My bags are always amongst the first to come off in Narita - I think Asian airports do adhere to the priority bag system. When flying through a hub in the States with a tight connection, as long as my bags do arrive safely, I guess I can be thankful.

Not really on topic, but on a recent BMI flight from Manchester to Heathrow, not only was my brand new suitcase smeared all over with some sticky gunk, but the zipper had been broken, the *Gold priority tags (due to my soon to be expiring Krisflyer Elite status) had been ripped off and my Northwest name tag removed from one handle and reattached to another.

I lodged a complaint with the BMI baggage handling agent after I picked up my bags, who incredulously told me that all of this had happened as a matter of wear and tear and that I was not entitled to compensation.

I insisted that my bag had been damaged (willfully and on purpose??) and managed to persuade the agent to file an official claim. I am still waiting to see if BMI will cough up the cleaning and repair costs.

Needless to say, I will not be flying BMI ever again.

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NW Platinum Elite, SPG Platinum Preferred