Advice around lost baggage tracing
Jan 27, 2018, 4:28 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Midcontinent
Programs: AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 82
Advice around lost baggage tracing
I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on how to help the baggage people locate a missing piece of luggage. I have a case on file with AA (see the account below for why I am posting this in the BAEC forum) and going through all the motions there, where it is trending towards them sending me a cheque and washing their hands of the situation. In terms of almost everything that is lost, I can live with that. But at the same time there are surely only so many places the bag (which has my address and phone number in it) might be. And perhaps if someone would respond to the requests in the case file, they might find it.
So - posting this in part for that, and in part because it's quite a tale. Because while it was definitely BA who lost it, due to the combined oddities of my journey it could conceivably be in the hands of BA, AA or DL(!)
Initial IRROPS
I was on a mixed ticket, single PNR. BA BLR-LHR-ATL, overnight, then AA ATL-CLT-HOME. The bag was checked to Atlanta. My troubles started in Bangalore with fog. The inbound BA119 was diverted and we ended up leaving 5+ hours late. On the plane, they announced that 219 passengers had missed connections, and if someone didn't come and speak to you before landing, you would be in a hotel in London overnight. Fair enough. No one spoke to me, so on landing I went to the Flight Connections desk. (As an aside, despite the stress and inconvenience and stress of the delay, the crew on the BA118 were bloody marvelous, really top notch).
Delta??
At Flight Connections I was told I was rebooked the next day to Atlanta on Delta. I queried this, since my booking was in one PNR (despite two tickets) and this was going to create a further misconnect with AA. The lady at the desk was insistent though - BA would only get me to ATL. Could not amend booking. Essentially she was reading from the "separate PNRs" script and didn't seem to get that this was different. I asked if I needed to collect my bags. She said "no, we've sent them over to DL".
I think my first mistake was leaving T5 and going to the hotel rather than going upstairs landside and seeking someone else to help. Once in the hotel, I called BA to try to figure out a way to get to my end destination the next day. Multiple call center people refused, insisted there were "no flights", said the airport had control of the booking and they could do nothing, or in one case just hung up. Reluctantly I then called AA's Platinum line to try to get them to move my flight from ATL due to the misconnect on DL. The agent at American spent about 30 seconds reading the information and then said "BA will have to fix this" and put me back through to BA. My heart sank, but she must have connected me to a BAEC status line because finally I was dealing with a person who knew what she was doing. In 5 minutes she had me rebooked. The DL flight was gone. The original AA flights were gone, and instead I had a new BA booking through ORD and on to home.
I left that call with a "get to T5 early to make sure they retrieve the bags".
LHR-ORD
Despite being on the BA297, I was at T5 bright and early. I figured either I would have a lot of hassle over the bags or I would spend the day in the lounge. Well it was the latter. The check-in agent said my bags were accounted for and would be redirected. He put an alert in my booking so that on boarding they would also check for them. And when I boarded the plane, the system beeped and the gate agent told me my bags were loaded. Another lovely flight later we were on approach into Chicago. A bit late but nothing to worry about. Then we had to do a go-around so by the time we were on the gate I was facing a 45 minute connection to the last flight of the day home.
I got off the plane, grabbed the express connection pass and ran. Meanwhile I received an email saying my bags didn't make it. This is where I made a choice. I should have talked to the BA agent and opened a missed bag claim with BA. Had I done that I would have missed my connection. So I didn't. Instead I successfully made the flight home (barely) and then reported the issue to the AA desk at my home airport. My only regret about that is I wonder now if the fact I have to work through AA is preventing information reaching BA people who will actually look at it.
Bag Claim
Anyway, when I reported it, they looked in the system. One of the bags was indeed at Heathrow. It was delivered to my house two days later. No issue at all. The other bag was...location unknown. Two weeks have now gone by with various calls into AA. I am told that they have put out tracing requests to BA at Chicago, at Heathrow and at Atlanta. I am told that the only response they got was that BA had the bag at Heathrow at 3pm on the day I travelled (and since AA are based in the Central Timezone that could easily be 9am GMT which is when I checked in). A week ago I was told that a BA person had updated the system to say they "sent it to Atlanta". This prompted AA to ping BA again to ask that Atlanta be checked. To this BA has not responded.
I had one previous baggage issue, where a bag literally sat at an airport for 3 days as flights that could have brought it to me left, because no one went the last mile with the bag people on the ground to tell them to put it on a plane. I have to say I am wondering if this is the case now. That my bag is in a back room at ATL, but no one has told the people there what to do about it (I have provided a detailed account of the contents into the case file).
And then there is the other thought. Did the bag in fact get retagged to Delta after all? Is it sitting with Delta at Terminal 3, or even in Atlanta? After all, the bag should have been scanned if it was loaded/unloaded from a BA plane, and no scans show up for it.
In conclusion
Based on this great mystery, am I out of luck? Should I just turn in my claim to AA and get paid off, wondering where lost luggage goes to die? Or is there some better way that I can get my AA rep to have BA reply in the case whether they have looked for it in these various places along the way?
Regardless of that I know one thing. Next time I travel I shall be printing off a sheet of paper into each bag, with my PNR, itinerary and Flyertalk handle. What else should I include?
So - posting this in part for that, and in part because it's quite a tale. Because while it was definitely BA who lost it, due to the combined oddities of my journey it could conceivably be in the hands of BA, AA or DL(!)
Initial IRROPS
I was on a mixed ticket, single PNR. BA BLR-LHR-ATL, overnight, then AA ATL-CLT-HOME. The bag was checked to Atlanta. My troubles started in Bangalore with fog. The inbound BA119 was diverted and we ended up leaving 5+ hours late. On the plane, they announced that 219 passengers had missed connections, and if someone didn't come and speak to you before landing, you would be in a hotel in London overnight. Fair enough. No one spoke to me, so on landing I went to the Flight Connections desk. (As an aside, despite the stress and inconvenience and stress of the delay, the crew on the BA118 were bloody marvelous, really top notch).
Delta??
At Flight Connections I was told I was rebooked the next day to Atlanta on Delta. I queried this, since my booking was in one PNR (despite two tickets) and this was going to create a further misconnect with AA. The lady at the desk was insistent though - BA would only get me to ATL. Could not amend booking. Essentially she was reading from the "separate PNRs" script and didn't seem to get that this was different. I asked if I needed to collect my bags. She said "no, we've sent them over to DL".
I think my first mistake was leaving T5 and going to the hotel rather than going upstairs landside and seeking someone else to help. Once in the hotel, I called BA to try to figure out a way to get to my end destination the next day. Multiple call center people refused, insisted there were "no flights", said the airport had control of the booking and they could do nothing, or in one case just hung up. Reluctantly I then called AA's Platinum line to try to get them to move my flight from ATL due to the misconnect on DL. The agent at American spent about 30 seconds reading the information and then said "BA will have to fix this" and put me back through to BA. My heart sank, but she must have connected me to a BAEC status line because finally I was dealing with a person who knew what she was doing. In 5 minutes she had me rebooked. The DL flight was gone. The original AA flights were gone, and instead I had a new BA booking through ORD and on to home.
I left that call with a "get to T5 early to make sure they retrieve the bags".
LHR-ORD
Despite being on the BA297, I was at T5 bright and early. I figured either I would have a lot of hassle over the bags or I would spend the day in the lounge. Well it was the latter. The check-in agent said my bags were accounted for and would be redirected. He put an alert in my booking so that on boarding they would also check for them. And when I boarded the plane, the system beeped and the gate agent told me my bags were loaded. Another lovely flight later we were on approach into Chicago. A bit late but nothing to worry about. Then we had to do a go-around so by the time we were on the gate I was facing a 45 minute connection to the last flight of the day home.
I got off the plane, grabbed the express connection pass and ran. Meanwhile I received an email saying my bags didn't make it. This is where I made a choice. I should have talked to the BA agent and opened a missed bag claim with BA. Had I done that I would have missed my connection. So I didn't. Instead I successfully made the flight home (barely) and then reported the issue to the AA desk at my home airport. My only regret about that is I wonder now if the fact I have to work through AA is preventing information reaching BA people who will actually look at it.
Bag Claim
Anyway, when I reported it, they looked in the system. One of the bags was indeed at Heathrow. It was delivered to my house two days later. No issue at all. The other bag was...location unknown. Two weeks have now gone by with various calls into AA. I am told that they have put out tracing requests to BA at Chicago, at Heathrow and at Atlanta. I am told that the only response they got was that BA had the bag at Heathrow at 3pm on the day I travelled (and since AA are based in the Central Timezone that could easily be 9am GMT which is when I checked in). A week ago I was told that a BA person had updated the system to say they "sent it to Atlanta". This prompted AA to ping BA again to ask that Atlanta be checked. To this BA has not responded.
I had one previous baggage issue, where a bag literally sat at an airport for 3 days as flights that could have brought it to me left, because no one went the last mile with the bag people on the ground to tell them to put it on a plane. I have to say I am wondering if this is the case now. That my bag is in a back room at ATL, but no one has told the people there what to do about it (I have provided a detailed account of the contents into the case file).
And then there is the other thought. Did the bag in fact get retagged to Delta after all? Is it sitting with Delta at Terminal 3, or even in Atlanta? After all, the bag should have been scanned if it was loaded/unloaded from a BA plane, and no scans show up for it.
In conclusion
Based on this great mystery, am I out of luck? Should I just turn in my claim to AA and get paid off, wondering where lost luggage goes to die? Or is there some better way that I can get my AA rep to have BA reply in the case whether they have looked for it in these various places along the way?
Regardless of that I know one thing. Next time I travel I shall be printing off a sheet of paper into each bag, with my PNR, itinerary and Flyertalk handle. What else should I include?
Jan 28, 2018, 1:30 am
#2
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,771
The two things that need to be visible are a telephone number that can accept text messages, and an email address which is not easily traceable to your home address (e.g via searching social media). Just use a first name, not a family name, by all means put a PNR or frequent flyer number. Due to the risk of theft it is best not to put a full address visible outside the bag unless it's something like a hotel which you have a very good relationship or you live on something like a guarded army base. These should be visible on the outside, with a piece of paper on top of the bag on the inside with the same information, maybe a bit more if you are feeling daring.
My suspicion is that your bag may well be in a heap somewhere in ATL or ORD. One day someone will get round to checking it, and you will hopefully get a call. In some places it just isn't a priority. You haven't got anything to lose by accepting the money at the end of 21 days, if you don't make the claim at that point you won't get anything, and if the bag surfaces usually airlines let you have the bag and let you keep the money. I have heard (not on BA or AA) of a case where someone was paid close to the maximum Ł1200 or so, for a lost set of suits, and the deal was that the customer could eBay the replacement or the original suit - of their choice - and return the proceeds to the airline. BA doesn't do this.
If it makes you feel any better, I don't think making the claim in ORD would have made much difference, it's just a record for WorldTracer. I presume you have been keeping WorldTracer up to date with information directly too (link via BA.com/baggage).
https://www.britishairways.com/trave...missingbaggage
The other thing which was successful here recently was someone getting in touch with the Social Media team on Twitter via DM - that did lead to recovery of a bag that had gone the other direction to GIB long after it was reported missing - however the extenuating circumstance there was that the bag had been valet checked on the airbridge and hadn't been properly labelled at all. Still it was found long after I would have thought it was a gonna.
My suspicion is that your bag may well be in a heap somewhere in ATL or ORD. One day someone will get round to checking it, and you will hopefully get a call. In some places it just isn't a priority. You haven't got anything to lose by accepting the money at the end of 21 days, if you don't make the claim at that point you won't get anything, and if the bag surfaces usually airlines let you have the bag and let you keep the money. I have heard (not on BA or AA) of a case where someone was paid close to the maximum Ł1200 or so, for a lost set of suits, and the deal was that the customer could eBay the replacement or the original suit - of their choice - and return the proceeds to the airline. BA doesn't do this.
If it makes you feel any better, I don't think making the claim in ORD would have made much difference, it's just a record for WorldTracer. I presume you have been keeping WorldTracer up to date with information directly too (link via BA.com/baggage).
https://www.britishairways.com/trave...missingbaggage
The other thing which was successful here recently was someone getting in touch with the Social Media team on Twitter via DM - that did lead to recovery of a bag that had gone the other direction to GIB long after it was reported missing - however the extenuating circumstance there was that the bag had been valet checked on the airbridge and hadn't been properly labelled at all. Still it was found long after I would have thought it was a gonna.
Jan 28, 2018, 5:08 pm
#3
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Or the bag could have been loaded onto the wrong aircraft and be sitting anywhere BA, DL, or AA fly ! Or it somehow got dropped off a cart and run over or stolen. It is rare, but happens.
That is the value of WorldTracer. Nobody is proactively looking for your bag. No "tracers", calls or anything else. Orphaned bags simply accumulate and the baggage people at each carrier at each airport simply work their way through looking for anything that will help them. Eventually they may look inside a bag, but that is a last resort.
Not to discourage you, but calling is a waste of your time. You can see on WorldTracer the same information as any agent you reach. That "sent to ATL" notation was available to you as well.
After 21 days, AA will pay your claim. Fair market value up to a maximum of approximately $1,650, less any interim expenses paid. Check your lost luggage insurance as well to make certain that it does not have a claims deadline which you might miss.
As C-W-S notes, outside tagging really is critical. Mobile number (text-capable) and email are good enough. The carrier name and PNR will help.
That is the value of WorldTracer. Nobody is proactively looking for your bag. No "tracers", calls or anything else. Orphaned bags simply accumulate and the baggage people at each carrier at each airport simply work their way through looking for anything that will help them. Eventually they may look inside a bag, but that is a last resort.
Not to discourage you, but calling is a waste of your time. You can see on WorldTracer the same information as any agent you reach. That "sent to ATL" notation was available to you as well.
After 21 days, AA will pay your claim. Fair market value up to a maximum of approximately $1,650, less any interim expenses paid. Check your lost luggage insurance as well to make certain that it does not have a claims deadline which you might miss.
As C-W-S notes, outside tagging really is critical. Mobile number (text-capable) and email are good enough. The carrier name and PNR will help.
Jan 28, 2018, 7:50 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Midcontinent
Programs: AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 82
Thanks for the replies. Appreciated. I just filled out my claim questionnaire so will be submitting it in the morning.
I do have a follow-on question about World Tracer. I tried looking my case up there but I don't appear to have the right format number. The World Tracer site wants a 10 digit id, airport-airline-XXXXX. My file reference from AA is airport-airline-XXXXXXXX. Tried truncating the numbers to fit, but no dice. Perhaps that's more a question for the AA forum, or maybe I should just call and ask them for my World Tracer number.
I do believe you about the run over scenario. I had a colleague come over from India once and his bag and contents came onto the carousel in a series of trays in little pieces...
I do have a follow-on question about World Tracer. I tried looking my case up there but I don't appear to have the right format number. The World Tracer site wants a 10 digit id, airport-airline-XXXXX. My file reference from AA is airport-airline-XXXXXXXX. Tried truncating the numbers to fit, but no dice. Perhaps that's more a question for the AA forum, or maybe I should just call and ask them for my World Tracer number.
I do believe you about the run over scenario. I had a colleague come over from India once and his bag and contents came onto the carousel in a series of trays in little pieces...
Jan 28, 2018, 9:03 pm
#5
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
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Posts: 13,248
I do have a follow-on question about World Tracer. I tried looking my case up there but I don't appear to have the right format number. The World Tracer site wants a 10 digit id, airport-airline-XXXXX. My file reference from AA is airport-airline-XXXXXXXX. Tried truncating the numbers to fit, but no dice. Perhaps that's more a question for the AA forum, or maybe I should just call and ask them for my World Tracer number.
https://live.nettracer.aero/american...claim/login.do
Feb 3, 2018, 12:43 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Midcontinent
Programs: AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 82
AA use a 13 character reference number. Here is the AA baggage status link and this will take the 13 character reference you have.
https://live.nettracer.aero/american...claim/login.do
https://live.nettracer.aero/american...claim/login.do
However, I was able to ask for my World Tracer id from AA. I can't enter it into the World Tracer site, but I can enter it into the BA site. This is interesting as it clearly shows the missing bag was sent to ATL on the next day's BA flight. But the description associated with that bag, is the wrong description. While I have filed my claim for monetary compensation, I am more and more confident that if someone in the baggage hall in ATL would just go look for the right bag, all would be well, and the airline would save quite a bit of money
