I've had a Rimowa Topas 56cm (i.e. the larger cabin size metal one) since summer 2012. It cost around €600 new (back in the pre-LVMH days when you could buy them online in Germany for much less than in London and then have them shipped). So it's cost me less than €1 a week. As hand luggage, it's excellent - still glides across the floor as smoothly as 14 years ago, I can fill enough clothes, jackets, running shoes etc. for a 6 night business trip etc. etc. and have only been forced to check it once, by Delta on a puddle-jumper. Evil Delta.

Anyway BA managed to put a big dent in it at some point between FAO and LGW back in late December 2017. Just looking back over emails and scratching my head I *think* what happened was that I took it to Rimowa's boutique at New Bond St for inspection, they quoted £70.80 for the repair as it was past the 5 year warranty but in parallel I raised a claim with BA. BA then came back and said ... "K2 are the assessor." It then turned out that Rimowa had sent it to K2 anyway and thus the case was in their possession already, so it was just a case of greenlighting the repair and I got it back a week or so later at no cost to myself.

Since then I have still checked it in occasionally without issue. Despite being out of warranty, I have also taken it back to Rimowa a couple of times and they have replaced a hubcap, tightened the handle mechanism and bashed out another dent free of charge which has been very good of them. They did tell me though that the reason for the dent was because my case was "very old" and "aluminium softens with age", I thought about asking whether they'd told Airbus but kept my mouth shut.

Perhaps deployment of more advanced people skills might help here?

Edit: I'm struggling to understand how you could 'punch a hole' through one though.


2017, damage seen at Gatwick

2017, back at base

2018, repair complete

2022, waiting for another trip