BMI baby - new baggage allowance

M4RKM

go to http://www.bmibaby.co.uk

click - flights
click - faq's
click - baggage

that took me all of 45 seconds to find out all the details about the baggage allowed on BMI Baby flights.

It's probably taken you longer to write what you did on here, after your holiday, so why didn't you go online to check everything you could take, before you started packing is beyond me!

Yes, things change, maybe BMI should have sent out an email to you telling you of the change. Maybe they did, but it ended up in your spam filter, and you didn't read it, however, the information is clear on the website, and very very easy to find!

I personally think you don't have a leg to stand on when complaining, and also, agree with the facts stated that the letter is too over emotional, and too personal to be a complaint letter. However, you could probably try using a letter like this...

To Whom It May Concern.

I've recently returned from my holidays, and am dismayed by the attitude of your staff at the check in desk.

When booking our holiday, we were informed that our Hold Baggage Allowance would be 20kg per person. This was not the case.
We get to the airport, and are abruptly told by our check in assistant, that our baggage is 3kg over, and we need to pay £27.

We were not given a chance to move anything from our main hold baggage, to our very underweight hand baggage, unlike some other people who were queuing at other check in desks. It seemed like our check in assistant didn't want to help us in anyway, but to go make us pay the charge!

I find this extremley unfair that we've had to pay more money to carry 3kg in the hold when our hand luggage was underweight.

I am writing to request the refund of the £27 as we were not informed of the change of allowance, and not given the option to remove this excess into our hand luggage. Enclosed is a copy of the receipt

Yours

That letter that I've just written for you gets rid of most of the emotions, which is what you really need for a good complaint letter. They don't need to know about the overall cost of your holiday, they don't need to know what you are used to, as it doesn't apply at all. They don't need to know that you guess how heavy your bag was, as that will give them a chance to say, well you didn't weigh it beforehand.

What they do need to know, is that you were forced to pay a charge, when you could have taken 3kg out of your bag into hand luggage, but you wern't given the chance, due to the attitude of the check in desk assistant.

I complained at Delta after my flight back from NYC in March, as it was too hot on the plane to be comfortable. I didn't expect anything, but i thought i'd give it a shot, and to my surprise got $50 off my next flight.

Maybe you won't get your £27 back, but at least with this kind of letter i've just penned, you probably have more of a chance. short, sweet, to the point, and devoid of any emotions and information that you DON'T need in it..

M

Pollycat

I think that's a pretty good letter, Markmoo.
But the way I read the OP's proposed letter, they WERE aware of the 18kg limit before check-in as she says:

we were very annoyed at having to “guess” what 18kgs is at home

However, I think your point about not being given the chance to remove the 3kg overweight from hold luggage to hand luggage is very valid and worth complaining about.

M4RKM

Pollycat..

exactly.. the thing is, as we all have done this. we put too much emotions into complaints, and what you have to do, is to explain what went wrong, and how it can be solved.

the only thing that IMO, went wrong for the OP, was that they had a grumpy check in asst, who wouldn't let them transfer something to hand luggage, which other people had done.

Also, might as well bend the truth slightly. the OP said they wern't given information, or not told by BMI Baby (who will just turn around and say, you should have read the website), or the OP was aware, and was just guessing, as they couldn't knock on a neighbours door to find out the weight!

anyway.... sticking to the points, may get them their £27 back, it'd be interesting to see which letter the OP uses, and if they get a positive result!


M

Russ66

juehankie wrote: »

this is the letter i cant email to bmi because they dont accept emails!! - but when my printer has some ink in i will send it via post.

reading it will let you know how annoying BMI was over the easter weekend........



:mad:
BMI Baby,

I am sure I am one of many thousands who will be returning from their holidays very annoyed at your recent baggage allowance change from 20 kgs to 18kg with no prior notification.

As I have never travelled BMI before we were very annoyed at having to “guess” what 18kgs is at home, then to “check in” and be informed we were over by only 3kgs and then charged £27 was extortionate. To rub salt into the wounds we were not offered the chance to remove some items, or (as we witnessed several people doing as we left the check in desk to pay our “excess charge” to put upto 10kgs in hand luggage PER PERSON.) £16 for 18kgs, or £27 for 3kg! Do you see why I may be annoyed?

I am used to airlines allowing 20kgs minimum check in allowance and only 5kgs hand luggage.

We are a family of 3. 2 adults & 1 child. Carrying only 1 handbag containing passports and 1 small bag containing child’s DVD player. To find out we could have put this excess baggage in an additional hand luggage seems very unfair. After talking to many people at the airport it appears many of those were offered this option. This was not a cheap holiday, costing us near on £600 for a 3 day Easter break, self catering.

It seems preposterous to have more weight in “over head” lockers, also causing all kinds of problems with people unable to put their bags near their seats. Our bags were 10 seats away! More chaos unravelled when leaving the aircraft!.

I am writing to request the refund of £27 as we were not informed of the change of allowance, and not given the option to remove this excess into our hand luggage. I do have the receipt.

Yours J H.

When did you book your flights? You would have been notified of the baggage allowance on your booking confirmation. Does it say 20kgs? (Mine does from February) if so use this to argue your case for a refund.:D

will-in-estoril

juehankie wrote: »

:mad:
BMI Baby,

I am sure I am one of many thousands who will be returning from their holidays very annoyed at your recent baggage allowance change from 20 kgs to 18kg with no prior notification.

As I have never travelled BMI before we were very annoyed at having to “guess” what 18kgs is at home, then to “check in” and be informed we were over by only 3kgs and then charged £27 was extortionate. To rub salt into the wounds we were not offered the chance to remove some items, or (as we witnessed several people doing as we left the check in desk to pay our “excess charge” to put upto 10kgs in hand luggage PER PERSON.) £16 for 18kgs, or £27 for 3kg! Do you see why I may be annoyed?

I am used to airlines allowing 20kgs minimum check in allowance and only 5kgs hand luggage.

We are a family of 3. 2 adults & 1 child. Carrying only 1 handbag containing passports and 1 small bag containing child’s DVD player. To find out we could have put this excess baggage in an additional hand luggage seems very unfair. After talking to many people at the airport it appears many of those were offered this option. This was not a cheap holiday, costing us near on £600 for a 3 day Easter break, self catering.

It seems preposterous to have more weight in “over head” lockers, also causing all kinds of problems with people unable to put their bags near their seats. Our bags were 10 seats away! More chaos unravelled when leaving the aircraft!.

I am writing to request the refund of £27 as we were not informed of the change of allowance, and not given the option to remove this excess into our hand luggage. I do have the receipt.

1. There was plenty of information on the website about the change. Ignorance is no defence.
2. That you have paid £600 for your holiday is much besides the point.
3. Go into your local butchers and ask them to let you have 20kg of fillet steak for the price of 18kg. You would not even ask! Whay should it be any different with an airline?
4. Why should check in staff willingly forego revenue which keeps them in a job? Would you waive payments from your customers?
5. £27 is anything but extortionate. Compare what a courier/cargo company would charge.
6. You need to appreciate that BMI Baby is a business, which will close should it not be profitable.
7. By your own anecdotal evidence passengers would prefer to not pay to check in luggage, and are therefore content to have overhead lockers full and to have their bags stored some distance from their seats.
8. If you do not like the low cost model then use the full cost alternative. When push comes to shove cost will win the day, which is why BMI Baby is one of the most profitable parts of British Midland Airways Ltd.
9. Buy some scales (and some ink for your printer.)

lefty

I booked flights with BMI Baby in September of last year for flights Cardiff to Malaga on 02/06/2009.
The Hold Luggage allowance at that time was clearly shown as 20Kgs.
However BMI Baby have since then stated that ALL Flights after 1st April will be subject to a reduced allowance of 18Kgs.
I have tried to find out from BMI Baby, without success, what my weight allowance will be in June, bearing in mind that when I booked the flight last September that the allowance was clearly shown as 20Kgs.
Can anyone provide any information on this matter
Thanks

Incapuppy

To me, the statement that with effect from 1st April the allowance will be 18 kgs would mean just that.

lefty

I know that the weight as stated on the BMI Baby Website NOW states that it is 18KGS.
The point I am making is that when I booked the flight in September of last year that the weight was clearly shown as 20KGS (NO mention of the change due to take place in April, 2009
It was later on in the year BMI Baby made the alteration to say that w/e/f/ 1 April the weight would be 18KGS.
When this has happened, even with the ill-fated XL last year when they reduced the Hold Weight they honoured the committment to people who had booked before the decision to reduce the weight was made. They also informed all passenger of the weight change!
BMI Baby have NOT informed passengers of the change and have not replied to numerous letters sent to their Customer Services Department.
I believe that BMI Baby should honour the contract made in September and allow the Hold weight to be 20KGS
BUT how do you get them to reply?

Incapuppy

Perhaps if you phoned them you would get a better response.

itzmee

I booked tickets with BMI Baby in January (we fly next week) and it said that baggage allowance was currently 20kg but would be changed to 18kg from April. I have always assumed that this will apply to me so I will be taking 18kgs of luggage.