Priority Baggage on QFi - has this premium pax benefit been eroded too?

[ChrisCunard]

My partner and I returned from Europe in early July this year via Hong Kong. We were London-Hong Kong in QF FIRST (worst breakfast I have ever had on an airline in my entire life). We checked in for our QF flight to Brisbane at the QF first counter in Hong Kong. As WP should have had FIRST bag tags - despite QF 98 to BNE only being two class A330 - but NO, didn't happen - only business tags, and when arrived bags came off half way through the rabble.


Domestically these days its a total cough shoot. Some days your bags are off in the first few/half a dozen - other days its 15 minutes wait. Maybe its because the "BUSINESS" symbol on the paper tags on traditionally non-electronic bag-tag routes are now s small the handelers cant see them - who knows?????

If you saw them putting J tags rather than F why not just ask them to use the F tags as per policy?

 

[Danger]

My parents just returned home from the US, flying HNL-SYD on QF4 (marketed and operated). My Mother is Qantas Gold and when they asked at HNL for their bags to be tagged 'Priority', the agent said "On these smaller aircraft we only do priority baggage for Platinum". What? I don't know whether to be more disappointed at "smaller aircraft" or the fact the (contracted) agent threw the benefits out the window.

(The agent said he/she would tag the bags priority as a gesture and naturally they weren't delivered in SYD anywhere near the first bunch.)

 

[TheInsider]

If there is no First class on an operated flight, they get tagged Business.

From the Qantas website:

Priority baggage on Qantas, regardless of your class of travel

Your bags are tagged Business on domestic flights and First on international flights on Qantas operated jet flights with a QF flight number on your ticket when a Business cabin (domestic) or a First cabin (international) is offered

Although for the HNL situation, should've been tagged 'Business'. This automatically pops up on the agents screen when bags are added.

 

[Danger]

If there is no First class on an operated flight, they get tagged Business.

From the Qantas website:

I think that's for Platinum, though, which admittedly was the genesis of this thread.

My point, though, was that my Mother is Gold and wasn't going to get any priority baggage (First, Business, Priority, Look at Me tags etc.). In the agent's defence, perhaps he or she wasn't familiar with the %, #, @, *, !, +, ^ at the bottom of the benefits list.

 

[TheInsider]

I think that's for Platinum, though, which admittedly was the genesis of this thread.

I didn't even look at the date of the thread

But, Gold are entitled to 'Business' tags on international flights.

 

[Simo]

IMHO QF has no idea what premium luggage tags look like and if spotted have no idea what to do with them.

As a WP in J on an international flight bags come out with all the other luggage but IMHO VA is no better with there PE product.

 

[jetlagger]

My QF flight BNE/MNL few weeks back, my bag was distinctly tagged priority.. Though it seemed that my bag arrived on the luggage carousel in MNL next to last with the Priority tag still well intact!
It is the inconsistencies in all ports with QF that bothers me.
I won't compare with other carriers, it often makes me more irate.

 

[katiebell]

Arriving on QF32 last Sunday evening, delayed 1:26, WP travelling in F.

From first bag coming out (a stream of untagged economy bags, following by sporadic business tags), finally 20 minutes later the F tag bags come out.

I'm sorry, but putting my WP aside, if I'm travelling in F, I darn well want my bag out in the first batch as 20 minutes is ridiculous. Not good enough QF.

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced the new QF 'priority' baggage service lately? Perhaps that's part of the union's industrial action - annoy the premium pax who pay the premium fares and keep them in their jobs. Good strategy guys.

Apologies for the rant, but at 21:46, my patience is rather thin and standing around for 20 mins watching economy bags go round not my idea of a good time.

ON my recent LHR-MEL trip my priority bag tags were REMOVED between check in and arrival in MEL. 2 bags (1 damaged) arrived after 2/3 of bags were delivered and the last not at all: still sitting in LHR. I wa travelling J/F and am WP. THe priority bag tag is a con on lots of longhaul trips

 

[TheInsider]

ON my recent LHR-MEL trip my priority bag tags were REMOVED between check in and arrival in MEL.

If you are suggesting that a ramp staff member, who isn't even related to the airline could really be bothered removing your specific tags from your bag, well it's highly unlikely.

 

[katiebell]

If you are suggesting that a ramp staff member, who isn't even related to the airline could really be bothered removing your specific tags from your bag, well it's highly unlikely.

I saw them put on in LHR first check in and they were defintely not there in MEL. Not a trace

 

[TheInsider]

I saw them put on in LHR first check in and they were defintely not there in MEL. Not a trace

Bag tags are designed to withstand quite a bit of force applied to them, bits of paper placed inside a sticky bit of the bag tag are not. Baggage belts are complex and alot of items get caught when the bag is progressing throug the system.

 

[jetlagger]

Bag tags are designed to withstand quite a bit of force applied to them, bits of paper placed inside a sticky bit of the bag tag are not. Baggage belts are complex and alot of items get caught when the bag is progressing throug the system.

Antiquated system - at best.
Regardless, if priority tags are somehow displaced in transit, should be default barcoded at least to prioritise onto arrival belt.

 

[medhead]

My recent experience had all my luggage tag under the name of one of the non status people travelling with me on the same booking. Pretty happy about that. My feedback was passed onto the airport manager. Like that's useful.


Sent from the Throne

 

[Flying mermaid]

If you are suggesting that a ramp staff member, who isn't even related to the airline could really be bothered removing your specific tags from your bag, well it's highly unlikely.

I had my priority tags removed on a domestic flight a few years ago. Neatly cut off multiple bags... We were travelling J from Cairns to Canberra and should have had business tags put on, but they only put orange priority tags on. When the luggage came off next to last the orange tags no longer existed and when I checked you could see they had been cut off, level with the baggage tags. Why?? I have found for many years that priority tags and the order it comes off is a total lottery, even with International first. Having had my bags lost a few times, I am just grateful to see them at all. .... We did an AONE4 in June/July with lots of first legs on various airlines and initially gold status, then platinum and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't......

 

[ajw373]

Must admit never really had a problem with Qantas and priority baggage. Sure sometimes it doesn't work but 9/10 it is fine.

One thing I have noticed of late though is rather than a seperate priority tag the OneWorld Logo and the words priority have been printed on the standard tag. Though not sure how wide spread this is as latley I only generally do SYD-CBR-international-SYD-CBR and have also dropped from platinum to gold. On my last trip which was CBR-SYD-LAX my collegue who is platinum still had seperate first class tags and I just had the priority on the label, in LAX his bags and mine were some of the first out.

PS I too have had priority tags removed, but only when travelling say Qantas to Sydney and then SQ, TG etc out of Sydney. I assume it was done by the international airline rather than Qantas and it has only happened maybe 3 times out of 20 and once with SQ it was replaced with one of their priority tags.

 

[asg29e]

I have called the luggage carousel "the great leveler".

I get annoyed about the same thing. I only take carry on 90% of the time for that reason.

If I have to check anything in now, I get my PA to wait for it and I head straight to the car.

It is VERY hit and miss!

Yeah, I do the same. Although she doesn't like being called "my PA." Prefers the term "wife."

 

[ozmille]

In FRA priority bags come on a different carousel which seems to work quite ok, the fact that the first bag didn't appear for over half an hour is another issue :evil:

 

[pagingjoan]

Yeah, I do the same. Although she doesn't like being called "my PA." Prefers the term "wife."

Love that!
But 'fess up:
you don't really get away with that, do you?!

 

[asg29e]

Love that!
But 'fess up:
you don't really get away with that, do you?!

Only in my dreams. In real life more likely to be to be the other way round...

 

[pagingjoan]

Only in my dreams. In real life more likely to be to be the other way round...

Right and proper!