Frustration with BA Baggage Handling in Hong Kong Airport

The family has arrived in Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday, 28th June, 2007 at 16:45 local time. Despite the rush to get onto the connection from Dublin due to a delay of over an hour, BA 027 has been kind enough to wait for many of the (at least 20) passengers from Dublin, Bravo to British Airways in this aspect.

A little upset at baggage collection to have found that one piece of the baggage containing all my children clothing and even Grace's teddy bear clothes was delayed in transits which is understandable.
We were give a receipt and was told by the baggage handler (whose name I do not want to shame as yet), that once the baggage has arrived, they will call us and deliver it to the residence. I was happy with that given that the same thing has happened to me the year before.

However, after 2 days, 30th June, ten of phone calls later. I am now most frustrated and unhappy. The phone numbers I was given, it can never ring through. The baggage handler has never called back. I tried to call BA today, but well to late for that, their office is closed. I rang the flight information and managed to get through to an operator, she kindly given me a number to call. What is more annoying is that number is not on the list on my receipt. Finally, she offered to pass on a message to the lost and found department with my information. I don't mind being told the baggage is further delayed, but without any update, we have to go shopping everything for clean clothing for our 2 kids.

So what can I do now, apart from waiting or if I have some times before I travel to Beijing on Monday morning making a direct query or complaint. Wonder anyone has similar experience in the past and how that got sorted.

UPATE: So we managed to talk to the a real person at the HKIA lost luggage office before I boarded the plane to Beijing. His explanation went like this. We couldn't get through the numbers because there are some many enquries of lost luggage everyday, they have over 100 calls a day handled by one person. So phone always in engaged mode. Secondly, our lost baggage is black in colour which is the most popular colour and without further details, it is almost impossible to track if the tag label is lost. So we told him that there is a little gold coloured pad lock on the bag. I am preparing for the worst, Caleb's Chelsea's shirt may end up in a place similar to this, http://www.travellady.com/issues/issue70/70u-lost.htm

Posted on: Jun 30, 2007

Posted by: gheet

Category: General

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Comments:

Hey, That sounds like a bit of a nightmare - hope you got sorted out in the end. Packing tip - mix up the clothing in the suitcases - I know it's a bit late to say it but in future will save you a lot of headaches! Love to you all, hope everyone is well. Aisling x

Posted by Aisling on July 03, 2007 at 03:24 AM GMT+00:00 #

i flew from heathrow back to hong kong on 1st july on BA27 and my baggage is still missing till now. i phoned BA at 28229000 but the guy there said they dont have customer service dept in HK to handle complaints!! and they only do ticketing and things like that. what bullshit i must say. the guy at jardine (the company handling BA mishandled baggage at the airport and the one who initially assured us baggage will be a/v the next day) has been quite frank that now he has no method to know when my bag will arrive. he said no matter how hard they message heathrow about the missing bags, no msg was returned from that end. i've also emailed customer relations @ ba.com. but it seems it will not be replied. i'm not sure how to proceed from here now. you got any idea pls email me as well. whats the number the operator gave you btw?

Posted by kkl on July 04, 2007 at 12:48 PM GMT+00:00 #

I'd like to make a recommendation too if I may. Especially when I have multiple stops, I use Global Bag Tags.

Posted by Jas on July 04, 2007 at 05:42 PM GMT+00:00 #

Dear All, I flew from Heathrow to Toronto on June 30, 2007. All four bags went missing. Two days later, one bag has been delivered, two bags are somewhere and one is being sent to Warsaw, Poland! I have a number good for North America...1 800 828 8144. The call goes to Jacksonville, Florida - a call centre. The website http://www.worldtracer.aero/filedsp/ba.htm is okay, but isn't updated regularly. Good luck to all! Did you pay for the flight by Credit Card? Do they give you compensation? Peter.

Posted by Peter on July 04, 2007 at 07:42 PM GMT+00:00 #

Hi KKL, The phone number I was given was 22161022/22161025/22161026 [This is from the top of my head, I don't have the receipt with me as I am in Beijing at the moment]. I don't have the bag yet. Peter, I didn't pay bu credit card. We booked the tickets through a travel agent. I can only start processing with claiming the lost baggage when we got back to Dublin. Let's hope that we will get the bag before we get back. -Ghee

Posted by Ghee Teo on July 05, 2007 at 06:24 AM GMT+00:00 #

I flew from London to Washington, DC on July 2 -- my BA flight was delayed 3 hours in London but for whatever reason my bags did not get on the flight. I still do not have my bags on July 5 and there is no further update on their location. I have tried every possible means other than to fly back to London (without baggage) and find it myself!

Posted by Kate Noonan on July 05, 2007 at 08:58 PM GMT+00:00 #

Hi, I flew from Manchester to T4 at Heathrow and got a connecting flight to Beijing on the 1st July. now 5 days later my luggage hasnt arrived either, and i have some medication on it that i need. Ive got my Chinese colleagues to talk to the airport everyday, but the airport says that Heathrow is hardly sending any luggage (1 bag arrvied for someone yesterday). They also emailed Heathrow about my bag to say i need it asap because i have medication in it (yesterday) but no reply. the funny thing is, is that they knew when i arrived that my luggage was still in Heathrow, so i dont understand why it wasnt on the next flight? Absolutely rediculous, im never flying BA again. I also am quite worried now as i have to fly on to Tokyo on tuesday. Ive tried ringing the UK missing bags line but the phone is definetly off the hook. Disgusting service >:(

Posted by Pete B on July 06, 2007 at 06:07 AM GMT+00:00 #

Hi Pete, Sorry to hear your story. I am really wondering is this a BA only problem or general airport security in Heathrow given the recent security alerts in London and Glasgow. May be other people who traveled from Heathrow and also lost their luggages with different airlines and not getting it back soon enough.

Posted by Ghee Teo on July 06, 2007 at 07:03 AM GMT+00:00 #

We just flew in from London to Miami, and 2 of my bags did not arrive!! All the shopping I did was in there! I have to follow your advice and spread it out next time. Has anyone received their luggage? Do you know if I can get some kind of reimbursment? What if there are things missing? Sorry for the ranting but I am desperate. Good luck to everybody :)

Posted by Karla on July 10, 2007 at 01:33 AM GMT+00:00 #

I traveled from Heathrow to Denver on 30 Jun 07. One of my bags is still missing. I tried worldtracer/contact number/emails but not heard anything from BA. Anybody knows what is next? All help in contacting BA will be appreciated.

Posted by Manjiri on July 12, 2007 at 11:49 PM GMT+00:00 #

We flew Manchester-Heathrow-Tokyo on 22 June with BA. Both our bags were missing in Tokyo, though mine turned up 36 hours later. My partner's bag did not and the BA number in Tokyo is constantly engaged. We then flew on to Sydney, duly updating the BA baggage tracing form on-line. We protested in Sydney that the bags were lost and Menzies (BA's baggage handling in Australia) assured us everything would be done to find the bag. On 27 June, I received a call from Tokyo to say the bag had been found and was being forwarded to Syndey. On 29 June, Menzies called to say the bag was there and, when asked if they would deliver, I was told 'what do you think we are?' and the phone was put down. I called BA in London to complain and ask for an update and was fobbed off. When I told him I was a journalist and a company shareholder (which I am as far as both statements are concerned) I was told 'Yes, yes, they all say that - so do you really think I believe what you're saying?' We then flew on to Melbourne, and chased Menzies there and eventually, on 4 July, the bag was delivered. All the clothes inside were wet and, looking at the baggage labels, the bag was not sent on the next available flight out of London , as we were promised on 23 June, but on a flight which left on 27 June. It was delivered to Sydney on 28 June but sat there until 4 July, as they could not be bothered to deliver the bag to our friends' address in Central Coast. Not a happy saga.

Posted by Glyn on July 13, 2007 at 06:47 AM GMT+00:00 #

Flew from Vancouver to Paris on July 13. Chaos in Heathrow. Chaos to get the plane to Paris via Terminal 4. Baggage lost and still not received or traced on July 16. Avoid flying BA in the future.

Posted by Peter on July 16, 2007 at 09:05 AM GMT+00:00 #

Just heard another, my director flew from Dublin, London to Beijing and waiting for his luggage to arrive :(. Another colleage got his though. So this seems rather random.

Posted by Ghee Teo on July 16, 2007 at 09:20 AM GMT+00:00 #

Update: My bags arrived safely to Miami. BA delivered them on the 12th (2 days after I arrived) at midnight! Good luck again to everybody!

Posted by Karla on July 16, 2007 at 10:43 PM GMT+00:00 #

Karla, glad to hear that you got your bags :). I also found this useful page on BA website, http://www.britishairways.com/travel/baggen/public/en_gb The bit you want to watch is: ... You need to send your claim to us: * within seven days for damaged baggage * within 21 days for delayed baggage If your bag has not been located by British Airways within 45 days, we will assess your claim for lost baggage and compensate you accordingly. ...

Posted by Ghee Teo on July 17, 2007 at 02:09 AM GMT+00:00 #

Our bags were supposed to travel with use from Heathrow to Vienna on the 21st of June, however, they did not. Upon our return to Canada, we waited patiently for the bags...the missing suitcases arrived as follows:
July 22 > toiletries and shoes
August 5 > important papers
August 21 > clothing
Therefore, I did not have my clothes for a full 2 months...
You have my sympathies, British Airways have a BIG problem and this has been since January so it's not getting any better...

Posted by Ana on August 27, 2007 at 06:32 PM GMT+00:00 #

Where do l start! l had the same sort of experience. In 2 weeks, my luggage was lost 3 times, twice by BA. even more frustrating, in London l had to catch 2 trains to get to Gatwick Airport to fly to Sicily with BA. both trains were delayed, one by 20 minutes and the other by 45 minutes, not only that, we were told to hop off the second train because it was no longer stopping at Gatwick! Neddless to say, l missed my flight, but BA were pathetic in thier customer service. I missed check in by 4 minutes, and because they class this as a "NO SHOW" they cancelled my return flight! This would have been ok had they told me, but when l had missed my flight l went straight to Customer services and they suggested l buy a new one way ticket to Sicily and they would confirm my original return flight....so l did, only to find that when l rang to double check my return flight, it had been cancelled. BA's excuse was that the return flight had never been confirmed, there was nothing written in the computer file! It cost me so much in flights and phone calls. My travel insurance helped, but surely they must be sick of these claims too.
What is it with the British?

Posted by Tanina Osborne on September 11, 2007 at 01:53 AM GMT+00:00 #

I left my luggage at Gatwick airport and asked it to be sent to Arlanda, i was so shocked to see my suitcase damaged, i had two bagges but the other one was fine, now i don't know how i will carry my clothes back home, i come from far Namibia. The zipper is not working and my suitcase has holes. What can i do i am just a student, i want to know am i gonna get money for a new bag?

Posted by Hilma Mbandeka on September 17, 2007 at 10:11 AM GMT+00:00 #

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