Delayed luggage - how long will BA take to get it from LHR to my flat?
 

I was on BA114 JFK-LHR arriving 0930 on Sunday morning. Along with about half the flight, my luggage wasn't loaded at JFK. I found out from a text on Sunday afternoon that it had been put on another flight arriving 90 mins after I did on Sunday morning.

The question is, how long will it take BA to give it to a courier and get it to my flat in south-east London? I'd assumed it would be straightforward, but it's now been almost 48 hrs and I've heard nothing... Any past experiences to draw on? This is fortunately the first time mine has been left behind by BA...

The common reply is that there is nothing you can do to speed it up, other than make sure your details are in WorldTracer. Don't bother trying to call, as you'll get conflicting/made up responses ranging from "It's just around the corner" to "Your luggage mistakenly got sent to Anchorage".

If it's properly tagged, it will arrive at some point.

Because it's outside the EU, bags from the USA have to clear HMRC (you may have filled in a white form regarding this), then an Amazon-style courier process is involved, and there was a public holiday in England and Wales. Normally 2 to 4 days if your address is in the Home Counties, and perhaps a day more for the holiday? So tomorrow and the day after? But there is a fair chance you'll get it today. Keep an eye on your mobile phone for SMS or emails, not that the couriers have too good a reputation for first rate communications. I wouldn't try too hard, if the courier has to make 2 attempts at delivery then so be it, but you may want to warn your neighbours that they may get a knock on the door.

Great, thanks, sounds like I shouldn't be too worried yet then - I'll give it a few days.

Thanks!

Be wary of the courier that BA use. When one of my bags was delayed at LHR earlier this year, it was delivered the next day, but no-one was home. So the courier just dumped it in our back garden, in the rain!

I wouldn't have minded if they had called to ask if they could leave it somewhere, but no, that would have been too sensible.

Mine has taken 3-4 days on average and they have always dropped it off after 11pm.

One time it was almost 1am and they were so loud they woke my neighbours too.

Every time the courier says "because of London traffic" or "we don't have a gps" when they get lost

Honestly if it's on the next plane it's usually best to just wait and then complain about the delay for some avios lol

My luggage was "lost" Monday ORY-EWR Flight 8001.Filed claim with BA. American Airlines called me and said my 2 bags somehow ended up in their office in Newark. I have called BA repeatedly to tell them where the bags are. They refuse to listen telling me that the luggage is lost and they are searching.
Very annoying--American can't release the luggage until BA approves.
Given up on British Airways after this experience!
Any suggestions?

Make sure your WorldTracer profile is up-to-date. Then stop calling - it only adds to your stress levels.

The process will kick-in, it just takes time. At least your bags have been sighted by a human so are not lost, just at this point delayed.

BA have only lost (well delayed) my bags once. Yes, I've been that lucky.

Anyway, I was called by name while waiting for the bag, duly supplied hotel details and went on my way. Arrived at 8am for breakfast the next day and it was sitting in the hotel reception already. It was only a SH flight, but still I thought that was pretty good.

If you have a nearby hotel or 24-hour merchant with whom you are friendly, use that as the delivery address. As some note, couriers will sometimes dump bags in odd places and on other occasions will bypass if you are not present at odd times.

If there is someone who does not mind accepting your bag at 3:00 AM, all the better. That person will appreciate a small show of your appreciation and you will have the bag.

Fortunately my apartment block has a 24 hour concierge, so hopefully it shouldn't matter what time he decides to turn up! I've had a text from a delivery driver though, which sounds promising...

So onto the next question, can I expect some Avios from BA as compensation? I couldn't really justify going and buying clothes/toiletries etc since I was on my way home anyway, but it's been a bit of a pain to be without everything for 4 days.

No, I am afraid that won't happen. They would only pay for things you needed to have, and if on your way home the opening assumption is that you would have more clothing and cosmetics at home than in your bag.

I'm currently missing a bag full of dirty clothes that managed to get from LIH to HNL, then a 45 min connection at LAX only to fail a 3 hour connection to BA at JFK. First time I've travelled with luggage for ages and this is what happens! Bag apparently got put on a BA 2.5 hours after me, and the nice man at the desk said I'd get it today after I filled in the white form. Needless to say I haven't, which is a shame as I wanted to get the washing on before I left for my LCY DUB dash! Hope it does turn up as it's my son's bag which I nicked for the trip!

Last time I had a baggage delay on the way home I claimed for new running kit which I did buy. I am training for a half-marathon and did not have additional running kit at home. Submitted all this to BA (less than £100) and was promptly reimbursed. Even got a personalized email along the lines of:

Dear mr bonzo,

As a Silver flying CW you expect better etc etc etc, money has been credited.


Still not impressed because the courier is a joke. You can't call them, they will call you at a random time of their choosing and deliver at a random time of their choosing. A few years ago (when I was naive) I asked for baggage to be delivered to work as I was assured it would be delivered during the day. I got a call from the driver at 6pm saying delivery would be after 9. Was not impressed. One needs to be able to plan one's day and not sit around waiting for deliveries. Yes, there are neighbors and such, but I still feel this should function better.

my bag went missing monday on a trip USM>BKK>DOH>CPH>LHR. it made it to the carousel at cph allegedly (i could've collected it as we had 1hr20 transit on separate tickets)

anyway, i checked the website and it said it was loaded on the same flight number BA815 from CPH>LHR the following day (yesterday) but no update since...

i called 'bombay' today and the lady told me 'we probably have your bag at heathrow now, but there were over 300 bags in the backlog waiting to be processed' and couldnt tell me when i'd see it again.

she did say try calling tomorrow
:rolleyes: