Satisfactory Baggage Service: What do you think it is?

[actualeyes]

My view: priority bags should begin coming off the belt within 15 min of landing in non-peak times and 20 minutes in peak times.

It is annoying that QF baggage services staff seem to think that their performance doesn't matter - I should just be happy that I have my bag at all. Astoundingly, even when I had my bag "lost" and was at the Baggage Services Counter in ADL and mentioned the poor performance (my view), a QF staffer rudely said exactly that - I should just be happy to get my bag, as though that were the acceptable service level!

Looking at my experiences and watching what goes on, change of shifts always hugely impacts performance. If you are landing any time near 1PM, for instance, the shift coming off won't handle the flight, and the shift coming on, takes a long time to get to it.

Similarly, when a flight is early, baggage handling do not get told - the benefit gets pi**ed away if you have bags to wait for. Of course if you're late, there is also no one to get your bags off, so you end up waiting longer in my experience - delay on delay.

Surely Qantas could have some more active management of resourcing and use computer systems that alert them to these situations and help them provide acceptable service.

Or perhaps I'm just jaded by poor QF service in almost every other aspect (except the pleasantness of the people in-flight) so that I am unrealistic in my expectations.

What do you think? What is your experience?

 

[pshepvic]

Have to agree with you. Waiting 45min to an hour on a Friday night for baggage on QF459 used to be a regular occurence for me, which is absolutely appalling.

My experience generally has been that MEL is the worst and BNE is the best for QF baggage.

Surely it can't be that hard.

I've been to Japan several times, with QF, JAL and JQ, and on every occasion I've got off the aircraft, on the little train to the main terminal, through immigration, collected bags, and through customs, with the whole process taking under 15 minutes every time.

QF can't even get a few bags off a plane in a domestic terminal in that time. I blame 1. The unions, 2. Lazy, unskilled, uneducated staff, 3. Lack of enforcement by management of appropriate behavior with said staff, and 4. Poor planning, scheduling and organisation.

 

[Robert K]

no one should have to wait 45 min for their bags.

 

[richie9x]

I generally have had quite good experience with Australian airports.

I have had a few delays picking up bags. But nothing too bad.

And I think you will always get some situations were they are unavoidable. Such as due to flight delays a whole bunch of flights landing at the same time. Or during peak travel periods before holidays.

Generally if they announce a valid reason why the bags are delayed that makes me happier.

But having said all that. Recently at Singapore I made it from the plane, through immigration, got bag and got in taxi in 12 minutes. Pretty most of the time was spent walking hardly any time queuing. If Australian airports could achieve the same I would be impressed.

 

[Robert K]

Would be quiet easy to achieve the same thing. Fire all existing staff, then hire cheap labour from Asia.
You could most likely hire twice the amount of staff who'll work twice as hard.

 

[pshepvic]

Generally if they announce a valid reason why the bags are delayed that makes me happier.

And this is one of my biggest issues. How often do they make an announcement, let alone offer a valid reason for a delay? Almost never. On those occasions where the wait has been 45-60 minutes, it was at least 30 minutes before any announcement was made at all. And even then it was only prompted because a whole heap of people went to baggage services and complained.

I understand delays can happen, but in my experience it was all too consistent. For 3 years I flew QF459 every second or third Friday (so roughly 40-50 times) and I could maybe count on one hand the number of times bags were through is less than 20-25 minutes. It's pretty simple - at those busy times, put more staff on and put a boot up those who are already working.

Forecasting the number of bags and staff required couldn't be that hard. They've got years of data to base it on. Plus it's not really rocket science anyway - common sense tells you there will be more luggage on a Friday night as there are more people doing a weekly commute or have been away for a full week. Whereas on other weeknights chances are it's more likely to be people who've been away only a day or two, and there would be more hand luggage.

 

[actualeyes]

But having said all that. Recently at Singapore I made it from the plane, through immigration, got bag and got in taxi in 12 minutes. Pretty most of the time was spent walking hardly any time queuing. If Australian airports could achieve the same I would be impressed.

It is *never* any different in Singapore. I can get a cab to the East Coast Seafood Centre, eat a complete black pepper crab, drink a few Singhas, relax and enjoy Singapore Harbour lights (or lightning), take the cab back all in a 2 hour connection.

And you can get from the plane to the cab (not the cab queue) in 12 minutes regardless of how many heavies have landed in the previous 15 minutes.

Why do we accept cough service in Australia?

 

[actualeyes]

And this is one of my biggest issues. How often do they make an announcement, let alone offer a valid reason for a delay? Almost never.

... It's pretty simple - at those busy times, put more staff on and put a boot up those who are already working.

...common sense ...

Hmmm. Common sense. I think you've hit on the missing ingredient in the QF catering.

I'm with you, but no one at QF cares any more. No one even calls.