Luton's long wait for bags

[FormerFlyer]

Longest wait for bags
Inbound from MIR yesterday with FCA.

Pulled on stand at 1400 local - no steps around, however 2 sets on the stand next to us awaiting the BY inbound from FAO.

We hang around a bit then one set of steps appear and we slowly disembark. By this time the BY is well into it's disembarkation.

Our flight's bags do not appear on the belt until gone 1500 local - having watched all of EZY's FAO bags go round. The Brits belt had been whizzing round for a while and majority had been collected. My own 2 bags appeared by 1535 (still plenty of other punters hanging around for theirs) - by this point all the BY pax had cleared and their belt was stopped.

There was one announcement over the tannoy to apologise for the delay and advise they would be with us shortly - this was after the first 20 mins of nothing happening.

What got me the most was not the fact that I had to wait for over an hour and half for my bags (although it was pretty damn frustrating) but that it was the same handling company doing both aircraft.

Do Brits really pay SO much more than FCA, to ensure a better service?

cheers ;)

FF

[The Greaser]

Usually it seems to be first come first served, and unfortunately if a number of flights arrive at the same time there just arent enough handlers to cope. Same problem with all ground handling at Luton (easyjet anyway) including despatchers, buses etc.

[Buster the Bear]

Local newspaper seems to run a perm advert in the jobs section for 25 baggage handlers @ £5-6 per hour, start tomorrow, subject security checks!

http://whipsnade.co.uk/picturelibrary/jpeg150/br/brown_bear_120_wide.jpg

[OLNEY 1 BRAVO]

FormerFlyer - I assume that the handling company was Servisair?

If so, it's been reported on this forum before that the company have all sorts of problems at Luton ... so much so that Wizz Air who they also handle were threatening to pull out.

They seem to have cronic staff shortages and yet when Olney 1 Bravo Junior applied for a summer job they said they had no vacancies!

[FormerFlyer]

Most definitely is CircusAir who handle FCA & BY.

Here was me presuming that it was a case of Brits paying much more than FCA and thus getting better service - perhaps not?

cheers ;)

FF

[Buster the Bear]

Mr 1 BRAVO Jnr could have come to clean my bear palace out!

WIZZ certainly had a great level of concern about the poor turn around time at Luton, so rumour has it?

http://whipsnade.co.uk/picturelibrary/jpeg150/br/brown_bear_120_wide.jpg

[kala87]

If "London Luton" really wants to be a serious airport for the London area, it needs serious amounts of investment and a change in attitude in certain areas. Baggage handling has always been a problem. At least the present situation is better than in the old terminal, which had antiquated facilities. The present baggage hall is still cramped and seems to be the cause of frequent passenger frustration. And how about the 3rd world short-term car park? And the constant litter problem outside the terminal? TBI seem to be only concerned with turning the place into a shopping mall (not the only UK airport with this attitude, I may add) instead of making serious investment in the airport.

On the positive side, check in for a recent MON flight to MAH was extremely efficient.

How about appointing Spanish airport architects and operators to design run our airports? The airport on Menorca is a fine bit of architecture, efficiently run, with properly designed car parks as well! And you only pay the equivalent of £1 for 2 hours parking, as opposed to £4 at Luton, if my memory is correct.

[The Greaser]

It also seems that in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid) they can build new runways and terminals in the less time than it takes to take a fillet out of a taxiway in Luton.

[FormerFlyer]

That's where I'd deposited my lovely new car on the outbound. Happily was still there and only a little dirty on the return - however even that simple journey took 20 minutes as they had only one shuttle bus on the run.

Surely 2 would have made better sense for the users of the car park? Or let the car hire/staff shuttle double-up for the Pink Parking when the queue is busy for parkind and non-existant for car hire/staff?

Must've been a bad day for them up the hill as 2 of the entry/exit whirly doors were u/s too!

cheers ;)

FF

[LTNman]

I waited for over an hour for my Britannia bags last June. We were told that it was because there was only one crew on duty unloading three aircraft so we had to wait.

The baggage halls are being enlarged which is part of the building work that is underway to open up the first floor, add 2 piers, add extra stands, build a new immigration hall and first floor security screening area. All work to be complete by next June. I see work started today on the north pier! http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=143866&referrerid=55431

[WHBM]

This is nothing. I arrived at Gatwick last night (27/9) at 18.50 on TCX from Dalaman, and Servisair, or whatever they are called this week, took one one and a half hours to get the bags through. But that was not the worst they were doing by any means. There was an Excel arrival which had pax waiting for bags for between 2 and 3 hours. And eery other Servisair arrival seemed the same. It was not as if they were particuarly busy or not on time either.

Anodyne announcements in Company Internalspeak from a Servisair manager, and that was it. No meaningful announcements on why. BAA forced to get someone out with bottles of water for all those waiting.

My suggestion to airlines affected by this is to just dump them for other agents (as has apparently happened at Belfast International).

[PAXboy]

The speed of baggage delivery has been getting steadily worse over th epast 12/18 months. Whether domestic or international - both are very poor.

If I have a checked bag, it is my practice to be last off the a/c, so that I can sit and read the paper, rather than stand by the belt.

The other week, returning from NCE with EZY, I was last off, did not hurry, visited the 'facilities' and STILL had to wait over 20 mins for my bag. The physical distance from the a/c to the belt was no more than 1,000 yards.

LTN has a severe problem and my cynical view is that they are advertising for handlers but keeping recruits low to boost their margin. As LTN is very close to where I live and has many routes of use to me, I have to put up with it.

Let's not talk about their parking charges :mad: :mad:

--------------------
"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.