1.5% of luggage delayed

15.5 bags per 1000 passengers were delayed by member airlines of The Association of European Airlines (AEA) in the first quarter of 2008 according to an AEA report published yesterday.

The figure, which amounts to 1.5%, is only up by 0.1 bag compared to last year’s figure. This may be surprising news to some travellers, given AEA member British Airways’ disastrous opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 last month.

British Airways is however the worst offender on the AEA Delayed Baggage list (Number of Bags Missing per 1000 passengers, best-to-worst rank in parenthesis):

• Turkish Airlines: 4.3 (1)
• AeroSvit: 4.4 (2)
• Air Malta: 4.6 (3)
• Air One: 6.5 (4)
• Malev Hungarian Airlines: 7.5 (5)
• Tarom Romanian Airlines: 7.9 (6)
• Croatia Airlines: 8.0 (7)
• Adria Airways: 8.8 (8)
• Cyprus Airways: 9.2 (9)
• LOT Polish Airlines: 10.2 (10)
• Spanair: 10.9 (11)
• Iberia: 11.1 (12)
• CSA Czech Airlines: 11.3 (13)
• SN Brussels Airlines: 11.4 (14)
• Icelandair: 11.6 (15)
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines: 11.7 (16)
• Swiss International Airlines: 11.9 (17)
• Ukraine International Airlines: 12.8 (18)
• Austrian: 14.0 (19)
• Deutsche Lufthansa AG: 15.1 (20)
• Alitalia: 15.6 (21)
• Finnair: 15.9 (22)
• Air France: 17.5 (23)
• Luxair: 18.8 (24)
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines: 19.0 (25)
• TAP Portugal: 20.6 (26)
• bmi: 22.1 (27)
• British Airways plc: 28.9 (28)

The following 4 AEA member airlines did not contribute to the report with their figures: Aer Lingus, JAT Airways, Olympic Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Source: AEA

Personally my luggage has never (touch wood) been delayed or lost, but I was worried about my bags when I went to Tenerife last week.

We were flying from Heathrow T2 to Madrid and then Madrid to Tenerife (same return route) all on Iberia flights. With both Heathrow and Iberia suffering from a bad reputation amongst travellers, my partner and I decided to pack two carry-ons with all our clothes and just one small suitcase for check-in with the things we wouldn’t be allowed to carry onboard.

As it turned out all my worries were put to shame. Our suitcase was checked in all the way at both Heathrow and Tenerife and it made it on to all 4 flights. In fact it was one of the first suitcases on the belt both going and returning, which hardly ever happens to me.

As a sidenote, another worry about Iberia was also put to shame. I’ve heard many complaints from travellers about the seat pitch on board Iberia flights. But 3 of the 4 planes we were on had a very generous economy seat pitch, better than I sometimes have had when flying business class.

Anyway before this turns into an airline ad, let’s get back to the subject of delayed or missing luggage. If you are the owner of one of the delayed or missing bags in the list above, you can find a good explanation of your rights at the UK European Consumer Centre website.

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