From check-in to collection, Felicity Cousins lifts the lid on what happens to our luggage when we hand it over to the airlines.
Who’s responsible for my checked bag?
The airline you are flying with. If your bags are delayed or lost, the airline should compensate you under the Montreal Convention, but it’s not always that simple. James Fremantle, industry affairs manager at the Air Transport Users Council (AUC), a consumer watchdog, says: “With the introduction of the Montreal Convention, we thought there would be a better settlement for passengers, but we haven’t seen this yet. Passengers still have to provide receipts, which is difficult to do if you have bought something years ago and packed it on that trip. If your bags are delayed for a week or so sometimes you are only offered a standard £30 for essential items, so we will be putting pressure on the airlines to address this.”
What happens to my bag at check-in?
The check-in agent attaches a tag with your name, the IATA city code and a six-digit bar code, which is linked to the airline. Your bag then joins the bags of every other passenger who has just checked in at neighbouring desks, even if they are flying with a different airline to a different destination. But don’t worry. As James Pinto, general manager of airport services for Virgin Atlantic, explains: “This is very common in large airports like Heathrow and JFK. There are electronic eyes on the belt which read the bar codes on the tags and the system will direct or push the bag onto the correct belt, behind the scenes.”
Can my bag get mislaid at this point?
Yes, very easily. As bags rub against each other the bar code can be ripped off. If you are lucky you may have had a helpful check-in agent who also put the bar code sticker on the other side of your bag to reduce this problem. If the electronic eye cannot see a bar code, the bag will get sent to a sorting area, where staff will try and find out where it is supposed to be going. But this is often too late for the flight it is supposed to be on.
How does my luggage get on the correct flight?
The baggage loader uses a Baggage Reconciliatory System (BRS) gun to scan the bar code on your bag – this tells them which flight it is going on, and whether it has been security checked. It is then loaded onto a container with the same bar code as your flight and driven to the aircraft.
What about priority bags?
Economy goes in first, then business class and then first class. Bags for connecting flights are the last to be loaded so that they are the first off.
Why do I have to check my bag in so early for flights?
James Pinto of Virgin Atlantic says: “From the time you check a bag in it can take anywhere from five to 35 minutes for it to reach the right container for its flight. The X-ray process is the spanner in the works in terms of time, as this is what slows it all down, so we need a one-hour cut off – if you turn up with a bag to check in, in under one hour, then there’s a very good chance your bag won’t make that flight, even if you do.”
How many people handle my bag?
A lot: the check-in agent, the security staff, the handlers, the person with the BRS gun, the container driver, the baggage loaders and unloaders, and the driver who puts it on the luggage carousel at the destination.
So why do bags get lost and delayed?
Pinto says: “There’s a myriad of things that can go wrong with the baggage process. The tag could come off the bag as it goes down the system, there could be a technical breakdown, a bag may have to be rescreened for security, flights can be delayed in bad weather and so on. Airlines have to weigh up the risk of missing their slots or leaving a bag behind, and especially at Heathrow or JFK, two of the busiest airports in the world, you have to stay on time and sometimes that means thinking of connecting flights rather than a late bag.”
What about the future?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are the way forward, but the technology has been around since the 1940s. The bag will have an ID chip inside so it can be tracked at all times. Delta Airlines has already used it, while in Europe there are trials for Schiphol, KLM and Heathrow in place.
LABELS ARE IMPORTANT…
Similar to Tumi’s integral bar codes, i-Trak provides you with what is essentially a number plate for your bag. You register your bag on the i-Trak website with a unique code and stick the code onto your bag. If your bag ends up being lost or delayed, baggage handlers contact i-Trak with the code and then i-Trak contacts you. Of course, all this would be irrelevant if people actually labelled their bags correctly. Adam Dalby, managing director of i-Trak, says: “I do feel for the airlines as some people hand over their bags with no contact details attached and it is almost impossible to track them down if the bag is delayed.” The company also provides tags for laptops, mobile phones and iPods. Visit i-trak.com.
