Do not fly British Airways
Day 0 (Saturday morning):
I arrive a Heathrow. A long line stretches through passport control but I eventually get through it. At the carousal for my flight's baggage, the belt bringing in new baggage has stopped. My bag is no where in sight. (Great.) I head over to the lost baggage help desk and wait in a line that moves like snails.
The guy at the counter is very friendly. He says that this sort of thing happens all the time and that my bag probably didn't make the connection. I file a report. They do not know where my bag is. The man at the help desk says they'll text my phone as soon as they have it for delivery. He gives me a toilettes bag made for one night, a phone number and a web address in case I have any inquires, and sends me on my way.
Day 1 (Sunday):
No word from the airline. I choose to give them the weekend before I try calling.
Day 2 (Monday):
'Hello, how can I help you? [...] Reference number please. [...] Just give me a moment while I check the file. [...] We don't seem to have any updates on your bag. It was last checked-in at your starting destination of Boise, Idaho. You flew Boise to Chicago, Chicago to London, is that correct? We believe it's in Chicago. Could you please list some of the uniquely identifiable items in the bag? This will help us identify your baggage in the case the tag was lost. [...] Can you think of anything else? Ok, call back later for any questions you may have.'
Day 3 (Tuesday):
(Middle-Eastern accent, hard to understand): 'Hello, how can I help you? [...] No sign of your baggage.'
Me: 'What was that?'
Man: 'No sign of your baggage.'
Me: 'Ah. Is the airline providing any compensation for this? It's been 3 days.'
Man: '[...] 35£ [(?)a day] for items you had to buy without your baggage. [...] You must keep the receipts.'
Me: '...a day?'
Man: '35£[...]'
Me: 'Uh...Where do I receive this compensation?'
Man: 'The website. Go to www.ba.com/baggage'
Me: 'Thanks. Bye'
Man: 'Goodbye.'
I checked the website and you can file a form for expenses you had to pay for because you didn't have you bag, but it doesn't say how much they'll cover.
Day 4 (Wednesday):
'Sorry, still no sign of your baggage. Do you have your baggage identification number? I'd like to compare to make sure we have it right in the file. [...] Ah, ok, well we had your id number wrong. I just updated it now and hopefully we should get some updates within the next 24 hours on your bag. Call back tomorrow.'
Day 5 (Thursday):
'Looks like here we found it in Chicago. It was shipped on the next available flight to the UK and should now be sitting in Customs. Hopefully you should get it either tonight or tomorrow. Call back this afternoon and we should have an update for you.'
early afternoon: 'No confirmation on your bag, sorry. I'll send down a request for them to get moving. Try calling back later tonight. We're open till 8.'
later that afternoon: 'Sorry, still no confirmation on your baggage. It was supposed to be sent to the UK at 7am this morning. It's probably still sitting in Customs. I'll just send down another request to have them update their file. '
Day 6 (Friday):
'Still no confirmation that your baggage is here. God Bless you. I see we've sent down a message; I'll just send another one saying urgent. God bless you. I'll also compare your baggage contents list with the ones that arrived in case we can find it that way. God bless you. Bye-bye!'
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-Updates coming soon-
---
I talked it over with my boyfriend and apparently British Airways has a bad reputation for lost luggage. He heard it from someone who never says things like that. In fact, this is the second time in a row they've lost my bag, though at least the first time they got it back to me in 2 or 3 days.
His flat mate also has horror stories with British Airways lost luggage. His ski equipment was never put on the plane because 'they didn't have room'. For the weeks vacation his ski equipment remained missing. When he finally got to the airport on his way home, vacation ruined, they still claimed they didn't know where his equipment was. Asking to go back and have a look, he was able to find his equipment sitting in their storage room. However, they did end up finally sending him 'his' equipment. In fact, even better: they sent him some pro-skiers gear, which he then had to go out of his way to give back to the owner.
At this point, I'll just be happy to get my bag back period.
We're planning to go clubbing tonight, yet I only have one outfit to go out in which includes a pair of heels that will hurt. I bought some underwear. I bought 2 shirts to lay about the apartment in. Other than that, here's hoping.
British Airways, you are on my avoid list from now on.
I arrive a Heathrow. A long line stretches through passport control but I eventually get through it. At the carousal for my flight's baggage, the belt bringing in new baggage has stopped. My bag is no where in sight. (Great.) I head over to the lost baggage help desk and wait in a line that moves like snails.
The guy at the counter is very friendly. He says that this sort of thing happens all the time and that my bag probably didn't make the connection. I file a report. They do not know where my bag is. The man at the help desk says they'll text my phone as soon as they have it for delivery. He gives me a toilettes bag made for one night, a phone number and a web address in case I have any inquires, and sends me on my way.
Day 1 (Sunday):
No word from the airline. I choose to give them the weekend before I try calling.
Day 2 (Monday):
'Hello, how can I help you? [...] Reference number please. [...] Just give me a moment while I check the file. [...] We don't seem to have any updates on your bag. It was last checked-in at your starting destination of Boise, Idaho. You flew Boise to Chicago, Chicago to London, is that correct? We believe it's in Chicago. Could you please list some of the uniquely identifiable items in the bag? This will help us identify your baggage in the case the tag was lost. [...] Can you think of anything else? Ok, call back later for any questions you may have.'
Day 3 (Tuesday):
(Middle-Eastern accent, hard to understand): 'Hello, how can I help you? [...] No sign of your baggage.'
Me: 'What was that?'
Man: 'No sign of your baggage.'
Me: 'Ah. Is the airline providing any compensation for this? It's been 3 days.'
Man: '[...] 35£ [(?)a day] for items you had to buy without your baggage. [...] You must keep the receipts.'
Me: '...a day?'
Man: '35£[...]'
Me: 'Uh...Where do I receive this compensation?'
Man: 'The website. Go to www.ba.com/baggage'
Me: 'Thanks. Bye'
Man: 'Goodbye.'
I checked the website and you can file a form for expenses you had to pay for because you didn't have you bag, but it doesn't say how much they'll cover.
Day 4 (Wednesday):
'Sorry, still no sign of your baggage. Do you have your baggage identification number? I'd like to compare to make sure we have it right in the file. [...] Ah, ok, well we had your id number wrong. I just updated it now and hopefully we should get some updates within the next 24 hours on your bag. Call back tomorrow.'
Day 5 (Thursday):
'Looks like here we found it in Chicago. It was shipped on the next available flight to the UK and should now be sitting in Customs. Hopefully you should get it either tonight or tomorrow. Call back this afternoon and we should have an update for you.'
early afternoon: 'No confirmation on your bag, sorry. I'll send down a request for them to get moving. Try calling back later tonight. We're open till 8.'
later that afternoon: 'Sorry, still no confirmation on your baggage. It was supposed to be sent to the UK at 7am this morning. It's probably still sitting in Customs. I'll just send down another request to have them update their file. '
Day 6 (Friday):
'Still no confirmation that your baggage is here. God Bless you. I see we've sent down a message; I'll just send another one saying urgent. God bless you. I'll also compare your baggage contents list with the ones that arrived in case we can find it that way. God bless you. Bye-bye!'
---
-Updates coming soon-
---
I talked it over with my boyfriend and apparently British Airways has a bad reputation for lost luggage. He heard it from someone who never says things like that. In fact, this is the second time in a row they've lost my bag, though at least the first time they got it back to me in 2 or 3 days.
His flat mate also has horror stories with British Airways lost luggage. His ski equipment was never put on the plane because 'they didn't have room'. For the weeks vacation his ski equipment remained missing. When he finally got to the airport on his way home, vacation ruined, they still claimed they didn't know where his equipment was. Asking to go back and have a look, he was able to find his equipment sitting in their storage room. However, they did end up finally sending him 'his' equipment. In fact, even better: they sent him some pro-skiers gear, which he then had to go out of his way to give back to the owner.
At this point, I'll just be happy to get my bag back period.
We're planning to go clubbing tonight, yet I only have one outfit to go out in which includes a pair of heels that will hurt. I bought some underwear. I bought 2 shirts to lay about the apartment in. Other than that, here's hoping.
British Airways, you are on my avoid list from now on.