KLM Delayed Luggage

[Skylion]

Whatever the published Minimum Connecting Time , the reality is that allowing less than 2hrs anywhere isn't sensible. The mishandled baggage rate for transfer bags is vastly higher than for point to point so picking it up at LHR, AMS or wherever is much safer than checking it through.The time taken to get the bag off the aircraft to the terminal, security check it, make sure that the passenger is checked in and actually boards the flight , re-sorting it and getting it to the onward aircraft all takes time and there are gaps and delays/queues between each activity as well. The whole process is time-hungry and demanding of machine and people time and resources. Bags can keep arriving at the aircraft side up to and beyond the last minute but in the end it gets to a point where, rather than lose the slot the flight must depart even if there is still baggage at the aircraft side.Where labour is cheaper more manpower can be thrown at the task but in Europe where it is expensive and made more expensive by limitations on working hours, union agreements and so on there is a limit to what can be provided.
Allow 2 hours plus and all should be consistently well,- and you will have a more relaxed transit and time for a coffee and a walk around too. Your blood pressure will appreciate it.

[radeng]

L'aviateur,

My record for a missing bag is 13 weeks. American Airlines. Went through customs OK atChicago, bag tagged for Dayton. There was a couple of cans of beer in the bag, and although well packed, they managed to split them after the Chicago pick up. The bag had been in the hot sun at Dallas for some weeks....AA had the clothes washed (they needn't have bothered - they had to be thrown!). All in all, it cost them over $1300.......

[Gibon2]

I dont think any of the major hubs are any better or worse then the others

My wife manages reception for a hotel here in Geneva. Because there are very few direct long-haul flights to Geneva, most long-haul visitors come through one or other of the big European hubs, generally LHR, FRA, CDG, AMS or ZRH. A goodly proportion of these travellers arrive without their luggage, and my wife and her colleagues spend many happy hours helping them with tracing. As such, she has a more objective and statistically valid appreciation of the baggage-losing capabilities of the respective hubs than most individual travellers would. According to her, there are significant and consistent differences in performance.

The "winner" (that is, most hopeless in getting the bags on the plane) is, by a shamefully wide margin, Frankfurt. Then:

2. LHR
3. AMS
4. CDG (surprisingly good performance, given the general chaos of that airport)
5. ZRH (my own preferred option, for various reasons - and haven't yet lost a bag there)

I wonder if there are any kind of official figures gathered by anyone on airport (as opposed to airline) performance on baggage transfer?

[c2lass]

radeng, I thought 3 days was bad but 13 weeks .

Gibon2 some interesting information there, hopefully I will never have to connect through Frankfurt.

We will also be putting in a claim on our insurance for the emergency items we purchased. One thing they will want is confirmation of the date and time we received our bags. Our bags were delivered by German courier DPD and were signed for by us on one of the electronic devices couriers now use. I asked the driver if he had anything to give us but he didn't. So my question is will KLM be able to provide me with this confirmation? I have emailed them this morning so await their reply.