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The curious case of the suitcase that went on a European holiday without me
By Steven Smith
There was great excitement when, as a late birthday gift, my nephew took me to Marbella for five days.
We flew out with British Airways, and I came back on a codeshare flight operated by a Spanish airline called Vueling. Now, I have no complaints about the flight itself. Everything went perfectly well.
The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for my luggage.
There are certain things you expect to bring home from a holiday: photographs, memories, perhaps a few extra pounds around the waist and a vague promise that next time you’ll pack less.
What you don’t expect is for your suitcase to continue its European travels without you.
My luggage has now been missing since Saturday, and what began as an inconvenience has turned into a bizarre international mystery involving airports, telephone calls, automated updates and a suitcase that appears to have had a far more adventurous journey than I did.
The reference number, which I now know almost as well as my own telephone number, is LGWVY28092.
The bag was particularly important because I had been sharing it with my nephew, Matthew, who was due to fly to the United States shortly after we returned. His clothes were inside, along with mine. So this wasn’t simply a case of waiting patiently for a delayed pair of socks to turn up.
Then came the updates.
At one point, my luggage appeared to be in Paris Charles de Gaulle. Why Paris? Your guess is as good as mine. From there, I was told it was being sent to Barcelona before eventually — hopefully — making its way back to me in London.
Paris to Barcelona to London. My suitcase was practically Interrailing.
What has made the whole experience considerably worse, however, is the extraordinary difficulty in getting a clear answer from anyone.
I have telephoned. I have messaged. I have chased. I have watched the online tracking system with the dedication of an air traffic controller. I would love to be in Paris ,
Eventually, the status changed to the rather exciting announcement:
“Your piece of baggage has been located.”
Wonderful!
Except there was one small problem.
Where exactly had it been located?
Being told something has been “located” is not particularly reassuring when nobody can confirm where it physically is, whether it actually arrived in Barcelona, when it will be placed on a flight to London, or when it might finally arrive at my front door.
Each telephone call seems to produce another version of: “We are waiting for information.”
Meanwhile, my suitcase continues to exist somewhere in the mysterious world of international baggage handling.
There is, of course, a funny side. I have visions of it sitting beside a swimming pool in Barcelona, sipping sangria while I sit in London trying desperately to discover its whereabouts.
But underneath the humour is a serious point.
When airlines lose passengers’ belongings, communication matters enormously. People may have medication, work clothes, sentimental possessions or valuable items inside their cases. A computer-generated message saying a bag has been “located” simply isn’t enough after days of uncertainty.
Passengers deserve to know what is happening to their property.
So, as I write this, the great suitcase saga continues.
Somewhere between London, Paris and Barcelona is one extremely well-travelled piece of luggage that belongs to me.
If anyone sees it, could you possibly tell it that its holiday is over?
Steven would quite like his clothes back.
P.S. The latest piece of “help” from Vueling Airlines was the suggestion that I call Barcelona Airport myself and see if I can find my luggage.
You really couldn’t make it up.
UPDATE: THE SUITCASE FINALLY COMES HOME!
Now for an update on my luggage.
After around ten more phone calls — yes, I am like a dog with a bone — there was finally some good news.
Now, the people at Vueling Airlines are actually very charming. You are given the choice to speak to them in English or Spanish and, even as they told me that no one could find my luggage in Barcelona but that they would keep trying, there was always the cheerful: “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
I have to admit, the latter did begin to irritate me slightly. YES — FIND MY SUITCASE!
Eventually, on Friday, six days into my suitcase’s extended stay in Barcelona, there was good news: it had been found!
However, it still wasn’t showing on the system the following morning, so naturally I called again. Yes, apparently it was on its way back to Gatwick, although no one seemed quite sure exactly when. They estimated somewhere around 12:45.
I called again later and there was still no confirmation that it had actually landed.
Then, at around four o’clock on Saturday, I received a text from Eagle Aviation, who were going to deliver my luggage.
There was an odd delivery time showing, so I emailed them. They told me they hadn’t actually received the luggage yet, so I was safe to go out.
The following morning it was much the same story. At around 11am, I was told that perhaps it would be in the 12:30 batch they were expecting, but they couldn’t confirm it.
So, safe in the knowledge that my suitcase was apparently still nowhere near my front door, I headed off to Chelmsford to see my great friend Aston Avery, who had been nominated at the Make a Difference Awards. I reckoned I could easily be home by six.
There I was, sitting next to Anna Kennedy OBE — who, I should point out, did forgot to share her Skittles however provided me with some great popcorn Thank-you — when at around 3:45pm my phone started buzzing.
“Your luggage will be delivered today between 16:42 and 18:42.”
AN HOUR’S NOTICE!
Luckily, it was towards the end of the show, so I legged it. And no wonder I have a hernia now!
Somehow, I made it back home by 5:30pm.
At 5:55pm, the call finally came.
Could I come downstairs and be reunited with my luggage?
Apparently, they don’t bring it to your actual door.
And there it was. After eight days missing in action, several countries, countless telephone calls and considerably more stress than any suitcase deserves to cause, we were finally reunited.
I am going to do exactly what my nephew told me to do in the first place and buy an Apple AirTag. I also now have the pleasure of posting my nephew’s belongings back to the USA!
On the upside, in nearly 50 years of travelling, this is the first time anything like this has happened to me. The actual flight with Vueling was very good, and the cabin crew were professional, smart and charming. So I’m going to put the whole thing down to very bad luck — or perhaps Malaga Airport!
Would I fly with Vueling again? Yes, I probably would.
Would I ever travel without an AirTag again?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
As for my luggage, it is very happy to be home.
Although after its unexpected European adventure, it is now telling me that it needs a spa day.
Frankly, so do I.
2Shades Magazine 