2 weeks in transit for airmail letter?

thelawnet

I sent a 20 gram letter from UK to Indonesia

Your item is now leaving the UK. More information will be available when it arrives in the destination country.

There may be more information on our delivery partner's website.

Tracking shows

Tracking history

Friday 15 April 2022

15:32

Item Leaving the UK

LANGLEY HWDC

01:03

Item Received by Royal Mail

LANGLEY HWDC

Thursday 14 April 2022

18:42

Item Despatched to Heathrow Worldwide DC

Jubilee MC

16:16

Item received at

Jubilee MC

I contacted the Indonesian side, and they told me it has not arrived in Indonesia yet.

 Does this seem normal? It was sent tracked and signed, so I would assume 1 or 2 days would be sufficient to get a flight to the destination? 

soolin

What does the service you use actually state as estimated delivery time? 

dj1471

It’s very unlikely to get a direct flight, it’ll go the cheapest route which will likely have several connections, often with a day or more in between.

You’d be lucky to find a courier who could get it there in two days, two weeks isn’t excessive for airmail to that part of the world.

It’s not unusual for foreign postal services to just not bother with the tracking too, have you actually checked with the recipient?

Thrugelmir

What does the delivery partners website show? 

MalMonroe

I recently sent an airmail letter to my friend in Canada and it took 17 days to get there. She said that wasn't an exception. 

thelawnet

soolin said:

What does the service you use actually state as estimated delivery time? 

Worldwide delivery aim: 5-7 working days

Thrugelmir said:

What does the delivery partners website show? 

OFFICE	DATE	TIME	STATUS
UNITED KINGDOM GB	2022-04-13	16:39	Posting/Collection
UNITED KINGDOM GB	2022-04-15	15:32	Departure from outward OE

dj1471 said:

It’s very unlikely to get a direct flight, it’ll go the cheapest route which will likely have several connections, often with a day or more in between.

You’d be lucky to find a courier who could get it there in two days, two weeks isn’t excessive for airmail to that part of the world.

It’s not unusual for foreign postal services to just not bother with the tracking too, have you actually checked with the recipient?

I am actually the recipient, it's a SIM card being sent to me. I need it to login to online banking, so I have to figure out if it's lost and get another one, or how long to keep waiting. 

I get things sent from AliExpress and they always arrive. For DHL from Amazon the tracking is much better and it only takes about 5 days door-to-door. The DHL will show 'leaving Milan, arriving Frankfurt, leaving Frankfurt, arriving Singapore', etc. And then it shows up on Indonesian customs once it has arrived. It makes sense that they could use 3 or 4 flights, but I would hope each one would take less than 24 hours and get tracking but maybe not.

It's slightly confusing because Royal Mail says 'check our partner', which is EMS Indonesia, but I'm not sure who is actually responsible for the part between the UK & Indonesia.

Thrugelmir

DHL (for example) control the entire chain. Even operating their own aircraft. When using the Royal Mail you are entirely at the mercy of third parties throughout the chain. The service is cheaper as a consequence. 

custardy

thelawnet said:

soolin said:

What does the service you use actually state as estimated delivery time? 

Worldwide delivery aim: 5-7 working days

Thrugelmir said:

What does the delivery partners website show? 

OFFICE	DATE	TIME	STATUS
UNITED KINGDOM GB	2022-04-13	16:39	Posting/Collection
UNITED KINGDOM GB	2022-04-15	15:32	Departure from outward OE

dj1471 said:

It’s very unlikely to get a direct flight, it’ll go the cheapest route which will likely have several connections, often with a day or more in between.

You’d be lucky to find a courier who could get it there in two days, two weeks isn’t excessive for airmail to that part of the world.

It’s not unusual for foreign postal services to just not bother with the tracking too, have you actually checked with the recipient?

I am actually the recipient, it's a SIM card being sent to me. I need it to login to online banking, so I have to figure out if it's lost and get another one, or how long to keep waiting. 

I get things sent from AliExpress and they always arrive. For DHL from Amazon the tracking is much better and it only takes about 5 days door-to-door. The DHL will show 'leaving Milan, arriving Frankfurt, leaving Frankfurt, arriving Singapore', etc. And then it shows up on Indonesian customs once it has arrived. It makes sense that they could use 3 or 4 flights, but I would hope each one would take less than 24 hours and get tracking but maybe not.

It's slightly confusing because Royal Mail says 'check our partner', which is EMS Indonesia, but I'm not sure who is actually responsible for the part between the UK & Indonesia.

Items dont pass from flight to flight like a passenger.
It depends on capacity, flights available etc and freight will be held at certain points of the journey.
International mail has been delayed globally for various reasons including covid ,brexit,driver shortages etc 

thelawnet

It has finally materialized in tracking!

JAKARTA MPC IDJKTC 2022-04-28 10:13 Arrival at inward OE

MPCJAKARTA 10900 2022-04-28 11:49 Departure from inward OE Adpis : 000279

JAKARTA MPC IDJKTC 2022-04-28 11:49 Departure from inward OE Adpis

I guess I will receive it in due course, though it is Eid so it might take a week or so ...