Britash Airways, the Good and the Bad

We have just returned from a delightful Iberian Getaway on QE2.

 

We flew from Glasgow to Gatwick to join the ship. BA lost our garment carrier with all of our evening wear. I pointed out that it was going to be difficult to reunite us with the bag since we were joining QE2. They then searched, using up our "buffer time". I enlisted the aid of a very helpful baggage supervisor, who seemed to understand immediately the relevance of QE2 and evening wear. However, they were unable to trace the bag. He asked for all the contact details and itinerary for the ship, which we supplied. We discussed the matter further and agreed that a contingency plan was required since time was becoming a concern. I suggested that BA provide a taxi to Southampton and we would require to purchase suitable clothing. We discussed the minimum reasonable contingency spend. The supervisor provided a letter of authority in support of our subsequent claim. and supplied a taxi on account instructing the driver to take us wherever we needed to go and to wait whist we carried out emergency shopping.

We therefore arrived at the ship prepared for the dress code.

 

We made the Purser's desk aware of the possibility that they may be contacted with regard to the wayward bag. The Purser's desk took this on as a "bete noir" and tenaciously pursued BA. The bag duly arrived at Bilbao, completely destroyed, but the contents were undamaged.

At Gatwick check-in, I did as I had been instructed and requested a walk through to absolutely confirm that the luggage had been placed on the aircraft. The response was "Are you the gentleman whose kilt we lost?"

 

So, whilst the baggage handling seems to be totally incompetent and in need of assessment from the top down, my faith in the Customer Service on the ground has been somewhat restored.

 

David

We carry on as much as we need to survive, but generally assume our bags will go missing.... and are overjoyed when we see them again.

Hi David and welcome back; pleased you enjoyed yourself.

 

Ultimately, as you say, BA seems to have come up trumps. Presumably you now need to book a few more cruises to use up all the additional clothing, which I trust is all gold-plated at their expense:).

 

Now back to the real world:(.

 

Mary

We have just returned from a delightful Iberian Getaway on QE2.

 

We flew from Glasgow to Gatwick to join the ship. BA lost our garment carrier with all of our evening wear. I pointed out that it was going to be difficult to reunite us with the bag since we were joining QE2. They then searched, using up our "buffer time". I enlisted the aid of a very helpful baggage supervisor, who seemed to understand immediately the relevance of QE2 and evening wear. However, they were unable to trace the bag. He asked for all the contact details and itinerary for the ship, which we supplied. We discussed the matter further and agreed that a contingency plan was required since time was becoming a concern. I suggested that BA provide a taxi to Southampton and we would require to purchase suitable clothing. We discussed the minimum reasonable contingency spend. The supervisor provided a letter of authority in support of our subsequent claim. and supplied a taxi on account instructing the driver to take us wherever we needed to go and to wait whist we carried out emergency shopping.

We therefore arrived at the ship prepared for the dress code.

 

We made the Purser's desk aware of the possibility that they may be contacted with regard to the wayward bag. The Purser's desk took this on as a "bete noir" and tenaciously pursued BA. The bag duly arrived at Bilbao, completely destroyed, but the contents were undamaged.

At Gatwick check-in, I did as I had been instructed and requested a walk through to absolutely confirm that the luggage had been placed on the aircraft. The response was "Are you the gentleman whose kilt we lost?"

 

So, whilst the baggage handling seems to be totally incompetent and in need of assessment from the top down, my faith in the Customer Service on the ground has been somewhat restored.

 

David

One thing to mention is that all airlines at an airport use the same baggage handling services so the loss and damage is as likely with any airline. The difference is how the airlines deal with these problems. BA has really done a great job for you there, as they nearly always do.

 

A friend recently had an issue with my "favourite" airline Flymaybe where their bag had been picked up by the wrong person. The airline was almost no help in this whatsoever and even started using phrases like "Data Protection Act" to avoid doing anything at all for them. Unbelievable.

 

Hope you had a wonderful trip apart from that minor inconvenience.

One thing to mention is that all airlines at an airport use the same baggage handling services so the loss and damage is as likely with any airline.

 

Which is really good advice, if completely incorrect. I work for an airline so know what I am talking about.

 

I can concur that Flymaybe are total tosh. Had to help many of their pax contact Cunard to tell them they are running late and not panic as Flybe shrugged their shoulders and turned away.