Checked Bag Issue on Int'l Flight
 

I meant to post this sooner, but I've been caught up in some significant travel lately. 2 weeks ago, I had to leave for a short international business trip. My outbound routing was SAN>MSP>LHR>AMS>FRA and the return was FRA>ATL>SAN, all on DL stock (same ticket).

Upon checking 1 of my bags in SAN, I noticed that the baggage tag said FRA and not LHR. I let the agent know that I'd need my bag in LHR, as I'd be overnighting there. DL10 arrives in around 12PM and my departure from LHR on KL1762 wasn't until 7AM the day following my arrival. She said "Oh strange, let me see if I can fix that." She typed a few things in, re-printed, the baggage tag said LHR and I thought I was good to go.

Well, I get to LHR and my bag wasn't there. Upon going to the baggage desk, they inform me that my bag has been checked to the final destination and I'm unable to retrieve it. I didn't really push the issue, as I had most of the essential items I needed in my carry on.

Has anyone had this happen before? What could be done differently to avoid this? Specifically, if the baggage tag says the correct airport, is there anything that can be done? My concern isn't for myself, but I'll have several employees doing this same exact routing, where a stay in LHR for the evening is required. They aren't exactly seasoned travelers, so this could present a problem.

Thanks in advance.

Hmm...only thing I can suggest...is when you're shown the bag tag with the proper destination (LHR)...watch to see that that specific tag is attached to your bag and the TA inducts the bag with that tag.

Semi OT, but as far as the future flights by your co-workers, I would think the vast majority would prefer the bags to be through checked to the final destination. Put the overnight needs in the carry on. Why bother with bag claim and check for an overnight?

But I certainly expect the bags to be checked to whatever airport the tag says. How can one ever know where to get the bag if not?

In this instance, I saw the actual tag go on my bag before tossed onto the carousel.

Not necessarily OT, however most of these travelers will need items that must be in checked luggage, as they're oversized for carry-ons. With regards to the baggage tag, it was explained to me by the baggage agent that while the letter designation may have changed, the actual system data did not or was reverted back prior to my arrival at LHR. So when the bag was scanned, it showed FRA and my bag spent the night at LHR.

So I guess maybe a better question is, why would the Delta system not allow my checked bag to go to LHR and re-checked the next day? I can't be the only one who's run into this issue.

DL should still have been able to retrieve the bag for OP at LHR. What the baggage agent told OP was essentially b.s. If the bag tag was for LHR, the bar code matched LHR and the bag should have been sent to Customs at LHR.

What most likely happened is that the DL agent at SAN placed 1-2 of the extra destination labels from the original tag on OP's bag and those were denoted FRA. As it happened, the baggage handler scanned one of the extra tags and simply diverted the bag to connections.

While short-checking is generally prohibited, it is also generally not permitted overnight and should not have been possible here.

I've been told that DL has a rule that if a connection is too short, you cannot get your bag while if it's too long, you must collect the bag at the connecting airport. There's an intermediate period where it's supposed to be your choice. Unfortunately I don't remember the time periods.

Over 12hrs DL forces you to collect. Over 6hrs and DL allows you to collect.

Correct. International Contract of Carriage, Rule 116 paragraph E(2)(a) "Connection Time Exceeding Four Hours".
While the title of the paragraph refers to "Exceeding Four Hours", the text actually specifies "six hours". Suspect DL legal missed correcting the "four hours" in the heading when updating the policy rule.