My family had a tough 2024 with a cancer diagnosis. We planned a special once in a lifetime 2 week holiday skiing self catered in an apartment over Christmas to celebrate the end of Chemotherapy and the start of a hopeful new year
Unfortunately BA had other plans for us.
On our flight from Heathrow to Lyon 3 of our 5 suitcases were not loaded. We arrived on time but without most of our luggage including all our ski equipment.
We spent several hours at Lyon airport trying to register the loss on an archaic computer alongside around a third of the rest of the flight as it was clear that a significant number of bags had not been loaded onto the flight.
We managed to speak to the baggage handling representative at Lyon to confirm the computer data and were reassured that the bags would likely arrive later that day and be sent on to us at our address in the Alps.
Sadly this did not come to pass
We spent many hours trying to contact British Airways and the Airport baggage handlers
We established that the bags had indeed arrived at Lyon and been transferred to a logistics company contracted by BA - colitel. They had out sourced our delivery to another delivery company called chronopost
The bags were apparently in Albertville a town at the foot of the Alps and we were told delivery would be made to us on the 21st of December. We waited all day but there was not delivery and no telephone contact.
The information on the online tracking seemed to imply that they could not find our address. Mysterious as a quick google of the address is fairly explicit and our phone number was easily available should there be a query
We waited the next day as instructed and again were fruitless with another day wasted of the holiday
Things were now getting desperate
we needed urgent supplies which were catastrophically expensive in the Alpine village
Even a toothbrush broke the bank
We had all packed our best outfits for celebrating Christmas and new year and mourned the loss of favourite trainers , shoes and jewellery
Sadly I had left my medication in my washbag and was unable to replace my HRT so failed to sleep and became increasingly frantic
Our ski boots and ski clothing were too expensive to replace so we shared clothing and split the days skiing sadly unable to ski as a family as planned
Worse was to come as Christmas Eve arrived with still no suitcase of presents that Santa’s elf representative had planned for months and packed in one of the missing suitscases
With no delivery Christmas morning was marked with ski socks over the children’s bunks filled with a satsuma and chocolate biscuits
ON Boxing Day we tried again to request delivery but were again left waiting in the apartment with no result.
As New year approached we felt that the bags should just be returned to Lyon airport where we could pick them up ourselves
This took many hours of phone calls and emails and we finally thought we have it solved
It was not to be
The bags did not appear to leave Albertville despite messages from ourselves and reassurances from BA that they too had requested a return to sender from the delivery company
Eventually the day arrived for us to return home
We arrived 2 hours early at Lyon to try to direct try speak to the baggage representative there
He was sympathetic but blamed BA for outsourcing the bag delivery to a cheap and inadequate delivery company
Our bags were still missing
He reassured us that they would likely arrive later that day and would be sent on to our permanent address in the UK
We arrived home 4 days ago.
Our bags are still missing - NoOne at BA is able to help
The cover of £1300 per bag is not sufficient to cover the cost of the ski equipment and new presents in the bags
Please help find our luggage and obtain compensation for the worst Christmas ever form British Airways