November 11, 2009
Playing the Percentages in Baggage Roulette We can all relate to that slightly nervy feeling, when you sense you’ve been waiting at the airport baggage carousel just a bit too long, right ? Perhaps part of the problem is that all you can do is stand (no seats of course – thanks, BAA) and wait – you feel you have no control over your fate. However, whilst every flight carries the risk of lost luggage, some airlines have far better performance than others. So if you’re flying a competitive route with a choice of carriers, you might want to consider improving your odds. The Association of European Airlines offers a name-and-shame league table of baggage delivery. It turns out that, overall, 13 in every 1000 bags got lost in 2008/9. Yet whilst Air France, Iberia and BMI range from 17 – 19 bags lost per 1000, SAS, Lufthansa and Swiss lose fewer than 11 bags, whilst Virgin Atlantic mislay just 5. Are such comparisons fair ? Spokespersons for the big flag carriers claim that point-to-point airlines will always do better, simply because changing planes introduces more occasions to make a mistake. But this doesn’t explain why Lufthansa beat the average, or BMI rank a miserable 23rd out of 26th. The good news is that Winter 2008/9 saw an improvement of 2 bags per 000 on the previous year. Does that mean airlines and airport operators are getting better ? In the case of London’s Terminal 5, they could hardly have got any worse, following their disastrous launch of Spring 2008. But it’s more likely to do with the 9% drop in flights and 6% decline in passengers. Fewer passengers put less stress on ageing airport baggage systems, especially at London’s Gatwick and terminals 1-3 at Heathrow. So – before you book your next flight and prepare for another round of Baggage Roulette, arm yourself with the facts that most airlines will never want to share with you. Click here for the Airline Lost Baggage League Table To explore more about Customer Faithful, click here

Playing the Percentages in Baggage Roulette

We can all relate to that slightly nervy feeling, when you sense you’ve been waiting at the airport baggage carousel just a bit too long, right ?

Perhaps part of the problem is that all you can do is stand (no seats of course – thanks, BAA) and wait – you feel you have no control over your fate.

However, whilst every flight carries the risk of lost luggage, some airlines have far better performance than others. So if you’re flying a competitive route with a choice of carriers, you might want to consider improving your odds.

The Association of European Airlines offers a name-and-shame league table of baggage delivery. It turns out that, overall, 13 in every 1000 bags got lost in 2008/9.

Yet whilst Air France, Iberia and BMI range from 17 – 19 bags lost per 1000, SAS, Lufthansa and Swiss lose fewer than 11 bags, whilst Virgin Atlantic mislay just 5. Are such comparisons fair ? Spokespersons for the big flag carriers claim that point-to-point airlines will always do better, simply because changing planes introduces more occasions to make a mistake. But this doesn’t explain why Lufthansa beat the average, or BMI rank a miserable 23rd out of 26th.

The good news is that Winter 2008/9 saw an improvement of 2 bags per 000 on the previous year. Does that mean airlines and airport operators are getting better ? In the case of London’s Terminal 5, they could hardly have got any worse, following their disastrous launch of Spring 2008. But it’s more likely to do with the 9% drop in flights and 6% decline in passengers. Fewer passengers put less stress on ageing airport baggage systems, especially at London’s Gatwick and terminals 1-3 at Heathrow.

So – before you book your next flight and prepare for another round of Baggage Roulette, arm yourself with the facts that most airlines will never want to share with you.

Click here for the Airline Lost Baggage League Table

To explore more about Customer Faithful, click here

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