Originally Posted by
polar_b
I was standing by the reclaim belt at LHR T5 when my suitcase turned up - and the handle for it turned up afterwards on the same belt. It had obviously been broken, since I was sure it was intact when I checked in the bag.
I wander over to the ground crew - no one waiting for the F/J line - and held up my suitcase and my broken handle. I did not have to explain anything. He simply said that they would replace the suitcase and it would be shipped to me within 2-3 days. He asked me how much the suitcase was purchased for, if I live in the UK, and how old the suitcase is. I supply the answers, he flicks through some laminated photos of suitcases and finds a similar case.
Looking a bit perplexed when I answer that I had been flying in the WTP cabin that day, I add that I am a Gold and give him my BAEC number faster than he can type it in on his computer.
A few keypresses later and he says all is well and gives me a printout from their computer system. The whole conversation took less than 5 minutes.
Then, exactly two days later a brand spanking new suitcase turns up. Not quite as big as the one that was broken, but still the same quality.
So - without having had to submit a formal claim, make any phone calls or go through any hassle I have a new suitcase to use on my TATL travels and I am very impressed with the way BA handled this.
It really does pay to go with a full-service airline...
The BA lost/damaged baggage department is an area where, in my experience, BA have always done well. On the two occasions in 28 years my baggage has gone missing, the whole retrieval process has been efficient and effective. So much so that I really don't worry if I'm still waiting for my bag and almost everyone else has gone! There was nearly a 3rd incident earlier this year, and I had already gone to the lost baggage desk. For some reason my bag had been loaded onto the wrong belt at T5 and they STILL managed to locate it and bring it to me in less than 10 minutes (how?????!!)
Incidentally (and OT), I had the same experience with THY. Bags lost 3 or 4 times en route to the TRNC, quickly located and delivered to ECN on the next day's flight. The only difficulty was, on each occasion I had to drive from Limassol to Ercan to be reunited with my bags, because of the politics on the island
