golfmad

I took the word 'yourself' too literally.

Im a new user

If the thief took an identical bag instead of his own by mistake and then entered Italy, then he could simply have had trouble returning it after noticing the mistake due to being in quarantine. It could all have been an honest mistake.

Often1

Anything is possible.

YuropFlyer

I once had a bag taken (I don't use stolen, since that would imho need a criminal intend by the taker) which belonged to me from the carrousel (Baggage came out very quickly at PEK for once ) - a few years ago, but I'd still do the very same actions.

Wasn't even angry at the guy who took it. Same bag CHECK, priority tag and same destinations on tag CHECK, similar worn marks (honestly, VERY similar ones) CHECK, same colour identifying tape as attached by myself CHECK.

Yeah, that guy literally had a carbon copy of my bag, or vice versa

When I reached the belt, I immediately grabed "my" bag, and only discovered it wasn't actually mine because I always immediately open it a bit to check what's inside to verify. Put it back onto the carrousel after noting it wasn't mine but already had the feeling that a mixup happened, and when my real bag didn't came but all other priority luggage already made it's turns, immediately went to lost luggage WITH the wrong bag, since that was key to identify the person who actually took the bag. Explained the situation, they luckily figured out the phone number of the accidental culprit, called him, and while he already left the airport on a taxi, he would eventually return about 30min later, to exchange the bags. Every minute I'd have waited longer would have made the situation taking (at least) twice as long (distance away from the airport AND back). If I had waited till all baggage came out, it would probably be an hour to wait extra, if not longer. If I didn't realized it wasn't actually a mixup, it might have token even longer. Sure, the person who took it would have eventually realized he got my bag and not his, but that would probably have added many hours for the re-swap, if not more.

tl;dr:

If you notice a similar bag than yours on the belt, and your bag isn't actually coming out when it was due (and the other bag still remains, obviously), take the wrong bag to lost luggage, and ask for assistance asap. Time is king.

muscat

Doesn’t being locked in a hotel room negate the need for one’s DJ, smoking jacket, shooting jacket, or indeed any form of clothing? (If the hotel doesn’t supply a dressing gown, just turn the heating up)

Farringdon

Always take your DJ in your hand baggage! You never know when you will need it at a moment's notice

henry999

???

81romeo

We were on the same flight. My (RIMOWA) aluminum suitcase got literary destroyed by the handlers.

lcylocal

I have had a similar situation at Gatwick once. The BA staff member was brilliant in rapidly finding the passenger’s mobile number, calling them and sorting the switch out.

The other passenger on the other hand was somewhat less apologetic than I would have been!

rcspeirs

Manage your expectations....
BA lost my bag on a flight from LHR to LIS last year. It appeared at my home two months later, with the original baggage tabs intact. No meaningful updates from BA in the interim. I have no idea where it had or had not been in the interim.
The staff operating the tracing service don't seem to have access to all the data that you'd expect them to have. I actually had a photo of my bag (taken because I'd done an extensive tour of Colombia a few months before, and I'd - wrongly - assumed I might encounter problems there). Even though I emailed that photo to the exact address given to me by the BA lost bags service, when I spoke to the tracing team by phone they said they don't get access to those emails and had never seen the photo of my bag..... Go figure...

Often1

From the time your report your bag and get your WorldTracer number, there really is not much point in supplying further data or expecting anything from your carrier until the bag is located and is headed your way.

When you call, the people you are speaking with are looking at the same screen you see and the rest is just about making callers feel better. But, they don't have any updates until the bag is scanned back into the system and arrangements are made to ship it your way.

One key dataset is to make certain that as your contact information changes, you update that and further that you supply a good mobile number with all country and city codes included in the number.

_kurt

That’s funny, I would be fine using the razor but I wouldn’t trust the Kindle ever again even with a factory reset. Once a device is outside your possession someone could have installed anything. A razor can be inspected and disinfected.

The one time my bag misconnected on BA, they promised to deliver it and then 48 hours later dropped off another passenger’s bag which was a completely different color. The courier left it outside the door without even ringing the bell. I called and BA sent them back to collect it the next day.

JAXBA

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcspeirs

Manage your expectations...

That's about it really - it's understanding that airlines don't go physically searching the depths of terminals for lost bags that match a certain description or picture - they wait for them to turn up, and then try and match the random bag they have 'on hand' to those reported missing.

There are also 'on hand' reports filed internally - airports will report in WorldTracer the random bags they have in storage that they weren't able to match to any missing reports, and hopefully, eventually, the missing and the 'on hand' gets tied together and the bag repatriated.

Think of a low tech system, and then some...

SonTech

Technically you should not do this as this as it's classed as theft. You should not remove anyones bags from the baggage belt except your own. The airline/handling agents will still need to wait until all other bags are claimed and the belt is clear before chasing up lost bags.

You will be surprised by the amount of passengers who swear blindly that the remaining bag on the belt isnt theirs but is theirs. I used to to get it 5 or 6 times a week.

I'm not sure if BA is like the airline I work for as its the responsibility of the person taking the wrong bag to return it to the airport from where it was taken at their expense otherwise we reported it as stolen to the police.

YuropFlyer

Note, I'm not trying to shift blame/responsibility to the airline to get your bag back in such situation. It's clearly the other pax, the one who took the bag, who needs to do that. BUT, and that's the important but, only lost luggage might have the ability to search for the correct bag owner in a quick way. And I strongly suggest that they'll support you in doing so by the best of their means.

Lost luggage is (at least in most airports, maybe not in some tiny one's only served twice a week..) airside, thus you won't pass customs with not-your-bag. (Which might be dangerous, in case the other person packed non-legal items into it)

Of course you could also approach lost luggage without the bag in question and explain the situation (Depending on their language skills, it might make it slightly more difficult, and they won't leave their station to grab the bag from the belt for you)

Only take the bag landside if the staff at lost luggage confirmed the mixup, and successfully contacted the other person holding your bag, and a "bag swapping date" has been established.

In that case, even if the bag would consist of anything illegal, you'd have extremely strong evidence.

If lost luggage isn't airside, I'd let an airport employee know about the situation - chance is, at those small airports, they all know each other and the situation can be "fast tracked" better.