I don't even know where, or how, to begin.
At daybreak on July 16, T.(my bf) and I were ready to bid our apartment of 3 months in Belgium as we triple-checked that we didn't leave any items nor mess behind. We had not slept for nearly 24 hours, and spent at least the last 10 hours packing, re-packing (so we could bring the extra-long baguette toaster home), and cleaning up. By the time we were on the freeway, the crisp sunlight did nothing to our fatigue -- I mercilessly slapped T.'s thighs to keep him awake as he was going 130km/h on a manual shift. His head kept bobbing, and I was barely awake to murmur "hey don't sleep."
We made it to the airport; we even had time to mail the toaster along with other cheapo junk (e.g. sirop de Liege, a Mexican (i know, Mexico is closer to LA than Belgium...), a cookie press) back to LA. Little did we know that it would take more than an hour to check in our baggage at the British Airways counter. One after another, the ticketing staff would say "I have to go" and promptly walk away from her counter despite the line of anxious souls who remained to be checked in and had anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour away from their flight departure time. After the agent gave me my boarding pass and tagged my suitcases, she realized that the conveyor belt wasn't moving. She made a call, and swiftly walked away from the counter. I stood speechless -- I've waited 75 minutes and now my luggage is stuck on the conveyor belt so that anyone can pick up my bags and disappear? The poor American blonde in flip flops behind me started tearing up, "My flight is leaving in 2 minutes. Where is she going?" Poor thing. I asked the only agent remaining, "what will happen to my bags?" She reassured me she would take care of it. I didn't have the time to stand there to wait for the maintenance people to come -- all that standing in line left me with 20 minutes to get through security and make it to the departure gate. I just prayed that no one would steal my bags since nearly all the staff were gone and god knows how long the one remaining agent would be there, or be able to keep an eye on all the bags left still on the conveyor belt. There was no blank tags either, for me to write my LA address on and attach to my luggage. The tags on my bags still had my Belgian address and cell number.
The flight was delayed for at least 30 minutes. The pilot said that some bags were stuck on the conveyor belt but they just got 5 loaded onto the plane and had 5 more coming. "That must be my bag," I thought. Another 10 minutes passed and he said the plane was good to go. We arrived at Heathrow 15 minutes earlier than scheduled -- how that happened with the initial delay, I still don't know. The 10 people whose final destination was London all stood by the baggage carousel. Nothing. Another 15 minutes. Nothing. Staff came by -- all the baggage didn't make it onto the flight. My heart went pounding like crazy. What? No luggage? Nothing like that had ever happened to me. I hadn't slept for like 30 hours -- stress and fatigue don't go down together well. We filed missing reports for the bags and were reassured that they'd be delivered by courier to us by later that night or the next morning. So, no clothes for me. Worse yet, no bras and panties, no contact lenses nor glasses, no toiletries. Just me, my laptop, and a handcarry duffel bag packed with Belgian chocolates, pain d'epices, and a bunch of articles that I brought to read on board. With the 1 pc carry-on policy, I could hardly bring much else with me on board.
After an exhausting 75-minute tube ride, we got from Heathrow to Russels Square. I had been struggling to hold on tight to my duffle bag while I dozed off into a semi-coma-like state on the tube, only to be waken by the station annoucements and door-closing warnings on the train every few minutes. By the time we arrived at Russels Square, my eyes and mouth were dry, my cheeks hot like light bulbs from sleeping in a stuffy train, and probably looking disheveled. So T. and I, feeling like refugees (esp. from wearing slouchy sweats and totally unfashionable but comfy sneakers), dragged our bags across the square to our hotel. I was carrying T.'s backpack, its straps were so long that with every step, the back of my thighs would get slapped. So flap, flap, flap, dodging stares from the fashionable and the chic who were picnicking on the grass, we arrived at our hotel. I was so disheveled I felt completely unfit to step into the fancy hotel...
After a night of frantically shopping for clothes, crying about my lost bags, and scrambling for cheap toiletries at the poorly stocked Tesco Metro, throughout the next morning, the WorldTracer website (BA's luggage tracking system) was updated to show the arranged delivery times for 3 of our 4 bags. They all got in by 2pm on July 17... We consoled ourselves, "the next one may just take a little longer, it'll come"... There, the nightmare began.
L
Monday, August 6, 2007
Sunday, August 5, 2007
British Airways Lost Luggage -- Lies of British Airways call center
So today I called and this guy called Gerald in the USA baggage claim center told me they found my last bag and is being shipped to Los Angeles from London directly on today's flight.
But this is a complete lie.
We called more throughout and the day for more info and every time we called there are different information. One guy (called Chris, who sounded like a drunken frat boy with a perennial nasal congestion) even told us that all 4 bags are delivered to us in LA on July 30. Problem is that 3 of the 4 bags were delivered to us in London on July 17, not LA, not July 30 and not all 4 bags.
This is not the first time BA call center representatives lied to us. And more people on the web has been reporting many more lies by BA.
Lies and lies and lies. What exactly do they get out of it by lying? And to get our hopes up and crash it like a dying ant. Calling BA is like worse than talking to lawyers, lies are created for no reason at all.
T
But this is a complete lie.
We called more throughout and the day for more info and every time we called there are different information. One guy (called Chris, who sounded like a drunken frat boy with a perennial nasal congestion) even told us that all 4 bags are delivered to us in LA on July 30. Problem is that 3 of the 4 bags were delivered to us in London on July 17, not LA, not July 30 and not all 4 bags.
This is not the first time BA call center representatives lied to us. And more people on the web has been reporting many more lies by BA.
Lies and lies and lies. What exactly do they get out of it by lying? And to get our hopes up and crash it like a dying ant. Calling BA is like worse than talking to lawyers, lies are created for no reason at all.
T
Saturday, August 4, 2007
British Airways Lost Luggage -- Evil BA business model
And what really pisses me off is that British Airways loses bags way more than chance levels. They are the worst in any European airlines. LHR (Heathrow) is owned by BA and working at like 30% over capacity. And BA staff has little regards on handling luggages. How could the pilot decided to leave knowing 89 bags are left behind????? Personally I accept flight delays more than missing bags. And knowing LHR having a missing luggage crisis, and the pilot still chose to add 89 more bags to that instead of delaying the flight. This really shows how much regard BA has on your bags.
Not one single person got his bag(s) that day flying on that flight. We all waited at the luggage claim for over an hour before heading to report missing luggage. Reporting took another hour or so (there was a long line of people, surprise). We all wasted additionally 2+ hours at the airport for the missing bags. With 2+ hours, they could have fixed the belt problem at Brussels airport and rightfully loaded our 89 bags on the flight.
And apparently, British Airways loaded cargo spaces they sold before loading our luggage. Meaning BA made the full amount of $$ with my flight: cargo space and passengers on broad (missing luggage of the passengers is relatively common for BA's business role anyway).
The more I came think about it: THIS IS EVIL BUSINESS MODEL.
Not one single person got his bag(s) that day flying on that flight. We all waited at the luggage claim for over an hour before heading to report missing luggage. Reporting took another hour or so (there was a long line of people, surprise). We all wasted additionally 2+ hours at the airport for the missing bags. With 2+ hours, they could have fixed the belt problem at Brussels airport and rightfully loaded our 89 bags on the flight.
And apparently, British Airways loaded cargo spaces they sold before loading our luggage. Meaning BA made the full amount of $$ with my flight: cargo space and passengers on broad (missing luggage of the passengers is relatively common for BA's business role anyway).
The more I came think about it: THIS IS EVIL BUSINESS MODEL.
Friday, August 3, 2007
British Airways Lost Luggage -- How to call British Airways on cheap
OK I promised to write about calling BA cheap (free in fact if you have a decent internet connection). YES you guessed it: VOIP. My choice is Skype.
How (I hope no one will end up large hotel phone bill anymore):
1. since you can't call BA baggage number at London, you can call the ones oversea.
2. I choose to call the USA one since there's where I live.
3. It's free if you are within USA (1-800 numbers)
4. While oversea (not in USA), calling 1-800 numbers is actually free using Skype. At least my Skype account didn't deduct any $$ from calling 1-800 number oversea.
5. If in a hotel, buy the 24 hour internet package. It will be cheaper calling VOIP then calling directly using the hotel phone.
Now I spill the beans, I hope there is not a significant longer wait for me calling BA. Otherwise I will be mad and delete this post (kidding). Actually people can try calling their native 1-800 numbers (free toll numbers) using Skype, it can be free too.
T
How (I hope no one will end up large hotel phone bill anymore):
1. since you can't call BA baggage number at London, you can call the ones oversea.
2. I choose to call the USA one since there's where I live.
3. It's free if you are within USA (1-800 numbers)
4. While oversea (not in USA), calling 1-800 numbers is actually free using Skype. At least my Skype account didn't deduct any $$ from calling 1-800 number oversea.
5. If in a hotel, buy the 24 hour internet package. It will be cheaper calling VOIP then calling directly using the hotel phone.
Now I spill the beans, I hope there is not a significant longer wait for me calling BA. Otherwise I will be mad and delete this post (kidding). Actually people can try calling their native 1-800 numbers (free toll numbers) using Skype, it can be free too.
T
Sunday, July 29, 2007
British Airways Lost Luggage -- Quick Tips:
1. Don't fly BA
2. If you have to fly BA, avoid fly into London, Heathrow (LHR) is owned by BA and it's 40% over capacity where recently they have 20,000 lost luggage backlog.
3. Don't check in any luggage, but like this is possible for non-business travelers. And London has one carry-on policy, meaning laptop bag and lady's purses need to fit into the carry-on.
4. Take photo of your check-in luggage. This will help later.
5. expect that you may lose your luggage, so don't put things that are irreplaceable (we are learning this the hard way).
After you lost your check-in bags (and this happens very often with BA. BA's rated one of the worst European airline when it comes to handling luggages, esp. at London).
1. make sure BA staff enters your info 100% correctly. This is the time to be very very annoyingly careful. Tag numbers, bag description (provide the photo you took earlier), your address (temporary and permanent), phone numbers (but they don't really call you ever), etc.
2. call everyday, in fact, call multiple times (more of this in a different post about calling)
3. keep all the receipts related to the delayed/lost luggages: clothes, toiletries, etc. You can claim them (or some of them) back.
4. be patient (this really tests your patience).
2. If you have to fly BA, avoid fly into London, Heathrow (LHR) is owned by BA and it's 40% over capacity where recently they have 20,000 lost luggage backlog.
3. Don't check in any luggage, but like this is possible for non-business travelers. And London has one carry-on policy, meaning laptop bag and lady's purses need to fit into the carry-on.
4. Take photo of your check-in luggage. This will help later.
5. expect that you may lose your luggage, so don't put things that are irreplaceable (we are learning this the hard way).
After you lost your check-in bags (and this happens very often with BA. BA's rated one of the worst European airline when it comes to handling luggages, esp. at London).
1. make sure BA staff enters your info 100% correctly. This is the time to be very very annoyingly careful. Tag numbers, bag description (provide the photo you took earlier), your address (temporary and permanent), phone numbers (but they don't really call you ever), etc.
2. call everyday, in fact, call multiple times (more of this in a different post about calling)
3. keep all the receipts related to the delayed/lost luggages: clothes, toiletries, etc. You can claim them (or some of them) back.
4. be patient (this really tests your patience).
British Airways Lost Luggageg -- what happens when British Airways loses your bags / luggages / baggages?
This is our experience dealing with BA on lost/delayed luggage and we will try to provide some tips in dealing with BA along this horrible BA luggage HELL. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE and don't fly BA ever. I rather walk + swim:
"T" is me, and "L" is my gf (and we will both post here).
We lost 4 bags flying from Brussels (BRU) to London Heathrow (LHR) on July 16, 2007.
BA recovered 3 of them on the next days and we are still waiting for the last one to be found (13 days counting as of today).
BA staff mistyped one of our tag numbers into the computer system when we filed the missing luggage report at Heathrow. We only realized the mistake after 12 hours (like it's our fault to start with?!). This maybe why there is still one bag missing.
But we don't know for certain becasue that we don't know which bag is still missing under BA's tag number system.
The 3 bags came back with one of them tagless (another indication of BA's carelessness), meaning the outstanding bag can be any of the two following numbers:
BAxxxxx2
BAxxxxx3 (<--- this is the one mistyped before).
We tried to ask BA which tag number is still missing and they have a different answer every time we called. At this point (13 days counting), we just want BA to try find both of them to be safe, but BA said that since only one bag is missing, they can only have one tag number per reference file. With every day that passes by, we helplessly realize that the chance of retrieving the bag is smaller, not to mention that the odds got halved because there is only 50% chance that the tag number on the reference file is correct.
We have been spending hours on the phone with BA's customer service representative everyday since we lost our bags. We will be blogging about our experience and tips (questions to ask, how to call BA without ending up with a hefty phone bill, etc.).
Time to call BA....
T
"T" is me, and "L" is my gf (and we will both post here).
We lost 4 bags flying from Brussels (BRU) to London Heathrow (LHR) on July 16, 2007.
BA recovered 3 of them on the next days and we are still waiting for the last one to be found (13 days counting as of today).
BA staff mistyped one of our tag numbers into the computer system when we filed the missing luggage report at Heathrow. We only realized the mistake after 12 hours (like it's our fault to start with?!). This maybe why there is still one bag missing.
But we don't know for certain becasue that we don't know which bag is still missing under BA's tag number system.
The 3 bags came back with one of them tagless (another indication of BA's carelessness), meaning the outstanding bag can be any of the two following numbers:
BAxxxxx2
BAxxxxx3 (<--- this is the one mistyped before).
We tried to ask BA which tag number is still missing and they have a different answer every time we called. At this point (13 days counting), we just want BA to try find both of them to be safe, but BA said that since only one bag is missing, they can only have one tag number per reference file. With every day that passes by, we helplessly realize that the chance of retrieving the bag is smaller, not to mention that the odds got halved because there is only 50% chance that the tag number on the reference file is correct.
We have been spending hours on the phone with BA's customer service representative everyday since we lost our bags. We will be blogging about our experience and tips (questions to ask, how to call BA without ending up with a hefty phone bill, etc.).
Time to call BA....
T
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