Action at last against train baggage bastardry

Don't you hate it when people put their bags on the seat next to them on a busy train?

And don't you hate it even more when they look the other way, or pretend to be asleep, when you need a seat? 

 
Dutch rail operator NS is striking back at the baggage bandits, introducing new luggage rules prohibiting passengers from placing bags on seats, even when trains are largely empty, news hub Travel Mole reports.

Travellers could previously use an empty seat for hand luggage but were expected to move their belongings if another passenger needed the seat. But people behave badly.

Under the revised policy, bags must now be kept on passengers’ laps or stored in the train’s luggage racks at all times.

The rail operator said the initial focus will be on educating passengers rather than enforcement. Posters will be displayed across the network, and conductors will remind travellers of the new rules. No fines will be issued for violations. For now. 

NS said the move is intended to tackle the growing problem of passengers occupying seats with luggage, particularly during busy commuting periods when available seating is limited.

The operator also noted that travellers are increasingly reluctant to ask others to move their bags, citing rising levels of aggression on public transport and in society more broadly.

Passenger advocacy group Rover welcomed the change, describing bags on seats as one of the most common complaints from rail users.

“It ranks among the top three frustrations for travellers,” Rover director Daan Zieren told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

He said passengers previously tended to remove their bags when trains became crowded, but that behaviour has become less common.

“Many people now pretend not to notice other passengers by looking out the window, while some simply refuse to move their bags,” he said.

Technology aims to reduce lost baggage delays

China Airlines check-in

Most frequent flyers have suffered from that sinking feeling at least once.

The baggage carousel comes to a halt and there is no sign of your suitcase.

You join other disappointed folk in a line to report the absence of your bag - and hope the airline gets it back to you sooner or later.

In my experience, that can range from a few hours (Virgin Australia) to over a week of frustration (Air Canada).

Now some airlines are trying to eliminate the problem.

Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL), for instance, has implemented Apple’s new Share Item Location feature to help locate lost or delayed bags quicker, news portal Travel Mole reports.

This allows sharing the location of passengers’ AirTag or Find My network accessory with the airline’s customer service.

It is expected to speed up the recovery of lost or delayed baggage, the Asian Aviation website reported.

In order to share the baggage location with the airline, customers can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

The link can be shared with CAL via a lost baggage form or with an agent at the service counter.

CAL integrates this information into existing systems to digitally support baggage tracking.

For customers’ privacy and security, location sharing will automatically end as soon as a customer is reunited with their bag and can be halted by the customer at any time.

Further digital technologies are now being harnessed at CAL to develop even smarter and more structured services, the airline says.

Jetstar delivers quality service. Twice

 

Jetstar can be much maligned - but you get what you pay for and know the potential issues when you fly with them. 

I booked a Melbourne-Hobart flight for yesterday, leaving plenty of time for my return flight from Vietnam on Vietjet to be delayed - or for me to be caught in queues at Melbourne Airport.

Neither happened. My Vietjet flight landed early - and there was no line at all to go through customs. 

My ticket had been booked and purchased through Qantas using points and pay - but Qantas was not interested in switching me to an earlier flight. That left me with seven hours to kill at the airport. 

Fortunately, Jetstar was much more helpful than Mrs No at the Qantas desk. They promptly and courteously switched me to an earlier flight on an Airbus A320, gave me a window seat near the front and did not charge me a cent. That's impressive service. 

Unfortunately, my bag (containing largely dirty laundry) did not make it through to Hobart with me. 

I filled in a form at the Jetstar desk and was told my suitcase would be delivered to my home (about 75km from the airport) when/if it landed. 

Yep. Unlikely. 

Three hours later there was a phone call. "We have your bag and are delivering it now". 

Sure enough, around an hour later a cheerful fellow delivered my bag to me front door. 

They even sent me a follow-up email

That's pretty impressive all round. 

OK, it would have been better if they hadn't misplaced the bag in the first place - but credit where it is due. Well done.  

New Air India technology to track baggage

Air India has rolled out a real-time baggage tracking tool on its website and app.

Launching ahead of many competitors, the app comes in response to many complaints about delayed and mishandled baggage, Travel Mole reports. 

The airline says it is a comprehensive tracking system that only a few other airlines globally can match.

It enables passengers to track the location throughout the journey.

It will provide status updates at various stages like check-in, security clearance, loading the aircraft, and when it arrives at the baggage claim area.

“The status coverage includes all important baggage touch points where baggage tracking technology is available,” the airline said in a media statement.

Sorry; your airline forgot to offload your luggage

Error-prone Indian airline IndiGo came under fire after forgetting to offload passenger baggage and taking off again with their suitcases still on board.

The blunder came just a few weeks after IndiGo neglected to put an elderly couple on their connecting flight to India at Istanbul airport a few weeks ago, The Times of India reported.

The IndiGo international flight bound for Bengaluru, India had to make a U-turn to Singapore Changi Airport after the error.

Not long after take off it had to return to Changi after the carrier "forgot to offload luggage" from a previous international flight.

The Airbus A321neo landed back at Changi about one hour after it took off.

It contributed to a four-hour delay for passengers - and a very long wait for passengers at the baggage carousel.

It is unclear how the bags remained on board.

“We acknowledge the baggage error on part of our service partners at Singapore airport and we sincerely regret the inconvenience,” the airline said.

IndiGo is India’s largest airline operating up to 2,000 flights daily.

Five travel tips to make your next overseas trip better

Overseas travel is not as much fun as it used to be.

Airports are crowded; flights are often delayed, queues are longer.

But just a little foresight can help make your trip just a little bit easier.

Here are some tips that might help you next time you hit the airport.

1. Take a pillow with you. Aircraft are more cramped than ever before; and seats seem to be getting smaller. A travel cushion or pillow for your head - or back support - can make your flight a little more bearable, but who wants to drag one around from hotel to hotel? Simple solution: Grab an old pillow from your cupboard, use it on your outbound flight and then donate it to an op shop on arrival. Before departure pay a couple of bucks for a replacement at a charity outlet before you fly home. Simple and cheap.

2. Turn left not right. Here's a clever tip from Southern Cross travel insurance to avoid queues at immigration counters. Research shows that most people are right handed and tend to turn to the right first, so do the opposite. Go to the left and you may be able to move faster through airport security and customs.

3. Make a phone call. There are some very good deals available on hotel booking sites, but you may be able to get a better one by calling your hotel of choice directly. See what the current price is at booking.com or similar sites, and then call the hotel. Ask if they can do a better deal, or offer a perk like a late check out. Hotels pay big money in commission to booking sites, so many would prefer to deal with you direct. It's worth a try.

4. Go for colour. Many suitcases look the same. Particularly if you have chosen black. Tie a colourful ribbon on your case, or put some bright sticky tape on it. That way you'll be able to identify your baggage quickly on the airport carousel, or in a pile of suitcases.

5. Download a translation app. If you are heading for a country with a lively tourism industry then chances are there will be someone who speaks your language. If, however, you are in Poland, Laos or Honduras, things might be a little trickier. Download a translation app on your phone before your trip. With the Google Translate app, you can hold your phone’s camera up to any text, and the app will translate it for you, whether you are puzzled by a street sign or a menu. Nifty.

And a bonus. Take a photo of your key passport pages and email to yourself. If you do happen lose your passport then you will have something to show to officials.

Image: Tiago Gomes, scop.io 

Air New Zealand hits the Big Apple - but some baggage doesn't make it home

Oops. And it was a big oops.

Air New Zealand's first flight between Auckland and New York landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport at the weekend - the first non-stop service between Auckland and The Big Apple.

The 17-hour+ flight made its debut almost three years after it was first announced.

“By adding greater access to the east coast of the US, we’re connecting our North American customers to the possibilities of 20 destinations within New Zealand as well as the Pacific and Australia, all within easy reach,” Air NZ CEO Greg Foran said.

Air New Zealand now serves seven US and Canadian destinations, including Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and now New York City.

The bad news was that dozens of passengers on the return flight to Auckland - which landed on Monday morning - discovered that their luggage had not made flight NZ1, Newshub reported. 

Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren apologised for the inconvenience caused, news website stuff.co.nz reported. 

"Unfortunately given additional fuel requirements due to adverse weather, some customer bags were unable to be loaded in New York and we are getting them to New Zealand as soon as possible," she said. “We are in touch with customers to update them and reunite them with their bags.”

With a distance of 14,215km, the flight is the fourth-longest currently operating flight in the world.

Ten vital tips to help make international air travel less painful

Everyone wants to travel internationally right now.

My advice. Hold your horses and be patient. Maybe wait a month or two.

And if you really have to travel make sure you are super-prepared with every detail checked and re-checked.

And even if you've got everything right, still be prepared for ludicrous lines at ill-prepared airports, for for flights to be delayed or cancelled. 

And for it to take a couple of hours for your baggage to emerge at the other end if it makes it at all.

Certainly be prepared for your baggage to be delayed or lost (for a week if you are flying with Air Canada).

Also be aware it may be impossible to see a doctor overseas because on ongoing Covid demand. Like in Australia, appointments are as rare as hen's teeth. 

Expect trains to be full to the max with nowhere to put your luggage.

And for maskless morons to put your health at risk at every turn.

Apart from those issues, travel is back in a big way. It just depends on whether you want to risk sending your blood pressure sky high by dealing with the likes of the incompetents at Air Canada. and the fools running the airports at Heathrow, Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau.

Oh. And paying double or triple for your over-booked flight than you would have paid pre-Covid.

Or being ripped off by avaricious airlines who have multiplied by dozens the number of frequent flyer points you need to get a "free" flight - that's the one you've maybe saved a decade to cash in.

If you do decide to brave the many obstacles and visit the rest of the world then here are some tips learned on my recent odyssey that included a dozen flights over five continents, half a dozen train journeys, four bus trips and six taxi journeys.

1. Make sure you allow more time than you think you could possibly need to check in. With flights over capacity it pays to make sure you have a boarding pass in your hand as soon as possible. Be first in line to avoid the risk of being bumped.

2. Do not trust connecting flights will actually operate. Be at the place from which you are flying internationally a day ahead. If your flight from Hobart, say, links with one to Asia and then Europe do not risk it being delayed or cancelled. There might not be another flight to your destination for two or three days and the airlines are less than helpful right now.

3. Confirm and re-confirm all your bookings on line. Hotels are over-booked as more and more people want to travel. Do not be the one turned away. But be prepared to spend hundreds of dollars a night on average accommodation. 

4. Pack all essentials in your hand luggage, and if at all possible travel with hand luggage only. Imagine being caught without your essential medication - pack prescriptions, too, just in case - and a spare pair of undies, for several days if your baggage goes missing.

5. Make sure you have fully comprehensive travel insurance. If things go wrong you want to be sure you will reimbursed for your ridiculously over-priced airport hotel and some clothes and toiletries to get you through the next few days.

6. Make sure you bring your own entertainment. Bring a book, games on your iPhone, anything to keep you occupied in the airports where you will be spending lots of hours; and in the air, where the airlines have jacked up the costs of in-flight wifi to ludicrous price levels.

7. Book every bus, train and accommodation choice online ahead of schedule. With everyone wanting to travel at the same time you might well find that bus between Venice and Ljubljana that you caught effortlessly a couple of years ago is now completely full for the next few days.

8. If you do have to check in luggage - probably essential if you are travelling for several weeks - then put a tracking device in your suitcase. It might help you locate your bag among the thousands piled up at Heathrow, or Montreal. Also take photos of every piece of baggage to help the airline track down your missing bag.  

9. Consider smaller airlines, which are likely to be more affordable than the big names, who are setting their own prices and getting them, such is the latent demand for travel.  

10. Be patient, be but be firm if your airline or hotel is jerking you around. A full-scale blow-up was the only reason Air Canada changed one of my delayed flights to an earlier one that was "full" - and actually had plenty of empty seats. Use social media pressure if necessary.

Or, perhaps, choose destinations closer to home that do not include transfers (which is where many bags go missing). Thai Airways from Australia to and from Bangkok is easy and relatively painless.

Whatever you do don't take wads of cash with you and expect to change it your destination. Banks are no longer keen, and airport exchange kiosks are an absolute trip-off.  

 
A survey this week showed Aussies are doing away with pre-planning and booking more spur-of-the-moment trips. Big mistake.

Research from Trafalgar, part of the wider The Travel Corporation group, revealed a 1,087% increase in bookings from April to June, compared to January to March this year.

With everyone keen to depart sooner rather than later, being fully prepared is the only way to guard against frustration and anger.

Or maybe just stay at home until the airlines get their acts together.

Heathrow wants passengers to stay away

London's Heathrow Airport - one of the busiest in the world - has an unusual message for travellers: Stay away.

Heathrow has told airlines to stop selling tickets for the remainder of summer and has plans to limit passenger numbers to a maximum 100,000 a day.

It is the airport’s latest desperate move to limit ludicrously long queues, baggage delays and flight cancellations, Travel Mole reports.

“Some airlines have taken significant action, but others have not, and we believe that further action is needed now to ensure passengers have a reliable journey,” CEO John Holland-Kaye said.

“We have therefore made the difficult decision to introduce a capacity cap to September 11.

“We recognise that this will mean some summer journeys will either be moved to another day, another airport or be cancelled and we apologise.”

Heathrow said the move potentially affects up to 4,000 passengers a day.

“There are some critical functions in the airport which are still significantly under-resourced, in particular ground handlers,” Holland-Kaye said.

Sounds like he should look for another job.

And sadly for Mr Holland-Kaye not all the airlines are willing to play ball. Emirates is one airline that has said it is not willing to cut its slots.

Emirates has rejected Heathrow’s demands for airlines to stop selling summer tickets, calling the move "unreasonable and unacceptable".

The airline accused the airport of having a "blatant disregard" for customers. Sounds about right.