unaccompanied luggage

[jote]

Hi folks I wondered if you could help me clarify the situation regarding transport of unaccompanied luggage. I recently returned from the USA to UK but having missed my flight I travelled a day later. I was surprised to discover that my Luggage and my partners had travelled unaccompanied on the original flight. Am I right in thinking that this is not permitted post Lockerbie?

[Sheep Guts]

Yes your correct the Baggage should have been unloaded and New load sheets and Manifests, provided to the Operating Crew. By how much did you miss your flight by, hours or minutes or seconds.
But if you prechecked ahead you baggge as some poeple do to alleviate excess baggage fees, there is special scope in the rules for this.

For example when I travel back to oz from London I will be sending some of my bags ahead of me by QANTAS Cargo. This will save around 500quid in excess baggage. I hope .

Sheep

[OSCAR YANKEE]

As the gentlemen has said above above - absolutely correct - your bags should allways travel with you.
BUT! You mention that not only did your luggage travel without you, but your partners did as well. If your luggage was checked in with your partner(s), then no foul has been made. (It is not uncommon for the checkin staff to assign all luggage to one person i a party of three for example. Then for example if one of these persons are missing at the gate when the gate is "closed", then everybody hopes that this is not the person who has the bags assigned to him/her thus not causing a delay while ther bags are offloaded.)

[419]

A few months ago, I was travelling from Lagos to Heathrow, via Amsterdam. I arrived in Amsterdam at 0600, for a 0900 flight. I tried to get on an earlier flight, but it was fully booked.
When I arrived at Heathrow, and proceeded to the baggage reclaim area, my case was already there. It had arrived on the earlier flight that I was unable to get on.
I enquired about this, and was informed that this often happens, but the passengers are not informed that they will not be travelling with their baggage.

419

[jote]

Thanks for the replies I would say that as a passenger the thought of bags travelling unaccompanied on flights does worry me some. Just to clarify that both my partner and me missed the flight from Las Vegas to Chicago by a few minutes we actually watched the A/C push back. We travelled back on the next days flights, consequently both of our sets of luggage actually travelled on two flights unaccompanied!

[bealine]

On CAA controlled airlines, it is absolutely forbidden to carry a passenger's baggage unless the passenger is on that aircraft or has already flown to his destination previously. This is why airlines can't swing into action when your bags have missed their flight until we have confirmation by way of a "missing baggage report" from the destination airport!

The FAA, post Sept 11, clamped down as well in this regard. However, airline staff were excepted (God knows why, we're just as likely to have sympathisers as any other community - just because an airport pass is issued, it doesn't guarantee fidelity! A better terminology would be the one the Royal Navy uses - "we issue the bearer a security pass as we are unable to discover evidence of crime!")

However, we have noticed recently several FAA controlled carriers are back to the old ways of letting bags travel without the pax being on board. At British Airways, LGW, we always make a point of telexing or faxing a friendly note to the originating airport advising them of their error and suggesting a cautionary word in the individual's earhole!

Mind you, in the wrong hands, a bottle of whisky and a cigarette lighteer could be lethal - and both items are permitted on board!