Iberia luggage handling problem
 

Hi all,

Does anyone have a good contact number or email address I can use to contact the people at Iberia handling lost luggage? I flew from Seville to Madrid on the 23rd, continuing on SK/TG to Kuala Lumpur via Copenhagen and Bangkok. When checking in at Seville they couldn't check in the bag all the way so I had to pick it up in Madrid. The bag never made it. Now it's the 26th and the bag has made it to Madrid but it actually made it there already on the 24th. So, two days without anything happening and Iberia customer center just gives me "You're bag has been found and will be sent on the next flight to KUL". I've been given this message for two days.

As I have to travel this weekend I need to get my stuff, anyone have any good ideas on who I can get in touch with?

Cheers,
Patrik

Have you tried Iberia's WorldTracer?

http://www.worldtracer.aero/filedsp/ib.htm

Did just now and that looks even worse. When I call they say that they know where the bag is. In WorldTracer it says "TRACING CONTINUES. PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER". Sounds like they don't know where the bag is at all. The "Date Received" value is "No information available".

Doesn't sound too good...

In my fortunately limited experience, Worldtracer is much worse than useless. Has anyone ever seen useful data there? Just yesterday I was looking at it to see how my son's lost bag was doing ("no information available") he text'ed to say the airline had just called and his bag was due at his hotel within the hour.

To the OP, be patient another couple of days. The airlines seem to take most of a week delivering lost bags. They seem to fly them around somewhat randomly, and after long enough, deliver them.

No, I agree it's useless. Speaking to QF last week when my bag was lost, they said, "The first we will know about it is when it turns up. Then we'll call you".

In other words by the time Worldtracer shows anything, you've already got your bag back.

For the record, my bag arrived a full five days after I did. I was beginning to resign myself to never seeing it again. It got lost making a single connection - LAX. They had 10 hours to get it from my arriving flight (from IAD) to the SYD flight and they didn't do it. Then they continued not to do it for five days.

That function of the airline business must well and truly be broken. From previous experience (the airline bag people usually tend to be able to tell you where your bag is if you call them) your bag doesn't sit in an airport for a week - they fly it places. One missed connection in DXB had our bags pass through LHR twice before ultimately joining us in BKK. Son mentioned that his had been around the world. For some reason I think the bag handler who discovers a lost bag marks it with a "lost bag, rush" tag (which clearly means "have fun with this for as long as you like" and puts it on an airplane heading somewhere which he believes will be closer to the final destination. Once at that airport, another handler sends it on to the destination of his choice, as likely as not where it just came from since that's his best guess of the best path.

Lost my bags recently on a 31 hour odyssey on AA/BA/IB from SFO to Valencia. The Worldtracer site was updated at last, and they called to deliver them the next morning (Iberia). Please note that you can purchase up to 53 euros of clothes and toiletries for each 24 hour period after the first 24 hour period you're without them and Iberia will (someday) reimburse you by check. If after 21 days the bag is still not returned to you, they owe you a lump sum of 600 euros I believe. Call the 800 number on their web site and stay on until you hear the English prompt (it is discretely hidden after some moments of silence!) and you'll get through to someone who can help you and explain the process to reimburse you.

FWIW from others' comments, Eu53 after 24 hours seems more miserly than other higher-rated carriers (no surprise, that).

Luggage snafu
 

Iberia's customer relations and lost baggage handling is a joke. After six emails, innumerable phone calls, four faxes and a registered letter... NOTHING!!! No replies. I have traveled a great deal and have lost luggage in the past and had them all handled with no problems. Not Iberia. This airline just doesn't care. Shoddy!

I agree. After losing my bags on more than one occasion passing through MAD on Iberia I now avoid at all costs. All airlines lose bags now and again. The differences are about how often they lose them, and how helpful they are when it happens. Iberia do badly on both counts in my experience.

I've personally passed through MAD and BCN on Iberia a few dozen times and had my luggage lost twice. Both times there were very strict but manageable steps I was instructed to take with regard to being reimbursed for my expenses and each time I eventually got a check in the mail. I would suggest starting over, call the Iberia desk in the US, ask for the complete instructions and mailing address. After you mail everything in, you can check in about 3 or 4 weeks and they will have a record of receipt of your documents. Keep checking every 2 weeks and eventually they will be able to tell you that a check was mailed on such-and-such date. It does work, they just make it so 99% of the people give up!

Iberian lugagge nightmare
 

I flew from Porto to Caracas via Madrid on the 25th June. Flight was delayed ex Porto. Had one hour in Madrid to walk miles through the huge Madrid airport. We did have someone say, Caracas that way. To the train that was. The EU Passport allows you to go swiftly in the Passport checks, but not all of the passengers had it.

In the plabe, the air hostesses were not polite for instance they refused to move over when I politely asked them to scud over after returning from the toilets. Espera!

In Caracas I found out that my bag, as well as at least 20 other people had not arrived. Havoc in Caracas. Havoc in Iberia with one single guy having to take all the complaints. Luckily I could get my internal connection, albeit without the main lugagge. The lugagge arrived the following day, but unfortunately that same sinlge guy could not send the bag to me. I was getting married the day after, and... no lugagge, sorry too much problems. Got married with a rented suit and trainers!!
The lugagge was nowhere to be seen and after daily phone calls (many of these unaswered) decided to tell Iberia, DON'T MOVE MY LUGAGGE I am flying to Caracas to my honey moon on 1st July (6 days after the initial flight) and will collect the bag from there. Arrived in Caracas on the 1st July, went to the Iberia counter to get the bag. Your bag? I sent it to your airport (El Vigia) 3 days ago. W H A T? And nobody told US? Why did you take our phone numbers?? Sorry, I sent the lugagge it's not with us anymore. W H A T?? 30 minutes fighting with the single lugagge Iberian person (they are saving on people, no money in airline industry so they say), who was being kicked everywhere by other passengers. Managed to walk with the bloke to the local terminal with the bag (i.e. he had to do all the work, including hand delivering bags to to other airlines), and to ask for my lugagge to be sent back to Caracas and then to my Caribbean island. You wish. Iberia did send the lugagge to Bogota, en route to the island. But agin, without informing anyone (I found out half way through the problem that the lugagge guy in Iberia Caracas was fired that week!). The bag stayed 3 days in Bogota and was returned to Caracas! In the end and after inumerous daily calls to Iberia and Avianca (local Colombian airline), from the Caribbean paradise got the bag but only 2 weeks after the initial flight, but only as the people in Bogota local carrier (AVIANCA) demanded it from Iberia. Iberia in Colombia did not care for it at all. They ruined my holidays, my marriage and the honey moon. They are a disgrace.

Any ideas how to get something out of them??

In our company IB lost baggage rate is somewhere between 90-100%. Today nobody uses IB anymore. We lost so many bags without recovering them that decided to ban the airline. IMO IB is way below the level of OW alliance. Good luck with your search...