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Heathrow's new terminal losing almost 1,000 bags a day
Do you remember London Heathrow's new terminal 5 that opened this year? It was supposed to be the crown jewel of Heathrow airport, with broad sprawling concourses, a host of restaurants and shops and top notch baggage handling.While the terminal has had some serious teething problems, including hundreds of delays, cancellations and even some celebrity breakdowns on the first few weeks of operation, we though that things were starting to break in as the summer rush surged.
But a new report from The Daily Telegraph is saying that the airport is still having baggage issues and is losing nearly a thousand bags every day. I guess that there is still more work to be done on the new fancy pants luggage handling system.
Meantime, this is more reason to pack your luggage into your carry on if you're flying through T5. Combined with the fact that more carriers are charging for checked bags, packing light is looking more and more appealing.
[Via UPI.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jim Jul 11th 2008 4:43PM
Hmmm. Seems we've seen this somewhere before. Oh, yeah! Denver International Airport! Remember that disaster? They couldn't get the luggage handling equipment to work for months! Ah, remember the good old days when the airlines at least put on a pretense of being customer oriented?
retired 777 capt Jul 11th 2008 5:37PM
WE WANT TO BE JUST LIKE THEM....WE NEED TO SPEAK FRENCH AND SPANISH... BECAUSE WE'RE THE SHAME OF THE WORLD. THE UGLY AMERICANS. MAYBE IF THE EUROPE WAS PAYING CLOSER ATTENSION TO WHAT WE DO, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SCREWED IT UP SO BADLY.
Amy Jul 11th 2008 5:53PM
Crazy how it costs us more today for them to lose our luggage, when we had better service when our flights were cheaper.
I'm not flying again any time soon....It's cheaper to drive my family of 5 cross country, my luggage won't get lost, and I won't be trapped in my minivan for 10 hours, and I can eat at any restaurant I want to, and it's great to know that if my 2 year old throws a tantrum I won't be stranded in some godforsaken, nasty airport for who knows how long....But dare you complain, they'll taze you and lock you in a cell and hopefully you don't have health problems because they also deny you medical assistance. And they wonder why they have to file for bankruptcy? They are putting themselves out of business.
MarKeane444 Jul 11th 2008 6:16PM
When did we become packages instead of customers?I now avoid air travel after a 13 hour flight from Cancun, Mexico to New York. The airlines' attitude toward passengers is dismissive and blaise. Customer service changed when the industry created the hub system. This system is wasting time and fuel. Why should we be transported to Ohio to make a trip from New York to Orlando, Fl.? THe companies deserve to be bankrupt for this misjudgment alone. So what happens? The outgoing CEO gets millions of dollars for mismanagement.
Jules Jul 11th 2008 6:37PM
I just flew in an out of terminal 5 and it was a great experience. guess i was one of the lucky few!
Thanks for the http://www.cityskoop.com link. I saw some airline sales and just booked a flight from New York to Bermuda for under $350
Glo Jul 11th 2008 7:09PM
LET'S SEE IF THEY CHARGE $15-25 FOR THE FIRST PIECE OF LUGGAGE TO GO AND THEN THEY CHARGE OH SAY $10.00 FOR EACH PIECE THEY FIND AND RETURN TO YOU...PERHAPS THE AIRLINES WON'T BE IN THE RED ANYMORE.
Tim Jul 11th 2008 7:47PM
The key to surviving in the transportation industry is giving value to what the customer pays for. The airline industry across the board has lost sense of this. If I had a few billion tucked away I would develope a nation wide rail/bus system that would suck passengers away from the airlines. Give the customers friendly service; a comfortable ride and a palatable meal/s for a fair price. Use the rail lines to connect larger cities and the bus line smaller routes. Just make sure that the bus service equals rail service. I would model my customer service practices after Les Schwab tire company. If you have never heard of them, google them. They are one of the last of a dying breed.
Bob Jul 11th 2008 7:58PM
Does this mean that if American charges me $15 that I can get a refund if my bag is lost? After all they have breached the contract by not getting my bag to me at my destination.