[Anonymous]

[TiredOldHack]

OK, on Friday morning we fly with BA into LHR from the US. We have a three-hour stopover before we fly our useless flight to Amsterdam and back (because that was where we started the journey for all the usual Club World pricing reasons, yadda yadda).

OK, we will have with the two of us, three pieces of hold luggage. Two suitcases and a large cardboard box containing a BMW motorcycle seat[1] which, we’ve just discovered, is fractionally too large to fit into either suitcase.

With CW, we can take three pieces, no problem, but our return flight from AMS back into LHR is economy, and we’re restricted to one piece of hold baggage each.

Also, we don’t see the point of carting three large pieces of luggage to Amsterdam and back.

So: is there a left luggage office at T5? I was thinking we could check the luggage through to LHR, deplane, collect the baggage, stash it for a few hours, and collect it when we fly back in from Amsterdam.

And if there is such an office, where is it? Baggage reclaim or in the lounge?

And if there isn’t, and we have to take all three bits of luggage all the way through to Amsterdam and back, what are the odds of BA relenting and letting us take the extra piece? I’m Silver, if that helps.

Thanks in advance: I’m relying on you guys….

[1] Don’t ask.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

You will find that there is a very usefaul web tool that can help you.

Let me Google that for you…..

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=left+luggage+heathrow+terminal+5

[TiredOldHack]

Er, yeah. Blush. Why didn’t I think of that. I just had this idea that with people planting bombs everywhere the old left luggage service was a thing of the past.

Thanks!

[RichHI1]

Just a thought, what happens if you arrive in T5, leave your bags uncollected, connect to AMS arrive back in T5 and then pick up your bags? I presume all flights are T5 and you will only delayed by a matter of 2-3 hours? You will have the bag tags still on your US boarding passes.

[neilsoaj]

It is just outside the domestic arrival hall on the ground floor

[MartynSinclair]

The only piece of advice I have and it may not be suitable is to see if you can change sector 4, LHR-AMS and either use it for a weekend away or the next flight, if there is one. There may be a charge, as you will be stopping over in London for more than 24 hours, but this is the general protocol I currently use.

Not sure how you have booked the final AMS-LHR in economy, but if it is on airmiles, that could also be changed.

Other than that, sorry to say, but you are stuffed……………………! Left luggage in T5.

Enjoy NCW…………

[Swissdiver]

Sorry, but if it is a “useless” flight to AMS, why do you take it?

[Eastbourneguy]

Do you have to take the LHR-AMS sector – and presumably return from AMS on another ticket?

There has been many discussions on here of doing just that routing to take advantage of lower CW fares ex Euriope, where people have simply not used the last sector – and ending your journey at LHR.

[TiredOldHack]

Back home now.

I booked the LHR-AMS return flight separately, economy, and then we flew AMS to Albuquerque, via LHR and Chicago, Club World, to get the cheaper fares, yes. Saving of about £1300 per head! The LHR-AMS-LHR economy trip, plus a night’s hotel in Amsterdam on the outward trip, was £311, so it was well worth doing. We had a pleasant trip out, a nice night in ‘Dam, and an excellent Indonesian dinner.

I tried to check the luggage through only to LHR rather than all the way to AMS on the return trip, but was told this couldn’t be done as it had to go where the ticket said we were going. On arrival at LHR, I tried to get it diverted, but was told that with two hours before our flight boarded, there wasn’t enough time. So it went all the way to AMS.

However, I remembered that whereas my wife is Blue, I’m Silver and thus have a bigger baggage allowance and so we managed to get all three bags on the ‘useless’ AMS-LHR flight for no extra charge.

I still think it’s utterly daft to have three large bags (two suitcases and a gurt great cardboard box containing a new seat for my BMW motorcycle, bought on eBay USA, and stashed with our friends in Albuquerque for the last three months!) flown from LHR to AMS and back again when they could have been dropped at LHR, but mine not to reason why.

As for not using the last sector – yeah, this has been discussed before, and I have indeed ‘junked’ the last sector in the past, but apparently the airlines get shirty if you do this too often, and so we decided to ‘play nice’ this time.

[Binman62]

TiredOldHack…..You were mislead about having to check bags to final destination. This is simply not so. When booking ex EU flights I try to book a connection that leaves many hours in LHR as to be honest, I do not fly the last leg. To date this has never been an issue and bags have only ever gone to LHR.

As for not using the last leg there a million reason why you could no show, all legitimate and difficult to challenge by any airline. Just use an excuse that would have got you offloaded by them! You can then argue that the rebooking fee was higher than a fare on another carrier… if they ask..

If you are doing this once a year I cannot see that it would be an issue, if weekly then it perhaps it might get noticed.

My last flight had 2 of the 4 passengers on the same PNR get both tier points and miles for a flight not taken……work that out? Suggest to me BA have less control than we give them credit for.

[TiredOldHack]

Thanks for that. I did think that I ought to have been able to book bags only to LHR, because I’ve done it before from South America.

As for the no-show, yes, next time I’ll probably just do this.

[RichHI1]

IF you do not board AMS flight, will they not just offload the bag? Though does mean you have to wait for hours. I offloaded on a BA out of BRU when they moved my seat to a CE Bulkhead so a family could sit together (I have medical need for legroom). They kept me waiting for 2 hours to deliver bag and made me leave secure area and collect from domestic baggage and recheck with different airline (SN in those days) but they would not fly bag without me)

[MartynSinclair]

Agree with Binman regarding the bags coming off at London. I tend not to ask at check in but rather make it a statement of fact and check the label clearly shows LHR and not a European destination.

With regards to binning the last sector, as my ex-Europe flights are all flexi, rather than binning them, I change them for a use at a later date. It may cost an additional few pounds/Euros, due APD increasing slightly, but it does provide me with a fully flex Club ticket to get me into Europe. If its not my destination, then I can always hop on a train or make it my destination!

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