A Tale of Two Bags, Two Airlines, Two Terminals, and Two Days
I arrived early at Athens to check in for the return home to San Francisco via Heathrow. The tickets involve a very short (90 minute) transfer through LHR; nevertheless the reduced fare website let me buy them. I was told by British Airways (Airline #1) that they can’t check the bags through to SFO; I will have to reclaim them and recheck them in LHR. I tell them this is impossible: (1) it worked flawlessly from SFO to Athens via Heathrow (nobody could explain my good luck in the outbound direction), and (2) I can’t possibly make my 90 minute connection if I have to reclaim the bags.
After an hour consultation among supervisors, they devise a way to get my bags through: handwritten luggage tags (apparently the system can’t generate a through to SFO tag) and I am to present the tag receipts to Virgin Atlantic (Airline #2) in London so they will accept the bags from BA. Sounds good, as long as I can find a check-in counter in my mad dash through Heathrow. I have the entire flight from Athens to London to contemplate this. The BA flight is good and even gets in a little early. The silly transfer from Terminal 5 (Terminal #1) to Terminal 3 (Terminal #2) goes pretty smoothly.
British friends: this is probably no surprise to you, but your capitol’s airport is a major joke: terminal transfers implemented by taking a sweltering bus packed to the gills with sweaty passengers through a 10 minute ride via the back service roads of one of the world’s ugliest airports is not a way to impress us with the grand man-made marvels of a once great empire.
Anyway, I swept through security at T3 (oh it is nice to travel “upper class” — thank you Sir Richard!), arrive at the Virgin Check-In desk, and yes, they know how to handle my situation — at least they say the do. Off for an all too short stay at the marvelous lounge for a G&T and a foot massage and then on to my flight to SFO.
All is absolutely fabulous until … a grounds staff boards the plane, approaches my seat, and greets me by name: “Mr. Katz, did you have two bags for this flight from BA?” I didn’t like the sound of that question in that tense. “Yes.” “Well, we haven’t received them from BA yet!” *$#*#!!!! “But I have a copy of the luggage tags.” “That’s good, not to worry, it is in the system, we’ll find them, but they may not make this flight.” “No! One bag has my wife’s grandmother’s heirloom lace curtains made from her wedding trousseau! They are irreplaceable!” “Not to worry, it is in the system, we’ll find them and get them on the next flight. Tally-ho and all that. I will check back with you before your flight departs.”
I have to say, those Virgin ground staff were absolutely topping. Anyway, no the bags didn’t make the flight. The grounds staff told me: “Don’t waste your time waiting at the luggage carousel. Go direct to the Virgin Lost Luggage Counter when you get to SFO. We’ll telex them with your bag status.” I have to say, this is the stuff that allowed a handful of administrators run the entire Indian subcontinent. Nevertheless, I had 10 hours (Day #1) to ponder the fate of my wife’s lost family heirlooms.
I arrived at SFO, breezed through immigration (thank you Global Entry!) and headed to the Virgin luggage counter so fast that they aren’t even there yet. A few minutes later, the Virgin Luggage Man arrives, I introduce myself, and indeed, he knows all about me. The good news: your bags are found! The bad news: they are coming on tomorrow’s (Day #2) flight.
I am given a tracking number, web site, and phone number, and go home, not completely believing I will ever see those bags again. The saga continues on Day #2, with the bags arriving on the 3 PM flight, are stuck in customs for hours, finally on a delivery truck that is then stuck in San Francisco downtown traffic for hours, but finally finally does arrive at home.
Two lessons from this experience: (1) the airlines actually have this Internet of Things all worked out — no matter how messed up the routing is, they will — with reasonably high probability — get the luggage to its intended destination (thank you FedEx for creating the technology!); and … (2) if in doubt, carry-on!
