On 30 May 2007 08:47:21 GMT, ph10 RemoveThis @cam.ac.uk (Philip Hazel) wrote:
>In article <1180473868.736806.296640 RemoveThis @q75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
> Jim Davis <sky.dancer1 RemoveThis @yahoo.com> writes:
>
>>Just remember, If you have to run to make a connection, you're lugage
>>will not make it.
>
>Not always true. Two years ago I flew Qantas to Auckland via Sydney,
>with a 1-hour connection. Incoming flight was 20 mins late landing; we
>were kept on the plane for an extra 10 minutes while an ill passenger
>was checked out; I ran through the terminal, fretted through security,
>arrived at the gate as they were boarding; 30 minutes after touchdown I
>was seated in the next plane. Lo and behold, my bag made it.
I just remembered my best luggage story.
I used to go fairly often to China for work, and at least four times I
experienced long delays due to "fog" at the Beijing airport. The
airport apparently wasn't equipped for landing in dense fog, and the
fog was always aggravated by Beijing's rampant smog.
Once I was travelling with a colleague and we were delayed for over 24
hours on our return home. We weren't told of the delay until we had
already checked our luggage, but we were able to retrieve it. We were
put up in a hotel in Beijing and returned to the airport the next day,
only to find outbound flights still delayed. Our original flight had a
connection in Tokyo, which was the last New York-bound flight of the
day. It looked as though we weren't going to make that connection, so
we just checked our baggage through to Tokyo.
When we finally took off, we were about 26 hours late, and it seemed
as though we were going to end up stuck in Tokyo. However, when we got
to Tokyo, there was 30 minutes to make a connection with the flight we
should have taken the day before. We asked an airport employee if
there was any chance to catch the onward flight. She immediately
telephoned the airline and told them the situation and they said they
would hold the flight for us if we could get there immediately.
However, our luggage was checked only as far as Tokyo. The Japanese
airport employee offered to pick up our luggage for us and send it on
the next day. We really wanted to get home, so we gave her our baggage
claim checks and ran to catch the flight.
We were resigned to never seeing our luggage again, not because we
didn't trust the person who had helped us, but it just seemed a
situation that could go wrong in many ways, and she had no way to
contact us if there had been a problem. However, the bags were
delivered to the university the next day. Then we were sorry we didn't
have any way to contact that helpful person, who wasn't even
affiliated with our airline (Northwest), but just someone who offered
to help two strangers.
My husband and I recently had just the opposite kind of experience in
Mexico City. I reported it on this group, I think; it was the worst
service I've ever experienced in over 20 years of travelling on four
continents.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
>> Stay informed about: Carry-on luggage on a flight from Toronto to London (UK) 
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