Another report out, this time by the Association of European Airlines, points the finger at British Airways for losing more bags than any other airline in Europe in the first half of 2008. According to an article in the Times, BA heads the list in a table of 29 European airlines, the equivalent to “nine passengers travelling on a typical BA jumbo jet flight between January and June and their bags were missing when they arrived at their destination.” This comes at a time when BA have launched an advertising campaign “Terminal 5 is working” and, according to the airline, the AEA figures reflect past problems at Heathrow. Not that we should single out BA as they are doing their best to remedy the initial problems at Terminal 5 and those now using the terminal speak highly of their experience. Budget airlines also tend to lose fewer bags than traditional carriers but then again they do not offer connecting services through hub airports as the likes of British Airways do. Part of the problem is that Heathrow is an extremely busy airport with traffic levels beyond what it was originally designed for. If you do find that your bags have gone missing, you can go some way to help youself by following some basic simple rules. Such as, clearly tag your baggage. This should include your name, your flight number, your departure and arrival destinations and the date of your flight. A good suggestion is to place your name and address inside the top of your suitcase just in case it needs to be opened by baggage handlers should your luggage be lost when in transit. Do make sure that, if you lose your bags, you get a Property Irregularity Report from your carrier, preferably before you leave the airport. If your bags still don't turn up, then you should get a letter from the airline stating that they are irretrievably lost as you will need this to make a claim for the lost items. Lost baggage is a key components of most

Author's Biography:

Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design