UK: British Airways and BMI experience problems with baggage handling
The world’s airlines have been “named and shamed” on the basis of how much passenger baggage they lose – and Britain’s two largest full-service carriers have not fared particularly well.
The Association of European Airlines yesterday released figures relating to baggage performance and punctuality; British Airways was placed 20th out of 23 airlines surveyed, losing 26 items of luggage for every 1,000 passengers carried. BMI British Midland was placed a couple of places higher and lost 24 bags per 1,000 customers in January.
British Airways said the figures were “unusually bad” and blamed them on an equipment failure at Heathrow, along with severe weather that meant some flights had to depart before all the luggage was loaded. The best airline in terms of lost luggage was Turkish Airlines.
When it came to punctuality, BA was 13th out of 23; some 28 per cent of its flights arrived more than 15 minutes late. BMI British Midland was 8th, with 22 per cent of flights late.
