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How to lose 28, 000 bags in a week, by BA [British Airways] and BAA [British Airways Authority]

The Bugcrew had a first hand look at a classic organisational cock-up on Saturday 27th of March 2008 when we arrived at London's Heathrow T5 for BA 007 flight to Japan.
Touted by British Airways and BAA [Heathrow airport's controlling organ] as the future of air travel, brand new Terminal 5 was packed with passengers queuing, queuing, queuing - for over-the-top security measures, flights that were not going to depart and information on baggage control failures that management chose not to reveal. Fortunately the Bugs checked in online so did not have the additional displeasure of checking in.

Terminal 5's space was unimpressive, announcements inaudible, staff barely existent and seating in very short supply. An hour after boarding was supposed to commence our gate number was posted but we were amazed to find the departures lounge already full - how had 200 people got there before us? Later we realised that they were refugees from a previously cancelled flight.
Another long wait in the departure lounge was explained by embarrassed staff as lack of a 'Traffic Controller', whereas is was actually lack of 1,000 pieces of luggage. With resentment and frustration beginning to boil over passengers were finally packed on board, only to endure another lengthy wait, this time apparently due to the lack of a 'tug' to tow us into launch position, though at least the pilot of a Geneva flight honestly remarked over the PA system: “It’s a complete and utter pigging shambles, ladies and gentlemen.”

Once in the air, on-board service was efficient and the audio-visual system exemplary. Unfortunately, arrival at Narita, Tokyo after 11 hours in the air reminded us why BA has a reputation as the World's Biggest Loser [of baggage]. After an hour waiting for immigration 300+ distraught and exhausted passengers had to line up at the appropriately named Pest Control desk that BA had commandeered to take note of forwarding addresses for delayed baggage.
Since BA clearly knew they were flying without most passenger's baggage this begs the questions as to why they a] took off anyway [answer: they needed to get the plane to Tokyo to collect more naive travellers] b] why they didn't deal with passenger's details while we were vegetating in their 747 for 11 hours [answer: there would have been a riot].

Facts:
- British Airways boasted prior to opening day that “everything has been streamlined and designed to make your journey through the terminal calm and relaxed.”
- 200 hundred flights in and out of T5 were cancelled in its first three days.
- At least 28,000 pieces of baggage have gone missing.
- BA and BAA claimed that Terminal 5 had been exhaustively tested for months before the big opening, but unions warned them that staff training was insufficient and the complex baggage handling system had not been tried under pressure. Correct on both counts.
- Cost of Terminal 5, £4.3 billion.
- A recent Skytrax survey of 8m passengers placed Heathrow 103 out of 162 airports in overall satisfaction, falling 58 places since the previous year.
- BA's 0800 help phone number is overloaded and callers will find it either engaged or be put on endless hold.
- BA’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, boasts on the T5 website that T5 is ’an extremely sophisticated baggage system with a terminal built around it.’ [anyone agree that big Willie should be terminated?]
- A legendary sign at Oslo airport once said: ’We take your luggage and send it in all directions.' Could be BA's new motto!
- The Tokyo Bugcrew finally received one bag a week after the flight and the other bag 2 weeks after BA took it away.

James Fremantle of the Air Transport Users Council says: “Passengers should not be out of pocket because of the T5 problems. Remember the law does not specify a limit as to how much compensation you can claim and indeed a limit of £100 for a last minute hotel sounds quite unrealistic."

Peter McCarthy at consumer group Which? agrees. “As long your claims are reasonable and you don’t book yourself into somewhere really extravagant, passengers should press ahead with claims even if they are over BA’s “limits”. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, you are entitled to assistance. This can include free meals and refreshments depending on how long you are waiting. It also includes free hotel accommodation and transfers to the hotel if the re-routed flight means you have an overnight stay at the airport.
You are also allowed two free phone calls, faxes or e-mails and you may be entitled to financial compensation if your flight is cancelled, depending on the circumstances.”

If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to the following, as long as you are a passenger flying from an EU airport or from an airport outside the EU to an EU airport on an EU carrier:

Refund or re-routing – you will be given a choice between a refund of the ticket or of re-routing to your final destination. You are not entitled to reimbursement of any other components of your trip such as hotel and transfer costs.

Compensation – If there is a delay in getting to your destination due to re-routing, compensation varies according to the length of your journey and the delay to your destination. For example, if your journey was up to 1500km and you were delayed by up to two hours, you will receive 125 Euros. If your journey was more than 3500km and you were delayed by more than four hours, you will be compensated by 600 Euros.

Assistance at the airport - free meals and refreshments as well as two free phone calls/ emails/ faxes should also be provided when waiting for the re-routed flights. In the event of re-routing when the flight is the next day, free accommodation and transfer to and from that accommodation should be provided by the airline.

Bottom line flight advice: if you want to be sure you arrive at your destination with your baggage you are better off NOT flying BA. While the scale of the current crisis is unique and cancelled flights are uncommon, BA does have a long history of losing luggage and weaseling out of compensation payments.

In February 2005 the European Union introduced new rules on compensation for problems on flights, not dissimilar to America's Montreal Convention that came into force in 2004.
The European regulations are supported and monitored by the Air Transport Users' Council [AUC], but airlines plan to challenge the rules in the European Court of justice in late 2005.
The rules are complex but here's a summary of the current situation:

- if there's a problem, whether it's a delay, cancellation or you've been bumped off a flight due to overbooking, complain immediately and demand written details of your rights.
If you make a claim in writing the airline should pay you by cheque within a week. If not, send your correspondence on to AUC at 45-59, Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE. If they believe the airline is at fault they will pass your information on to the Civil Aviation Authority who have the power to fine airlines heavily.

- delays: compensation depends on the length of delay and the length of flight but, for example, a 1,500km flight delayed by two hours should result in meals, refreshments and a couple of free phone calls/emails.
For an airline flight delayed by more than five hours you should receive all the above and may receive full refund for the cost of the ticket if you choose to give up on the flight.
If the airport closes before your delayed flight can leave the airline must pay for a hotel room and transfer to it.

- cancellations: if the airline can show that the cancellation was caused by 'extraordinary circumstances which could not be avoided' then you get nothing. Circumstances could be bad weather, airport strikes [though not the airline staff], security alerts and traffic control difficulties.
If you have to wait, for example two hours, and before your 1,500km [930 miles] flight is cancelled you will be entitled to a full refund and £170. The rate rises with length of time and length of wait.

- bumped: if the flight is overbooked and you cannot board, then the airline must offer a full refund or put you on another flight as soon as possible. They must also pay you between £85-£416 depending on the journey length and delay length.