Originally Posted by
Wozza2404
F baggage (actual F pax) is supposed to go in a separate bin on the plane that gets emptied first. Or so I'm told.
When it works, it works well. I landed in LHR a couple of weeks ago in F with checked bags and I was in my car 30 minutes after landing. My bags (and those of the other couple of pax in F) were out on the belt in the time it took me to nip to the toilet. No others were unloaded with them.
But yes, the tags are just for show other than that. And for the F baggage to work you need the throwers at the origin airport to put them in the right place as well.
It was explained previously (by CWS, perhaps?) that the issue isn't normally the lack of the separate bin, but that the ground staff at LHR T5 are each given specific numbered bins they are responsible for rather than just being told whoever is first offloads the F bins etc. and so the order they get offloaded and put on the belt is whatever order the ground staff feel is appropriate.
I haven't flown BA long haul for 3-4 months, but I did about 8 BA F arrivals into LHR in the last year and I don't think once has the F luggage actually come off first.