“British Airways don’t really care.” That is far from true. Having read many of the letters having a go at BA I felt I must come to their defence. I have been involved in aviation for some 40+ years and flown world wide with many carriers as a fare paying passenger including several no frills airlines and at some time in all classes of cabin. Of all the airlines I have flown with I will say that BA has always been at the top along with the likes of Singapore Airlines. I have always found the cabin staff extremely efficient, polite and helpful and before restrictions came into force I found the Aircrew always made one welcome on the flight deck. Perhaps I have been fortunate but never has my baggage gone astray during a flight it has always appeared on the carousel at the end of the trip.
A short time ago I was travelling to Tel Aviv with the mother of a friend of mine who was in her 80s unfortunately we arrived at Gatwick without her suitcase. I informed the girl on BA’s check in desk of the problem and explained that I had telephoned the lady’s daughter to arrange for the suitcase to be brought to the airport. The lady lived but 30 minutes from the airport. I was told not to worry and to return at a set time just before the check in closed. Unfortunately, that time arrived and we had to check in without the case. The girl said that if it arrived in time it would be checked in and put on the flight. We boarded and had an excellent flight to Tel Aviv. On arrival we were met by a BA representative, who explained that the bag had arrived but it was too late to be put on the aircraft and would be arriving on the next flight. We were instructed to report it to the staff in the baggage hall who assisted in clearing the bag with customs for delivery to the house when it arrived. Next day the suitcase was delivered to the lady’s house free of charge. BA’s service was excellent. They would have been in their rights to have charged us the delivery of the case as it was our own error it wasn’t checked in not theirs. I will always fly with BA if they operate on the route I need to travel.