1 hour. Reason given was problems with the baggage system meant that they were manually making sure that all our bags were on board prior to take off. Third lie.
We then boarded and sat on the ground for another hour supposedly looking for the bag of a passenger who hadn’t showed. Finally we got airborne.
About two hours into the flight the pilot declared a hydraulics emergency and turned back , dumped fuel and safely landed at Shannon. This is where all the lies surfaced. Tons of bags were coming onto the carousel but no-one was picking then up. it turns out that these were the bags belonging to BA’s victims on the earlier San Francisco flight that had not made it with their owners. Sure enough my bags did not show. About £2k worth of stuff.
There is no BA representation at all. We have been put up overnight and are still waiting to try to depart for the US. There is no information on the state of the aircraft. We all have had hours where we could have used the time to start the process of registering our lost bags. Despite calling the Executive Club and searching the web, I am told that the only way I can do this is to get in line in San Francisco, presumably with 300 or so other people and fill out a form.
BA have collected several thousand pounds from me and given me this experience in return. They deserve to go broke. They should start by firing their arrogant little bean counter Walsh. Avoid them if you can.
Lost Luggage – 4 Months – No Payment
1/3/2008 London
On the 22/Sep/07 I travelled to London -Dubai, British Airways lost my luggage. To start my claim I had to fill lost content claim form, which I did online, on 3/10/07. Immediately I had an electronic replay from BA saying, that to proceed with my claim I have to post some receipts and a hard copy of their email. I did as asked. Having no response to my letter I called, just to find out that they have no my home address, which was a reason to freeze my case. Nowhere on my email was stated the need for my home address and even so they have my lost luggage reference number and my address can be easily traced.
To this suggestion they answered that they do not communicate with department, which deals with reference numbers. I gave my address and after about a month I received a check to cover my expenses I had during time while on holidays with no luggage. Immediately I called them asking why there is no payment for my luggage content. I had an answer that I need to wait 3 months from the loosing date for it to be declared lost. So I waited, I called them today on 3/1/08 just to find out that my claim form cannot be found, so as they suggested, probably I did not filled it. I did fill it and had a confirming email (3/10/07).
They asked me to resend it by fax, and wait for response for another 28 days. Customer service says different information each time I call, and it looks like there is no end to my case.
BA – flight delay, stolen items in my bags, poor service
12/21/2007 JFK NY
I used British Airway to travel to Sudan on Nov 24 and returned to New York on Dec 9. Both days, my flights were delay and my luggages did not show up neither at Khartoum, Sudan nor JFK, New York until 2 days later.
On my returning flight to JFK, my flight was delay for 4 hours and my two bags did not show up in the JFK airport. Two days later, I received my bags and immediately noticed both locks were missing. My two cameras and backpack were missing.
Immediately, I called, faxed them 2 letters to file my complaints, but received no respond from them. My travel insurance company would not compensate my lost until I received acknowledge letter from them.
BA is the worse airline, I will never use it again. NEVER!
Insult to Injury – BA Misplaces Business Class Bag for Over 9 Days and Refuses to Reimburse Expenses
10/2/2007 CA
British Airways misplaced my baggage in transit on a recent business trip to Bangalore, India, from San Jose, CA. I was on American from SJ to London and was supposed to catch a BA connection in London, to Bangalore. My American flight arrived into London late, and consequently, I ended up missing my BA Bangalore connection. My bag, however, had been sent to BA, and BA promptly misplaced it. (A reported 150,000 bags had been misplaced by BA in London Heathrow that week). In the meantime, I was rerouted to Bangalore on Air India, and arrived in Bangalore about 13 hours behind schedule. For 9 days after I had landed in Bangalore, BA had not located my bag (they didn’t even seem to know where it was). Finally, they located my bag on the 9th day and had it delivered to me on the 11th day, one day before my trip was to conclude and I was to fly back to San Jose. Of course, all this only after I had wrestled with BA customer service in Bangalore over multiple telephone calls (most of the time there would be no answer – all during normal business hours – and the few times there was an answer, I was put on hold for long durations; there was even a time when I was put on hold and almost immediately, the call got disconnected), and made multiple trips to the airport to track down my bag, all during a hectic business trip!
Since I was without my baggage for a full 11 days after I had landed in India, I had to purchase essential items such as clothes, etc. The BA baggage office in Bangalore asked me to file a claim for my purchases after I returned to the US, and promised that it “will be taken care of, without a problem”. After I returned to the US, I faxed receipts of those purchases to BA, asking for reimbursement. A cool 6 weeks later, I got a terse letter from BA asking me to contact Air India for my claim, since that was the airline I had filed my initial claim with, even though the bag itself was misplaced by BA. Of course, the letter had no contact phone number or email address for BA, and no contact information for Air India.
Interestingly, while BA had nothing useful to say in the letter, they had the nerve to say that they hoped to welcome me aboard “a BA flight soon”.
Please, dear readers, do yourselves a favor. Never ever travel by BA. Incompetence with arrogance – that is a real hard combination to beat!
Lost Baggage
9/24/2007 Denver CO
Well, it’s September 24th 2007, and British Airways just delivered a suitcase that went missing on August 1st, 2007……..
We were rather excited, because they had just recently sent a cheque for $1,500.00 the maximum they have to pay out under the Montreal Convention. The balance of the missing clothes/bag, was to be collected from the travel insurance company.
After a while, I wondered what the rotten, moldy smell was, and looked inside the suitcase. Everything in there is rotten and moldy. Not one to be deterred I sauntered off to the launderette and put the whole lot through a hot wash, with the launderette girl giving me jugs of vinegar to add in with the detergent and bleach.
Half an hour later, I returned, only to discover that the clothes still smelt of rotten mold, and still had all the mold spots over them.
I washed them all again, to no avail.
The only good thing is we now have the clothes to put in a claim, prior to that, we just had a list of stuff, that my son thought was in the bag. Nice, an Armani shirt was in there, that he had left off the original list, plus lots of other stuff!!
I want to say: “I hate BA”, because I just spent 4 hours in a launderette and I haven’t been to one since college days. And, because my son was so happy to have his stuff back, and then miserable when he realized he couldn’t wear any of it!
What did they do? Leave the suitcase sitting on the runway in the good ol’ British rain for the past 55 days?
Lost in Spain on its way to Morocco
9/24/2007
I wish I knew about BA’s terrible reputation before I booked my flight to Morocco, for, if I knew, I would have chosen any other airline. Just Google ‘Lost Luggage British Airways’ and you will see pages and pages of complaints and warnings unlike any other airline! It is shocking!
I am a frequent traveler, and this was the very first time I EVER flew British Airways, and the very first time I have EVER had my luggage lost.
When I tell anyone about my lost luggage, they all roll their eyes as soon as I mention BA! I feel so sorry for all the poor souls who have fallen victim to BA, and now that I have experienced it firsthand, I feel for all of us victims even more.
I chose BA because the flight times appeared better for both departure and arrival… Well, let’s just say things did not go as smooth with the flight times and worse, my luggage never made it to Morocco, and still has not made it back to Vancouver.
Nothing can ever replace the inconvenience, frustration, time and various costs spent for travel and staying on hold when calling the baggage claim area, time traveling to and from a remote location in Eljadida to Casablanca Airport (especially after being misinformed a few times that the baggage had arrived), the wasted hope that the baggage would finally appear with all the needed medication, toiletries, gifts for my hosts…
Nothing can make up for what BA and its service areas have done to me on my trip. I just did my best to make the most of my trip despite the lost luggage…and, despite having been let down so much, I still have waning hope that the bag may mysteriously resurface…
I am now starting the process for the Claim Form as it has now been since August 30 that my luggage has been missing. The last I heard was that it was supposed to be on a flight from Malaga, Spain…Wish me luck, and if you have any advice, feel free to contact me!
Lost Luggage – Join Class Action Law Suit Against BA
9/6/2007
My bag was lost on June 27th. Although I haven’t received it and it is considered as lost according to BA employees, despite repetitive claims filled with BA, no one as even tried to contact me. Baggage service customer service is inexistent, doesn’t answer the phone and all BA employees I have talked to have no clue about the whole thing because they claim having no access to the luggage dept info. Even better BA closed my case several times stating that I had received my luggage… I had to get a certification from Fedex – which they use to supposedly deliver my bad – to get the case reopened, which anyway doesn’t matter because BA doesn’t care. No offer of compensation has been made, no excuse, no payments, no phone calls or emails or letters NOTHING… FOR ALL OF YOU THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT A FIRM IS STARTING TODAY A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST BA …
Lost bags
9/4/2007
We flew BA to Johannesburg via LHR with a group of 13. Four out of the 13 bags did not arrive in Johannesburg. After dealing with inept BA staff in Johannesburg we continued on our safari borrowing clothes from the other nine people. The staff at our camp were diligent in trying to contact BA but got no answer by phone, fax or email. Four days later, back in Johannesburg, my husband went to the airport to physically hunt for our luggage. They said mine was there, my husband’s was in Heathrow, another person’s in JFK and the fourth who knows where. When they brought my luggage out, my husbands was with it! However upon opening the luggage we found almost one-third had been stolen. The third person received her luggage 6 days later.
The fourth went all 24 days without her luggage. We are now in the process of filing claims with BA. So far they are treating us no better than they did when the bags were lost. We will not fly BA again and will also avoid London Heathrow as it is a mess, especially if you need to change terminals.
BA – GPS luggage / tracking system needed
9/4/2007 North Hollywood CA
How hard is it to manage and track parcels?
Fedex does it. Airborne Express does it. Hell, even the US Post Office does it. Why can’t British Airways manage luggage, track it, and deliver luggage after it gets misrouted?
The answer is not what you might expect. After British Airways lost my luggage on a flight before my Mediterranean cruise, I discovered that lost luggage isn’t an accident on British Airways. It is a well known, intentional business process which executive leadership is fully aware.
Airplanes have a weight limit. If luggage exceeds the plane’s weight limit, certain bags intentionally get left behind and re-routed on later flights. Sometimes much later flights. Later, some bags are forwarded to passengers at their various destinations. May bags are not.
If that isn’t enough, BA has a broken business process for delivering lost luggage to vacationing passengers. BA claims that bags can be tracked online, but the online information is seldom updated, and often appears to be inaccurate. For example, our missing bags were spotted in Barcelona, BA said, but the bags turned out to be still at Heathrow. These two bags, both of which BA tracked and located, have never been delivered. One bag that BA claimed was missing entirely showed up at the first port city on our cruise. In addition, many travel professionals say that BA’s barcode system is not an advanced system for baggage tracking and delivery, but rather just a baggage numbering device.
What are the executives at British Airways doing, if not managing this severe problem? What are they busying themselves with?
In the age of GPS tracking devices and barcode retrieval systems, BA’s luggage handling is a modern disaster, and an embarrassment to its executives. They would rather not implement a GPS tracking system, because that would uncover their real problem– they’ve been misrouting bags intentionally for weight limit reasons.
Expose’ anyone?
I guess we were lucky
8/24/2007
On July 11 we flew from NYC to Dusseldorf, Germany via Heathrow. Our suitcases also went missing. However, unlike most we at least received them on the 4th day into our vacation but those days were spent either on the computer or on the phone trying to track our bags. One arrived the next day, one was on its way to Milan on a truck to a company named OXB, and the other 3 were nowhere to be found. BA staff in Dusseldorf never ever answered the phone,BA customer service in Germany was rude and didn’t care. On day 3 we finally got a hold of a super nice customer service rep in England who put a rush on our bags, and who gave us the number to OXB as well as the name of a contact person there. All our correspondence by email were never answered.
Our bag containing our toiletries was a mess, someone had ripped of the lid of our shampoo and spilled it over the rest of bag’s contents. (I had put every liquid beauty product in individual zip log bags to avoid such a mess). Various lids of other products had been removed, and put on products they didn’t belong on.
What really makes me angry is the lack of customer service and the lack of acknowledgment on BA’s part. We will not fly them again even though the tickets were $300 cheaper p.p.
However, compared to most of the complaints I guess we can consider ourselves lucky.
New immigrant came with no luggage
8/21/2007 Vancouver
I immigrated to Canada in June, 2007. I was flying BA on 28th of June, 2007, from Bishkek via London to Vancouver. They lost my luggage. In those two bags I had the most valuable things from home looking forward to start a new life in Canada. Instead I had to start with one pair of shoes and jeans in a country where I hardly knew anyone or had anything of my own.
I had to wait at least 30 minutes each time when I called their customer service to find out what happened. They always said “no information on your lugguage”. One of my bags arrived one week later, another one after three weeks. The last bag came wet, stinky, all my clothes and even shoes covered in black and green mold. Most of the things in it were ruined.
I’ve send them receipts for reimbursment, it’s been two months and I haven’t heard from them. Do they actually pay you back for luggage which was missing and came destroyed?
Lost luggage
8/16/2007 heathrow to barcelona
On the 30th June 2007 we flew for the first time with British Airways and it will certainly be the last we flew from Edinburgh to Barcelona via Heathrow and when we arrived in Barcelona we had no luggage at all we had to queue for 2 hours to fill lost baggage report and with 2 small children it was a nightmare. we had no clothes at all until one case arrived at our villa 2 days later.we still are waiting on the other 2 and it is now 46 days later we had to buy all new clothes and we couldn’t get through to 0800 no after 44 phone calls and emails i have since sent a later by post maybe i will get response now but not holding my breath they totally ruined our holiday and will never fly with British Airways.
I am so appalled at the way the handle things in this day and age and size of company they manage to lose so many cases.
BA Lost my baggage
8/12/2007 Milwaukee WI
I have travelled a lot in my life but my luggage never got lost. I flew with BA from London to Madrid and my baggage never arrived in Madrid and I did not have anything to wear for 3.5 days. BA Spain told me I could go and buy stuff and will be reimbursed when I got back to US.
BA paid me only $1500 for a $5000 worth stuff and did not reimburse for the amount that I had to pay for additional clothing when my bag was missing.
After 2 months, BA finally announced my luggage as lost. I felt that I was ropped by BA. I was a business class passenger and never thought that you could lose a luggage in a direct flight.
I filed a claim at the small claims court in Milwaukee, WI and court dismissed my case.
I have to do something and do not know what else I can do.
British Airways – Worst Airline Award
8/5/2007
I went onto my3cents to offer some advice to anyone thinking of flying with British Airways only to discover that MANY had been here with the same complaints before me so I’ll leave it at this:
I fly extensively (internationally) and have used more than 50 airlines… from Bolivia to Cambodia to Kazahkstan and beyond. British Airways is, without a doubt, the worst airline in the entire world (sorry Lloyd Aero Boliviano). My one experience with British Air in July took me through Heathrow airport, via bus, and past a giant and I mean GIANT, fenced off pile of lost luggage. It appears to be all British Airways luggage, sitting in the rain! Another passenger on the bus said he had heard that BA’s new slogan was “We’re not happy until you’re not happy”. And then….yes… my bags disappeared never to resurface in the free world. I have joined an exclusive club of tens of thousands of “losers” who will never set foot on another BA plane.
We should start a “Worst Airline Award”. BA would win hands down!
BA – Lost Baggge
8/4/2007
As most people living in the United States, I take my vacation ones a year. So you can imagine how angry I was when BA lost my baggage on the way to my vacation in Barcelona and Portugal in early May. It was a nightmare tracking the bag, which they said has arrived and was trying to get delivered to my friends’ home in Barcelona. Despite what BA office in Madrid was telling me, nothing came to my friends’ house. Four days I went to the airport 5 hours before my flight to Lisbon, just to look for my bag. The baggage department told me that my suitcase is in the airport, but I did not find it in the room that was supposed to hold my bag. I flew to Lisbon, empty handed and very, very angry.
After countless phone calls to the US, Spanish and British luggage offices, the bag was not found. I spend around $600 on buying new clothes and on making phone calls to BA.
When I got back to the States, BA was still giving me the run around. I faxed them my lost claim and 3 months later I received only $1500 as my reimbursement from them. I don’t believe that’s enough to cover my lost items and expenses. I put all my favorite clothes (including glasses and some jewelry) in the bag. The contents of the bag alone were around $5000.
Any advice on whether and how I can get more than $1500 from BA? They ruined my vacation and I lost many valuable items.
Lost Baggage Again
8/4/2007
I have flown BA internationally four times in less than a year. I fly them because the service in Business Class is excellent. Unfortunately, the baggage handling leaves something to be desired. For the second time in less than a month they have lost my luggage while in route from the US to Doha, Qatar. The last time it took a week to find my bages. I am working on 5 days now. What makes matters worse is that I am an executive club member and I fly business class where you’re supposed to get priority handling.
I am getting the run-around. On the 1st I was told the bags were in London and would arrive in Doha on Qatar Air at midnight. I went to the airport and waited and they did not come. On the second they told me they would ship out that day and arrive in Doha at 6 AM. I went to the airport again and no bags. On the 3rd I was told they came by Gulf Air, no bags. I called back and was told they came by British Midlands but they did not. Last night I was told the bag was in Terminal 3 at Heathrow and they would ship it down and I would have it today, the 4th. Guess what, I still do not have my bags.
I cannot understand how the service from the cabin crew can be so great and the service from the baggage claim system can be so bad.
Lost luggage in the BA bottomless pit of suitcases
7/31/2007 Arlington VA
After a horrible check-in in Kuwait City on July 25th 2007 and being seated for eight hours without in-flight entertainment we arrived in Heathrow. After multiple delays in Heathrow, the world’s worst airport, at 2AM in the morning we arrived in Washington, DC Dulles airport. I arrived sans luggage and too groggy to go to work that day. One day later I get a call and one of my bags arrived to my home at 11PM at night on is still mia. Two days later I get a cell phone call from a random man out in California stating that LAX airport delivered my luggage by accident to him. British Airways doesn’t even fly to LAX and somebody in Heathrow put my luggage on an American Airlines (BA’s co-carrier) flight to LA. How this happened I don’t know. After calling customer service explaining this nothing was done for two more days and ten phone calls later to customer service. My husband and I irate at this point went on Sunday July 29th to Dulles in person to complain and explain to a real live human being that my luggage was now in LA. This was never recorded via phone or online by BA no matter how many times I explained it. Then I get a call yesterday from American Airlines stating my luggage was on one of two possible flights from LAX to Dulles aiport. It is now the 31st of July and after calling Dulles airport my luggage is not there and BA does not know where it is. Here I was feeding them information to where my luggage went all along and they didn’t even know to begin with. Now they still cannot find it??? I then checked online. The bag that was delivered on the 26th was a black bag. The bag missing is silver. The online info states the silver bag was delivered and not the black one on July 26th. They even mixed that up. Maybe one day I’ll see my luggage. My lovely oriental carpets and perfumes that I bought overseas. All my gifts for friends and family.
The $5,000 dollars I lost in paying for it all!
Avoid BA like the plague
7/31/2007 Paris
When they lose your luggage (and likelier than not, they will), it goes into the black hole that is the Italian luggage delivery service OBX. BA screwed me over by losing my luggage at the beginning of a summer study abroad in Europe, and, now that I’m at the end, have finally located the bag and sent it back to my home in New York.
They lose 1000s of pieces a week and take an approach too customer service that ranges from hostile to indifferent. It was virtually impossible to actually to speak to any of their reps as the multiple phone numbers in Paris they gave me were constantly busy (the recorded message cheerily invited me to call back in a half hour).
And the few times I got through to them, they hung up on me while they pretended to look up my file (it happened too many times for it to be an accidental disconnection). They only way I ever made any progress was to schlep out to Charles du Gaulle multiple times!
I commiserate with all of you who have lost your luggage and wish you good luck. And, needless to say, I encourage all passengers to NEVER FLY BRITISH AIRWAYS!
Lost Luggage
7/26/2007
Open letter to Mr. Walsh:
My wife and I returned from Athens via Heathrow on June 29, 2007 with a group of high school students. Because of terrorist questions in London and a faulty luggage transporter under Heathrow runways, our luggage was lost. On July 12 we received one bag. On June 29, upon our return, we went to a baggage room to fill out baggage claim forms. The room was dissheveled with about 200 bags sitting there as people and employees tried to maneuver their way around the baggage. After that weekend there were about 1,000 bags in the same room. What didn’t happen over the weekend? We waited in line about 30 minutes to talk to British Airways employee. As we waited, a supervisor came out of her office, saw our line, and retorted, “Oh S**t!” It will be four weeks July 27, and we still have not received one of our bags although members of our group went to Chicago, a three-hour drive, and got their luggage. Our bag was not found. I am disenchanted with BA because it is very difficult to get a phone number for lost baggage, to have someone answer the phone, and to get someone to reply to our 12 e-mails. We got one generic reply that only said someone would contact us. This did not happen.
BA Lost Luggage + Willie Walsh’s Fax Number
7/23/2007
My luggage disappeared on June 29 after flying AA from Boston to Heathrow where it was to transfer to British Airways to Tel Aviv. I am getting the same run around that all others posting to this topic have received. The usual comment from BA is that “everything will improve once Terminal 5 opens in March.” Ironically, the British press reports that airport operator BAA says things may get worse when Terminal 5 opens.
Nonetheless, please direct you fax complaints to this BA fax number which will get you about as close to Willie Walsh’s office as possible:
011-44-20-8759-4314
This company ignores its passengers. It lies. It stonewalls complaints. It cries crocodile tears. And it hides behind a messianic vision of Terminal 5.
My proposal is that Mr. Walsh dirty his nicely-starched Jermyn St. shirts and get out there and find our bags!
BA- All around nightmare!!!
7/21/2007
Please be aware that when you fly British Airways you get absolutely NO customer service should anything go wrong. I flew from Denmark to California on May 7, 2007 with my infant son. I booked my ticket 3 weeks in advance and called to add my son as a “lap” infant and pay the fare for lap infants traveling internationally (which is ridiculous considering they get no seat or food, etc). I got quoted a price of $281.30 and gave them my credit card information. I checked their website a couple of days later and my infant was listed as a passenger so I assumed everything was confirmed. A few days before traveling I realized that my credit card had not been charges for his ticket so I called the 800 number to make sure that he was confirmed and they assured me that everything was in order. Low and behold when I arrived at the airport he was not ticketed. I nearly missed my flight in dealing with the fiasco but finally got him a new ticket but they charged me $421.00 rather than the $281 they quoted me. The ticketing agent was unable to change the amount because it is a standard percentage of the fare at that time which was higher than when I initially purchased the ticket. Upon arriving in the US I called BA again and explained the situation. They reviewed my file and told me that I should be due a refund for the difference because it was a mistake on their part for not charging the credit card initially. The agent advised me not to file a refund claim until my trip was complete (2 months later) because she was afraid a refund at that point might interfere with my return tickets. I returned 3 weeks ago and wrote them the day after my arrival and have yet to get a response.
Now to make matters worse, all 3 of my bags were lost on my return trip over 3 weeks ago. I received one bag 3 days ago (after 19 days)but it was completely ruined and wet and all of my clothes, books, etc. were growing green and black mold. After hours of cleaning, I was not able to save any of it including the suitcase. Now after countless hours on the phone with BA I still have no official answers. They kept assuring me that the baggage fiasco in London was being sorted out and that the baggage should be arriving shortly. They finally told me yesterday to file a lost luggage claim because I would probably never see the last two bags. They confirmed that they actively quite looking for the bags after 10 days. I know my bags were driven by truck from London Heathrow to Milan to a company called On Board Express because I was told this by BA and the baggage handlers in Copenhagen, NordicAero, and my one bag that showed up came from Italy. BA/OBX has a sorting facility in Milan to help with backlogged luggage. I called OBX in Italy but they were unable to confirm that my last two bags were there. I have informed them that if they confirm that my bags are there I will go and search for them myself. I stupidly packed my video camera and camera which held the only pictres/videos from my son’s first birthday so I am not parting with this luggage lightly. I am so disappointed in the run around I am getting and am holding out hope that the other two bags will arrive. ALL of my son’s clothes, birthday presents, his teddy bear and blankie are in those suitcases and I am so upset that they don’t take the matter seriously. I am also in complete shock when I read that they can auction your things off after 45 days and found that they say it is cheaper to discard of your missing luggage than return it to you so often it just sits until it times out. I’m not sure about you but I would much rather have the pictures of my son’s first birthday than the $50 they will probably reimburse me for my “lost” or as I see stolen luggage.
Good luck to all of you missing your luggage from BA and don’t hold your breath for the appearance of your luggage, empathy from staff, or reimbursement.
I would be willing to seek legal counsel if I thought it would get me anywhere. If I don’t hear back on my claim I may try for at least small claims court.
Lost luggage
7/19/2007
On June 22nd of 2007, Grand Circle Travel scheduled for me and my traveling companion airline tickets to Vienna with a stop in London. We were going to be traveling on the MS Debussy for a sixteen day river cruise. Being teachers, we were so looking forward to this vacation. Especially when all the people associated with GCT would tell us this was one of the finest trips.
However, it was not a fine trip for us. You see, British Airways lost our luggage. Not just for one day or two, but for the entire trip plus three days. As a matter of fact, as of today we are still missing one of the suitcases. Do you realize how hard it is for two adult women to vacation for three weeks without luggage? Thank goodness we did take one extra outfit in our carry-on luggage.
Since our arrival in Chicago on July 10th, I have been on the internet or calling British Airways to find the location of the missing suitcase. On July 3rd, I was in Belgium and went to the Brussels Airport to see if anyone could help me locate the suitcase. In Brussels, British Airways personnel told me that the suitcase was located in Frankfort, Germany. As of today, they do not know where of its whereabouts.
Several things come to mind as I try to sort out our truly large problem. I spent over $500 Euros calling British Airways or calling family in the United States, so they could call British Airways to find the suitcase. At one time, BA told my family that one suitcase was in Milan, Italy. Why on earth would our luggage be in Milan?
My traveling partner and I had been looking forward to this beautiful river boat cruise for almost a year. We went out before our departure from Chicago and bought a lot of new clothes. Of course, buying the new clothes for our trip did us not good.
We have traveled to Europe on numerous occasions, but this is the first that any airlines have lost our luggage and it seemed like no one at British Airways wanted to help us or to take responsibility. We still are getting the “run around”
Lost Baggage
7/17/2007 London to Barcelona
Wow! Seems British Airways can’t keep track of bags if their lives depended on it! On 6/23 they lost all 4 of our bags on a two hour flight. We got 3 back two days later, after searching ourselves instead of site seeing! I went on a two week cruise without my bag. I got it back 18 days later, via Fedex, with no explanation. But…the bad news is that my bag was wet and everything in it was moldy!! Interesting to note that Regis Philbin on the Regis & Kelly show talked about BA losing his wife’s luggage also, and it took over 3 weeks to get it back. But it was wet and moldy like mine was!
According to BA’s own paperwork, their liability according to the Montreal Convention, is $1400 per person. So far though, I have been emailing and faxing them with no results!! They are a poor excuse for an airline supposedly dealing in customer service.
Carry-on your bag or kiss it goodbye!
Ba Top Of List For Losing Bags – Don’T Fly British Airlines!!!
7/16/2007 Round Hill VA
I was forced to take british airways because they were $300 cheaper than united. Boy – what a nightmare! I left on saturday (iad to lhr then to zrh). Have not seen my bags yet and it seems there is no one to complaint to. And, from what I have read, ba doesn’t owe us a thing!!
Any suggestions on how to get to talk to a person (like that would help). Boy, ba makes me really appreciate united (which I took for granted in the past). A month ago, we went to german and holland on united and no problems at all with baggage.
Any suggestions at all would be appreciated!!
Suggestion – don’t fly british airways unless you carry your bags on.
Horrible service + lost bags = never using BA again
7/16/2007 Denver CO
On Friday 13th July I checked in at Paris CDG. I was travelling on a business class ticket to Salt Lake City via Heathrow and Denver. Upon arrival at the check in area I could only locate self-serve kiosks…no “real” person. I checked with an airport steward to verify that this is where I was supposed to check in since normally business class travelers get a “real” person to deal with. I was told to use a kiosk. There were no signs or anything else to indicate a seperate check in area.
I used a kiosk and received my boarding cards. Then I proceeded through Passport Control to find the bag drop (which is after Passport Control at CDG). I was dismayed to find about 150 people waiting in line to check their baggage (for economy class). I spent several minutes working my way around the line just so I could get near the counters and see if there was a business class counter but there was not. When I asked a BA rep she told me the business counter was… back outside Passport Control in a different check in area. I was furious at the concept of having to go back outside but it still would be faster than waiting in the economy line so I made my way past the luggage carousels, through Passport Control, and eventually found the business class counter. I double checked to make sure I had not simply overlooked it before but there were no signs or any other indications to it. The counter was 50m down from the BA kiosk area.
Upon reaching the business class counter/bag drop I waited a few minutes while the BA rep processed three gentlemen in front of me, all the while speaking on her phone. When it was finally my turn, I checked in two bags (she was still on the phone). She put bright orange “Priority” tags on my bas, evidently to indicate that my business class luggage should receive special handling. All the while she was still on the phone. During the process I asked her to verify that my frequent flier number had made it onto the reservation; the ignored me or forgot about it. Eventually I got my claim tags and headed off to go through Passport Control (again!) so I could find the BA business lounge.
Arriving at the lounge I approached the reception desk to check in and dealt with a man that at first wouldn’t speak any English, apparently just intending to check me into the lounge. When I asked him about my frequent flier number and presented him my frequent flier card, it was evident that he didn’t speak English very well at all, nor could he operate the computer because he told me that my FF number wasn’t in the computer…nor could he put it in! Disgusted, I resolved to deal with the FF number at Heathrow. Meanwhile I was astonished that I was met at that counter with someone that couldn’t communicate in English…even though it was a UK based airline and I was flying to the UK!
Upon arrival at Heathrow I made my way to the business lounge and was able to verify that my FF number had in fact been on the reservation.
The 9hr flight to Denver was uneventful. The aircraft was older and the seat did not meet my expectations for business class but the staff were nice so I figured that maybe I had seen the end of troubles for this day and that the rest of my journey would be better.
I was wrong.
Upon arrival at Denver I was dismayed to find that only one of the two bags I checked in at CDG had made it to the USA, despite having those nice pretty orange “Priority” tags. Furthermore I was confused as to why one bag would make it and the other wouldn’t, but that’s an impossible mystery to solve.
Interestingly enough, there were about 10 to 15 other people on my flight who also had bags that did not arrive, and yet the luggage carousel delivered about 30 bags that nobody claimed! Was BA just randomly sending bags around the world?
I went to the luggage service counter to file a report and was presented a photocopied form with my name already on it. Amazing technology BA has that can tell them–in advance of my arrival–that a bag has been lost, and yet they can’t actually just get my bag on the plane. I re-checked my other suitcase with the BA attendant (having cleared US Customs) and made my way to the gate for my final flight (a United flight purchased through BA).
Upon arrival in Salt Lake City a few hours later I discovered–you guessed it–my second suitcase was lost. I checked in two bags at Paris CDG only to have them lost (seperately!) before I got home.
Again I spent a few minutes of quality time at the luggage desk, filing a second report. United Airlines, however, managed to find my bag the next morning and it was delivered to my home that afternoon.
BA, however, still has not located my other suitcase and it’s now the third day since my flight home. Their online tracer service perpetually reports “no information available” and I can find no place on their site to communicate with a real live person.
There is a page for filing a claim for lost luggage but it only applies to UK & Ireland residents. After stumbling around the website I eventually found a link titled something like “online claim form for lost luggage–USA residents” but it wasn’t even a claim form, just a link to a generic customer service inquiry form.
I did call the 800 number for lost luggage but it simply duplicates the online tracer and does NOT give any opportunity to connect with a real live person.
My employer informed me last night that I will be flying back to London either Tuesday or Wednesday. I suppose there is a chance I can collect the bag myself at Heathrow but I’m really skeptical about this, assuming at this point that I’ll never see the bag again, nor will I ever receive compensation for the lost bag and it’s contents.
Class Action Law Suit???? Who’s Game?
7/15/2007 Charlotte NC
British Airways doesn’t give a hoot about customer service. They have knocked me around from pillar to post while on holiday this summer, first cancelling my paid-for, confirmed tickets, and now they have lost my luggage.
You cannot contact anyone, cannot phone anyone, cannot find your bags on the internet…. it is as if they fell into the black hole! We paid over $5,000 for our tickets, right now I have calculated $3,000 worth of goods one – just in one bag. Why didn’t I carry it on- you ask? Well BA allows only 1 carry on with weight limits… so there we are.
In the capitalistic economy that BA functions, it seems that money is the bottom line- so let’s get them where it hurts… okay?
Lost bags = Class Action?
7/10/2007 LHR
I only wish that I found this site before I booked on BA. What a nightmare!! Venice, Greek Islands, 7 day cruise,you guessed it NO BAGS!! So if sooo many people are losing bags why can’t we sue? Plus get this we buy clothes on board a few trinkets put it in our new sport bag only to force to check it in, guess again, right oh!! Mate lost that too. Total bags lost 4 going and 1 coming back!
It seems they also have a “Didn’t ask so Don’t tell” thing going on so you can’t get a straight answer from anyone. Court anyone ??
Lost Baggage
7/10/2007 London
My daughter is in a 1-month study abroad program in South Africa (traveling from Los Angeles). She transferred at Heathrow (British Air) to South Africa. She arrived and her single bag (luggage) did not.
IT IS NOW 10 DAYS LATER…She is now 1/3 of her way through her study abroad program with NO BOOKS, NO PROPER CLOTHING (WINTER), NONE OF HER PERSONAL ITEMS….AND NO RESPONSE FROM ANYONE AT BRITISH AIR.
She is in classes most of the day and does not have easy access to transportation to re-purchase all she has lost (it is winter in South Africa). She also does not have the time to wait and find someone at British Air to help her.
As parents we have spent 3 hours daily trying to get a “live” body to speak to. British Air’s website based luggage locator service is only updated when someone actually finds the luggage, versus minimally letting you know someone is actually working on the issue.
British Air (baggage service in South Africa) did give her a debit card with a value of about $70.00 (US), but it did NOT WORK when my daughter tried to purchase emergency items.
We have made over 50 calls, getting a live person 10 times (from the baggage department in London and South Africa and the Customer Service Department). From this we received 8 different stories ranging from “it’s likely to be on the next flight, to a more honest, “it will show up when it shows up”. Most of the time the employees would tell us about their difficulties and how others have suffered (I am sorry, but I refuse to feel sorry for you because it is clear customer service is not a priority at this company, if it was they would have the resources and the will to help).
We were told 4 different times that someone would follow up and contact us. We have e-mailed 8 times to baggage and customer service (where they note that we are important and they will contact us). Though this entire fiasco, NOBODY HAS ONCE CALLED US (OR RESPONDED TO OUR E-MAILS) TO UPDATE US ON THE SITUATION.
RECOMMENDATION: Pack only what you can carry on, and if your baggage is lost…”it will show up when it shows up”
PROS
When calling the customer service department, we were switched to a reservation call center! The gentleman was very helpful, but he could not call the London baggage department (they are both departments of British Air). He gave us information we saw on the internet. He did send an internal computer message to the London unit and told them to update the automated luggage locator page (this is accessed on their website), AND to call us. Of course 36 hours later, none of this has occurred.
They do have an automated luggage locator service on their website, but nobody ever updates the information until the bag is delivered.
The baggage services unit will give you a debit card for inconveniences and for emergency purchases, but make sure it works (my daughter’s did not).
CONS:
It is amazing that through all of our attempts to find one person to “step-up”, take responsibility and follow through, we have not found that person, but I guess we still have 20 days to try.
NOTE: After reading similar horror stories at this site, my wife and I have decided to quit sending e-mails to BA or calling them. It appears that there is no customer service and they really do not care!!!
British Airways Stranded And Abused
7/10/2007
To whom it May concern:
this is going to be lengthy because it has been a daily problem since July 4, 2007. British airways.
Flight from milan/malpensa to london and to los angeles #571/283.
Today is July 10, 2007.
I was two hours early for the flight.
The baggage person said I was over (i knew I would be and knew I would have to pay) and that I had to buy a new bag and take things out of one bag.
I bought the bag and spent all of my remaining money except for 10 euros. (It was over 70 euros).
I went through the line again and she said I had to shrink wrap the bag and checked through the other three bags.
I went out and paid 7 euros to shrink wrap the bag.
I went through the line again and now she said I had to go to the ticket counter to pay the overage.
I took the last bag and went to the ticket counter where the woman said it was 178 euros for the overage. I told her I didn’t have that amount and tried to pay by personal check – nope. My credit card was maxed.
The ticket person tried to talk to the baggage supervisor for fifteen minutes to get me on the flight. She told her I couldn’t take any other flights because there were no seats available until August 2nd. The baggage supervisor said no.
The ticket person told me to go talk to the baggage supervisor.
The baggage supervisor was screaming at me you have no money you have no money and then another baggage guy joined her and I screamed back and the police came over to quiet me.
Then the baggage supervisor told me that if I took my shrunk wrap newly purchased bag and ripped it open and took my carry on bag and threw my things away and made it one bag I could get on the flight.
I told her I couldn’t possibly throw my shoes away to get on the flight. She started screaming you refuse? I said it didn’t make sense, could we do something else like have someone pay in los angeles. No.
So she started to “float” me which was explained as taking me off the flight and she tried to get my luggage off the flight. However, it was twenty minutes to the flight by this time.
So I left the counter and went to make telephone calls to my friends because I was completely stranded. I didn’t have a hotel room, or my luggage or any euros left.
When we spoke to british airways later that day they said that my luggage was already in los angeles and any refund would have to be gotten from my travel agent in los angeles. There were no flights to los angeles until August 2nd on british airways – something the ticket counter person was trying to tell the supervisor over and over again while I was at the milan airport.
The next day I left for los angeles on klm with the one little bag that I had shrunk wrapped and that was not put on the plane. I had baggage claims for four bags, but I had the one little bag with me.
When I arrived in los angeles, klm said I should claim my luggage through them because they were the last carrier. I gave them all of the information and then walked over to british airways to talk about the refund. Klm also said that it was in the computer that one of the bags was in los angeles at british airways.
There I spoke to a ms. Freeman who told me that british airways says I have to write a letter to get the ticket money back and they also said the italian baggage supervisor said I insisted on getting on with two carry ons and that is why I couldn’t get on the flight.
Obviously she lied to cover what she had done to me.
I was too tired after 20 hours of flying and two days of delay to wait while the supervisor “checked” for the one bag that was on the computer and left it up to klm to find all three bags. The supervisor didn’t believe me anyway, she let me know she believed the milan supervisor.
Also, this same ms. Freeman told me that the overage of $288 for the changed ticket (i had changed my flight from June to July) had never been paid!!!!
I knew that was impossible. The ticket would never have been issued. The reservation would not have given me a boarding pass, etc.
More british airways problems.
No refund. No luggage.
As I checked with klm and british airways for days – no one could find anything about this luggage anywhere. Now the one that was in the computer disappeared from the computer.
Then I was told alaska airlines was bringing the luggage.
Then I was told american airlines was bringing the luggage.
Then I was told it was all being held in london at heathrow and british airways would be bringing the luggage.
But nothing was on the klm tracing page and this was only after repeated calls were made by the northwest/klm reps I spoke to twice a day.
Two nights ago – on the 8th of July – I received a phone call from l.A. Overnight – asking me if I wanted my luggage delivered that night (it was 11:00pm) or the next morning between 9-12. I was shocked. This guy – tyro?? – Said he was calling to find out when to deliver. He said he was going to the warehouse to check how many bags and he would call me back that night. He never did.
The next day (the 9th of July) I called l.A. Overnight and spoke to someone else who said the bags were not there. I wanted to know how they got my phone number and why I was told the luggage was there if it wasn’t. No one knew. I was told I would get a call back. I didn’t get one. Later I spoke to another l.A. Overnight guy and he said he had no information for me, no bags and he had no idea why I was called but he would check into it because more bags were coming in at 5:00pm.
Today is July 10th.
No calls. No tracing. No luggage. Nothing.
Probably the luggage is in italy – never put on any airline and that vicious supervisor who had a problem with me being:
a woman
or a black woman
or a black woman from los angeles
or an american
or an actress
or any or all of the above – is happy, lying and has disrupted many many lives and cost the airlines and me money and time that cannot be replaced.
My luggage has many important documents in it, and my work materials and books that irreplaceable, etc.
And on my way to milan, british airways lost my luggage for two days.
Stranded, abused, screamed at, lied about and treated like a homeless criminal.
Klm was the opposite.
British airways could care less about their customers.
Baggage
7/7/2007 Philadelphia PA
Watch out when you file a claim for lost baggage at the arrival airport. If you look on the internet, they will say Item Located -pending confirmation. All this means is that they have your baggage claim numbers, not the luggage. In my case, the phone number at the airport (PHL) was disconnected. Calling their 800 number will mean you will spend the rest of your day at home waiting for someone to answer.
BA used to be a very fine service airline. In 1995, while travelling to London, a stewardess on our flight from NY went into a tirade when asked if she could get my wife a cup of just hot water for tea. The stewardess went into a long yelling discourse about English tea and how passengers in coach wanted too many favors. The head stewardess was advised of this and apologies were made by only the head stewardess.
When we arrived in London, we cancelled the return flight on BA and went back on another airline. We hadn’t taken them in 12 years, and this June, a travel agent booked us on BA again.
Rude is a kind word to use on their personnel in Budapest and Philadelphia. BA does not know how to be courteous to their passengers.
On top of their rudeness, they lost our bags..8 days have gone by, and still no bags, no idea of where they are or went to and you get nowhere with their website and phone numbers.
These days BA means “Bloody Awful” So do yourselves a big favor, book with some other airline. Even US Air isn’t that bad…Danny
Pathetic customer service
7/5/2007 Vancouver DC
After a wonderful cruise through the Med,we stayed in Barcelona for a few days.Then the nightmare began. We checked in BCN at the BA counter with about 12 ex BA employees screaming and banging pots and pans.This went on for the whole check in which took 45 min because of only one person working. The flight left 45 min late,and when it arrived at Heathrow we waited 45 more minutes to get a gate.
The luggage took almost an hour to arrive and mine was not there. Although my wifes 2 bags arrived,mine did not.We had a 3 hour connection to Air Canada which we now missed, 100 pounds to change until the next day and 200 pounds to stay at the Marriot, because of very few rooms available. That was last Thursday and still have not been able to talk to anyone live or get past the web answer, STILL TRACING CALL BACK LATER.
I cant get any answers or talk to any one.
My daughter arrived last night from school in Italy and guess what she flew British Air and arrived with no luggage. What a disgrace,2 people on different days with no luggage,does any one ever et their luggage?
I am so pissed at them……
Next trip, guess which airline I am not traveling on…. Feel better after my little rant…..
Luggage
7/5/2007 Washington DC
It has been very frustrating trying to get our luggage that has been lost. 7 of us traveled to Europe and all have received their luggage except my son. It has been almost 3 weeks. When I have tried to talk to a person, I never been able to. The numbers I have been given ring for about 20 times and then I am disconnected. I have I have e-mailed the company but have received no response.
Vacation to Czech Republic ruined by BA
7/2/2007 Hartsdale NY
My family and I decided to spend 2 weeks in Karlovy Variy, CZ for vacation. The transfer between flights was chaotic to begin with, but when we arrived in Prague and didn’t see our luggage on the baggage carousel, that’s when our prospects of a pleasant vacation were ruined. 2 days later, only 2 of 5 bags were delivered to the hotel and the other 3 are still unaccounted for. Calling BA is useless as they are clueless and don’t know their heads from a hole in the wall. It’s been almost 4 days and my wife and her parents are still without any change of clothing. I have never seen such incompetence and unprofessional service in my entire life as a frequent traveler. This is unacceptable and I am contemplating joining others to file a class action lawsuit against BA. They must pay for this because not only don’t my family not have their clothing, there is important medication in their bags which they cannot take.
Lost baggage and awful service
6/25/2007 Round Hill VA
British Airways lost 3 pieces of luggage (2 of which have been found) and when inquiring about it at the BA Baggage office at Dulles Airport, the agent was extremely rude and said it wasn’t her problem. The Customer service person at the ticket counter also didn’t want to help, I ended up getting a manager who at least listened.
I will hopefully never have to fly BA again!!
Delayed or Lost Luggage – Runaround in Delhi
6/25/2007 delhi
I never want to fly British Airways again. Not only was my flight a miserable experience, but they have LOST my luggage. I am a graduate student on a summer internship and I will now have to replace all of my stuff.
I was a passenger on two British Airways flights from Dulles to London to Delhi on June 19-20, 2007. First, it has been more than 5 days since my arrival in Delhi but no luggage! I have contacted the BA staff at the Delhi Airport multiple times but they do not know when it will arrive. Each time I call, they say that the bag is still in London and they do not know when the bag will come. They also say that they will call me but I have NOT received any calls. I have also contacted the call centers in both the U.K. and the United States but they have no helpful information. In total, I have spent more than 3 hours on the phone.
Second, my flight experience was also unacceptable. I had to spend the night in the London-Heathrow Airport. Because of a delay leaving Washington-Dulles, my flight (Flight 224) was late arriving in London. According to the flight attendant, no one had prepared the plane even though it had been at Dulles overnight. As a result, we were two hours late to London and I missed my connection to Delhi. I was re-routed on a morning flight but BA informed me that there were no available hotel rooms in London so I would need to spend the night in the airport. I was one of more than 50 people who spent the night at Gate 36. We were only provided with food vouchers, water and blankets.
Pathetic Customer Service
6/24/2007
They never get your baggages (as if getting the baggages you check in to land with you is some recket science and these duffers have not been able to figure out how to do it).
But what is even more shocking the customer service to handle your queries (average wait time on phone is over 20 mins, they would be as rude to you as they can be).
My recommendation is avoid this airlines at every cost until and unless you get a free ticket and you are travelling without any baggage.
Baggage saga
5/31/2007
I have read a lot of the negative reviews about BA, so I am adding my story, although it isn’t as bad as some…We were visiting my son, his wife and their new baby in the UK. In our luggage were many gifts, as well as all of our clothes, except for a spare pair of socks and undies in our carry-ons. Upon reaching Manchester at 6:30 a.m. we were informed that our baggage would catch up with us, via courier, at noon that same day. Five days later our baggage was with us. The first 5 days of our vacation was spent on the phone to BA and making shopping trips to replace our clothes. Coming home, only half of our baggage was missing! And it WAS delivered by noon the next day…but you can imagine how well we slept that night, after our experience in the UK. Oh, I forgot to mention that we also had to buy a new bag for all the extra clothes we had bought. Now we are waiting to see if BA is going to refund us for those items, so this story will be continued at a later date – maybe a happy ending? To be fair, all of the agents we talked to were very polite and tried to be helpful, but we got the impression that they had no back up from management to do their jobs properly.
stolen items from baggage
12/13/2005 nashville TN
My sister was on vacation in USA for the last few months. She was scheduled to leave USA on the 10th of December 2005 from
RDU (Raleigh Durham, North Carolina) to Newark Liberty International airport: American Airlines 4639. (American Eagle)
My sister’s flight from RDU took off late and by the time she arrived, she had already missed her connection to London. Since it was already past 8 in the evening, all American airlines counters were closed. After rebooking her tickets from EWR to Kolkata, India for the next day, via London, New Delhi, my sister was unable to trace her luggage. The British Airways people behind the counter assured her that her bags w