Missed flight due to misinformation

drod

Hi folks. I recently returned from a trip to the States and had a bit of a disaster on the way back. We were travelling from Salt Lake City to Glasgow, via Atlanta and then Heathrow with 2 hours at each layover. When we checked in with Delta at Salt Lake City, I asked the guy whether we would have to collect our baggage at Heathrow or would it go straight to Glasgow. He told me that it would be ticketed for Glasgow but we would have to collect it at Heathrow to take it through customs. Due to a storm in Atlanta we arrived at Heathrow about 15 minutes late, made our way directly to passport control and then the baggage area. After watching the carousel make several revolutions, I approached a Delta baggage worker who checked on the system and told me that our baggage had gone straight to Glasgow. We then had to make our way from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5. We arrived there 30 mins before the flight was due to take off. I immediately found a British Airways staff member and she told me that we were too late, we have to take a later flight. I then tried to book us on to the next flight and were told that we would have to pay £118 each for the 3 of us to fly home as Delta and BA are not affiliated.

Is it worth complaining to Delta as it was only due to their misinformation that we missed the flight.

Thanks

Dawn

sturll

drod wrote: »

Hi folks. I recently returned from a trip to the States and had a bit of a disaster on the way back. We were travelling from Salt Lake City to Glasgow, via Atlanta and then Heathrow with 2 hours at each layover. When we checked in with Delta at Salt Lake City, I asked the guy whether we would have to collect our baggage at Heathrow or would it go straight to Glasgow. He told me that it would be ticketed for Glasgow but we would have to collect it at Heathrow to take it through customs. Due to a storm in Atlanta we arrived at Heathrow about 15 minutes late, made our way directly to passport control and then the baggage area. After watching the carousel make several revolutions, I approached a Delta baggage worker who checked on the system and told me that our baggage had gone straight to Glasgow. We then had to make our way from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5. We arrived there 30 mins before the flight was due to take off. I immediately found a British Airways staff member and she told me that we were too late, we have to take a later flight. I then tried to book us on to the next flight and were told that we would have to pay £118 each for the 3 of us to fly home as Delta and BA are not affiliated.

Is it worth complaining to Delta as it was only due to their misinformation that we missed the flight.

Thanks

Dawn

Can you prove it?

richardw

Did the guy check the computer at SLC, or just tell you what they thought?

drod

I can't remember whether he checked the system (although I don't think so) - I can remember his name, so would include this in letter to Delta.

Do BA really have no obligation to assist?

hammy_the_hammer

drod wrote: »

I can't remember whether he checked the system (although I don't think so) - I can remember his name, so would include this in letter to Delta.

Do BA really have no obligation to assist?

BA have no obligation to you

M4RKM

you booked a ticket from

Glasgow to London

and then

London to Salt Lake City.

These are 2 separate itineraries, and classed as a point to point, because BA and Delta don't do any codeshares or have any partnership with each other.

IMO, when flying, the bags are normally checked straight through, and I always look at my luggage tag, as it is being put on / the little receipt, as this tells you the final destination in big letters, (the airport code anyway, which in your case was GLA)

what i think has happened, is that the gate agent in the states, has told you exactly what happens when you land in the US, as they are unaware of how the british customs / immigration is done.. unfortunate error, but you have a point to point. But your bags were translined as it is known in the industry.

M

dmg24

This is the difference between UK and US airlines. A US airline would more than likely have put you on their next flight FOC, but that rarely happens in the UK. In this situation, you might as well have been flying with Ryanair or Easyjet as BA.

_Miss__Scarlet_

Hi, did you purchase the Glasgow London Glasgow portions as a seperate ticket? If you had a ticket issued as a through fare then BA would have an obligation to accomodate you on a later flight. The other thing is that as far as I am aware you have to clear customs/immigration at the first point of entry into the UK the flight to Glasgow from London is a domestic flight and customs/immigration would not be expecting an international passenger arriving.

hammy_the_hammer

_Miss__Scarlet_ wrote: »

Hi, did you purchase the Glasgow London Glasgow portions as a seperate ticket? If you had a ticket issued as a through fare then BA would have an obligation to accomodate you on a later flight. The other thing is that as far as I am aware you have to clear customs/immigration at the first point of entry into the UK the flight to Glasgow from London is a domestic flight and customs/immigration would not be expecting an international passenger arriving.

BA wouldn't have an obligation to put them on a later flight because the cause of them missing it wasn't a delay with the airlines......IMHO

qwerty123456

dmg24 wrote: »

This is the difference between UK and US airlines. A US airline would more than likely have put you on their next flight FOC, but that rarely happens in the UK. In this situation, you might as well have been flying with Ryanair or Easyjet as BA.

The other difference between US airlines and BA is that US airlines make massive losses and have awful service due to massive cost cuts. British Airways however is one of only 13 airlines in history to have reached a 10% operating margin in the last financial year.

I think we can all see who run their airline well.

drod

Thanks for all replies. The worker at Salt Lake City stated the although the luggage was tagged for Glasgow, we definitely would have to take it through customs at Heathrow (to top it all off, 2 of our suitcases were misplaced in Terminal 5 until the day after we arrived home)

The flights were booked through Airline Network and I can't find anything on my paperwork stating that we may run the risk of this happening. I agree that British Airways were not at fault. I have emailed Delta's customer services department and will keep you updated.

Dawn