I just got back from a cycling holiday in Girona, Spain that started and ended nightmarishly. I flew BA to Barcelona through Hearhrow's notorious Terminal 5 ,which as you guessed it, lost my bicycle. It took them two days to locate and deliver it to me which meant two days sitting around and staring out at the mountains that I should have been climbing.
On the way back, my BA flight got canceled because of heavy snow in the UK. They put me on a Lufthansa flight through Frankfurt only to arrive at Narita to discover they too had lost my bike. Another 2 days of nervous waiting and anxious phone calls before my bike was finally delivered. But too late to salvage anything from this picture postcard 3 day weekend.
Of course I sent letters of complaint to both airlines demanding some kind of compensation for the inconvenience they caused. So far I've only heard back from BA who gave me nothing more than a curt apology and flood of excuses, but no compensation. I really don't expect much more Lufthansa.
This was my eighth cycling holiday having flown Quantas, KLM, Air France, Northwest and Singapore Airlines without any problems transporting my bike at all. So for it to get lost twice on the same trip just speaks to the overall incompetence and indifference of BA and Lufthansa when it comes to oversized luggage and sporting equipment.
One thing I know is these are two airlines and two airports that any vacationing cyclist should approach with great caution.
On the way back, my BA flight got canceled because of heavy snow in the UK. They put me on a Lufthansa flight through Frankfurt only to arrive at Narita to discover they too had lost my bike. Another 2 days of nervous waiting and anxious phone calls before my bike was finally delivered. But too late to salvage anything from this picture postcard 3 day weekend.
Of course I sent letters of complaint to both airlines demanding some kind of compensation for the inconvenience they caused. So far I've only heard back from BA who gave me nothing more than a curt apology and flood of excuses, but no compensation. I really don't expect much more Lufthansa.
This was my eighth cycling holiday having flown Quantas, KLM, Air France, Northwest and Singapore Airlines without any problems transporting my bike at all. So for it to get lost twice on the same trip just speaks to the overall incompetence and indifference of BA and Lufthansa when it comes to oversized luggage and sporting equipment.
One thing I know is these are two airlines and two airports that any vacationing cyclist should approach with great caution.